The Texas Department of Transportation has compiled and ranked the leading cause’s auto collisions in the state of Texas.
According to the agency, the number one cause of car accidents in Texas is failure to control speed. Speeding caused more than 108,000 accidents.
The next most common cause of car accidents in Texas is driver inattention. The number of accidents caused by distracted driving has skyrocketed with the boom in the use of smart phones and other mobile devices. Distracted driving also refers to eating, grooming, reading, and anything that pulls the driver’s attention away from the road, causing them to lose precious seconds of reaction time. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,000 people died in auto accidents caused by distracted drivers in 2013 and another 424,000 were injured.
The remaining 10 common causes of Texas car accidents include:
- Failure to drive in a single lane
- Failure to yield
- Unsafe lane changes
- Following too close
- Overcorrection or improper evasive action
- Failure to yield to another driver at stop sign
- Under the limit speeding
- Failure to obey stop sign or light
- Failure to yield in private drive
- Drunk driving
According to the Texas Department of Transportation, the information was derived from “the number of crashes that had at last one driver reported as having the indicated contributing factor.”
The agency says that multiple causes were listed for some accidents and those were included in its reported numbers.
Other causes of Texas car accidents include animals and disabled vehicles on the road. Broken headlights and taillights, defective steering, defective trailer hitches, and other mechanical failures also accounted for some accidents.
Unsafe driver actions, including failure to obey construction warning signs, turn marks at intersections and failure to yield to an emergency signal caused car accidents in Texas as well. Drivers who failed to turn on their headlights or signal also caused accidents. Further, ill drivers, drivers under the influence of drugs, tired or sleeping drivers, and those attempting to evade the police also wound up in car collisions.
Negligent Driving Causes Accidents
The causes of Texas car accidents reported by the Texas Department of Transportation make it clear that the choices individual drivers make to speed or use their mobile device lead to collisions and potentially to injuries and property damage.
Drivers can take steps to keep the roads safe by remembering the common causes of Texas car accidents and avoiding those behaviors. Unfortunately, the unsafe actions of other drivers on the road can lead to an accident. Individuals who are harmed by another driver’s unsafe actions can recover for losses they suffered, including medical bills, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and property loss.
If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident, an experienced McDonald Worley attorney can help you navigate the complex laws and insurance policies that may apply. Call today for a free consultation.