What Are Some of the Most Common Types of Car Accidents?

Car accidents are all too common. In fact, even as cars continue to be built stronger than ever, car accident statistics show a rise in car accidents. A lot of what we do as attorneys is to work with clients to seek out compensation for the damages they suffered due to a car accident. While we’re happy to help, it would be better for everyone involved if there wasn’t an accident in the first place.

That’s why we’re going to look at the more common types of car accidents today. This will give you an idea of when car accidents occur and what is so dangerous about them. By knowing what to look out for, you can reduce the chance of getting caught up in a car accident and that means less damages and injuries to bog down your life.

Ultimately, there are only so many ways that you can get into a car accident. However, we’re certainly not going to try to place a number on them. Because no matter how typically most car accidents are, there will always be one or two each year that leave authorities scratching their heads, wondering how an accident like that was even possible.

But, random encounters with fate aside, most car accidents fall into some predictable categories. You’ve got rear-end collisions, single-vehicle accidents such as occur on dark nights with rain-slicked streets, collisions when backing, collisions at intersections such as T-bones. There are also the less dangerous but still expensive accidents such as scrapes and bumps. These can cause injury but more often than not they simply cost a lot in repairs.

The important thing to understand about car accidents is that for somebody else to be found at fault, there needs to be some type of recklessness or carelessness involved. Of the accidents discussed, the one least likely to get any kind of compensation for is a single-vehicle accident. You may be able to get some money from the insurance company, but as the only driver there is no other party to be held at fault. Without a second party whose carelessness or recklessness led to an accident that caused you injury, there is little that can be done legally to recover any damages that you’ve suffered.

While most car accidents happen while the car is running, that isn’t always the case. It’s fairly common for a parked car to be involved in a car accident, especially should your street allow people to park along the side of the road.

Parked car accidents don’t usually have any injuries involved with this. Since you weren’t in your car, you weren’t at risk of injury. But they can be quite difficult to solve. If there aren’t witnesses out, then you might never find out who struck your vehicle.

Windshield damage can also occur while parked. For example, you park on the side of the road while waiting for your passenger to run into the store for a quick minute. But somebody passes by, kicks up a rock and rockets it directly into your windshield.

Probably the most common accident to come from parking is a backing collision. Backing up is especially difficult with cars in the parking spaces next to you, so even backing up slowly might not be enough to avoid getting into an accident. It’s not always possible to park in a manner so you won’t have to back up but it’ll greatly reduce your chances of getting into one of these accidents.

Intersections are where the most kinds of accidents are possible. Read-end collisions occur as you pull to a stop or when those behind you assume you’re about to take off when you weren’t. Unfortunately, a rear end collision at an intersection could become a much more serious accident very quickly.

Being rear ended means that you’re struck with force from behind. In many cases this can result in your car moving forward. This means that an accident that happened from behind can push you forward. Since you’re at an intersection and most likely had a red light when you were struck, moving forward means cutting into oncoming traffic that could easily do serious damage to both car and person should they strike with any real speed.

The problem with intersections is that they combine risks from every angle. As pieces of road, they are a necessary part of ensuring that traffic flows smoothly. But they are among the most dangerous sections of your drive to and from work each day. Every type of car accident can occur at an intersection and so it’s important to remember to keep your awareness on the present while waiting for the light to change, even if it isn’t very exciting. It’s better to be bored but ready to react, than to check your phone and be caught unaware.

The most obvious answer is medical support. Following a car or truck accident, you should always get a quick medical checkup at the least. This is important for two reasons. The first is that you don’t want to let a medical issue go untreated. The emotions and adrenaline that runs through your body following an accident may allow for serious injuries to go unnoticed at first and if left alone then they can get troublesome.

But the second reason is just as important. If you want to pursue legal action, having a record of you meeting with a healthcare professional is an important piece of building a case. But that’s only one small piece of the puzzle.

To put together the best possible case, you will need to work with an experienced attorney. They’ll be able to help you determine the best course of action. They’ll also be able to help you investigate the accident to gather evidence and witnesses. But the best part is that once you’ve hired an attorney, there isn’t a lot left for you to do. That means you can spend more time recovering and less time worrying about what’s going to happen next.