Where Are You Most Likely to Get Into a Car Accident?

Everyone can probably say that almost every time they are driving, they witness a car accident on the side of the road. It is normal to think that most car accidents happen on the highway. In actuality, most car accidents happen elsewhere. More than half of the car accidents on the road actually happen closer to the driver’s home, on much smaller roads. This article will discuss the four most common places that car accidents take place.

1) Your neighborhood

This may come across as hard to believe, but driving in your own neighborhood is actually the biggest area of threat when driving. It is a fact that most fatal car accidents happen within 25 miles from your home. A common thing to have happen to people while driving home is going through a “driving daze.” Have you ever been driving and gone through a stop light not remembering what color it actually was? Sometimes when you are driving on a route that is very familiar to you, you start to zone out. Your neighborhood is one of these familiar areas. It causes you to rely more on your muscle memory, and not actively paying attention. When driving through your neighborhood, you want to drive as if you are driving in an area that you are not familiar with. Also, it is common to not wear your seatbelt when you are within a close distance to your home. It is extremely important that you stay buckled up, and stay alert as well.

2) Parking Lots

Even though these accidents are usually not very serious, they are ever so common. These accidents tend to be more common due to the fact that there are many cars that are all close together, in tight spaces. Parking lots are also not closely monitored by law enforcement or the normal speed limit laws, which causes drivers to be more relaxed and not as attentive when driving. There are also an increased number of pedestrians that are walking to and from their cars. These are all factors that lead to increased accidents.

3) Stop Signs and Stoplights

These are both very common areas of car accidents. With stop signs, many people what is called a “rolling stop.” A rolling stop is when a driver starts to slow down, but does not come to a complete stop. This causes drivers to go through the stop sign too quickly, causing an accident. Stoplights are a common place of accidents due to people underestimating how much time they need to brake. When approaching, people think they will be able to stop in time, and are not able to, which causes rear-ending collisions.

4) Two-Lane Roads

In two lane roads, there are drivers going head to head in different directions. These roads are not very big, so if a driver were to drift off into the other lane, it is very easy to hit another driver head-on. These accidents can be very serious.

Sometimes the places that people would think would be the most common areas of accidents, really are not. These four areas listed are never the ones that have the highest speed limits. Everyone needs to be very cautious in the areas that seem the safest.