Top 20 Causes of Car Accidents in Minnesota
Auto accidents don't happen; there is always a cause for affect. Even with today's safety technology, millions of people die each year in car accidents. Let the 2010 “Top 20 Causes of Car Accidents” be your guide towards a lifetime of car accident prevention not just in Minnesota, but anywhere.
1. Driving Without Seatbelt- Persons Killed: 305 (MN)
Do seat belts belong on this list or not? They don’t cause the accidents but they will cause your death if you don’t wear them will driving. Safety belts help prevent deaths by keeping people inside their vehicles during crashes, preventing fatal blows within the vehicle and reducing the risks of internal injuries. Seat belts reduce the risk of serious injury or death in a traffic accident by 45%, but young people are much less likely to use them. Therefore, increased use of seat belts would significantly reduce injury and death from car crashes. One of my pet peeves is around the use of not wearing seat belts. The bottom line is that seat belts save lives.
2. Driving at Night- Persons Killed: 125 (MN)
Driving in the daylight can be dangerous, but driving at night nearly doubles the risk of a car accident occurring. When you can’t see what’s up ahead you don’t know what to anticipate as you drive towards it. As the sun goes down, your awareness of the road and cars around you must go up.
3. Speeding – Persons Killed: 86 (MN)
Despite the law and increased awareness, speeding is still the top cause of car accidents. As long as humans want to get to places fast, and car manufacturers make automobiles that can break speed limits, then speed will continue to be a killer. The faster the car, then the more time it takes to stop and the more deadly the impact. If a car crashes at 60mph, the force released is more than double what it would be at 40mph.
4. Failure to Yield Right of Way - Persons Killed: 81 (MN)
The one of the most common violations related to drivers and vehicles in Minnesota is failure to yield the right of way. Failure to yield the right of way may seem like a minor violation, but it can have serious consequences. When a driver fails to yield the right of way, it can cause road rage and unsafe retaliatory behaviors that could result in a car accident and personal injury or death.
5. Distracted Driving - Persons Killed: 76 (MN)
Driving should take your full attention, looking away for a split second can cause an accident. This includes things like changing the stereo, talk on a cell phone, send a text message or eat food, interacting with passengers and even slowing down to look at scenery or other accidents.
6. Drunk Driving- Persons Killed: 60 (MN)
Being drunk at the same time as driving puts yourself and everybody around you in danger. It impairs your judgment, so you are likely to take more risks and you'll probably become more aggressive towards other motorists. The main problem with drunk driving is your reflexes. It can take the brain more than twice the amount of time to send messages to your limbs so simple things like turning corners become difficult.
7. Teenage Drivers- Persons Killed: 41 (MN)
In every motorized country, teenage drivers represent a major hazard. In the United States, teenagers drive less than all but the oldest people, but their numbers of crashes and crash deaths are disproportionately high. Crash rates for young drivers are high largely because of their immaturity combined with driving inexperience. The immaturity is apparent in young drivers' risky driving practices such as speeding and tailgating. At the same time, teenagers' lack of experience behind the wheel makes it difficult for them to recognize and respond to hazards.
8. Driving Left of Center- Persons Killed: 36 (MN)
Driving left of center means failing to keep the car completely in the right hand 1/2 of the road. Driving left of center into opposing traffic and veering into oncoming traffic, can be a matter of life or death, especially for persons driving drunk and/or fatigued.
9. Unsafe Lane Changes- Persons Killed: 35 (MN)
Unsafe lane changes are often accompanied with speeding, failing to obey traffic lights, tailgating and failing to properly signal when changing lanes. Unfortunately, most accidents caused by unsafe lane changes can’t always be avoided and it often leads to a car accident. To prevent a needless car accident, use your turn signal, check your blind spots and always
proceed carefully into the next lane.
10. Running Red Lights & Signs- Persons Killed: 34 (MN)
One of the most common and dangerous collisions are caused by people running stop signs and red lights. Drivers that run red lights or signs, run the risk of causing wrongful death because they often cause side-impact collisions at high speeds. To avoid a car accident, look both ways for oncoming cars as you approach a green light or stop sign.
11. Snow/Ice- Persons Killed: 33 (MN)
Weather plays the large factor in car accidents. During snow storms, or when the temperature falls below freezing, drivers need to increase the distance between themselves and the vehicle(s) in front of them by at least an extra 5 to 10 seconds. Keep your speed within safety parameters and a safe distance between you and other drivers.
12. Over-Correcting- Persons Killed: 28 (MN)
For drivers whose vehicles have veered off the side of the road, getting back on their way can be a matter of life or death, especially for young, inexperienced drivers.
13. Rain- Persons Killed: 18 (MN)
If you also factor in the numerous rainstorm or thunderstorm that is a frequent occurrence in the Minnesota, this creates even further hazards to driving on local roads. Car accidents happen very often in the rain because water creates slick and dangerous surfaces, which causes cars to spin out of control, hydroplane or skid while braking. The number one reason why bad weather causes an accident is unclear vision. It is always advisable to stay slow and more focused during such kind of weather conditions. Remember when it is wet or raining- slow down!
14. Highway Construction- Persons Killed: 11 (MN)
Although traffic is contained and generally slower in construction zones, they are still a common location for traffic accidents. Interstate With signage and heavy equipment blocking the view, shifting and unclear lanes, and large numbers of people on the roadway, it can be extremely difficult for motorists to navigate these traffic and road conditions. Car accidents and trucking accidents in a construction zone can include head-on collisions from someone driving on the wrong side of the construction cones to rear-end collisions when a driver is driving too fast for conditions and then can’t stop when traffic comes to a standstill.
15. Improper Passing- Persons Killed: 9 (MN)
Improper passing refers to the failure of the driver to signal intent, using an emergency lane to pass or passing over the shoulder. Improper passing may seem like a minor offense. But sometimes it leads to a whole lot more.
16. Improper Turns- Persons Killed: 7 (MN)
There are thousands of severe car accident every year that are caused by improper turning, which can put a car in a straight line in front of or into the path of an approaching car. That is why the simple lapse of not looking before making a turn is one of the top causes of car accidents and often leads to major personal injuries or traumatic deaths. Be cautious and wait for the right of way when making a turn.
17. Drowsy Driving- Persons Killed: 7 (MN)
Driver fatigue isn’t talked about a lot but can be as dangerous as driving drunk. According to the Wall Street Journal, sleeping only four hours a night for five nights in a row can have the same result on the body as being awake for 24 straight hours, which is the equal to legal drunkenness. Most of the car accidents caused by drowsy driving occur at night. Remember to take a nap, it could save a life.
18. Tailgating- Persons Killed: 6 (MN)
Tailgating is also a cause of many car accidents. Many drivers are impatient and inattentive, driving so close to another car that they cannot react in time if the car in front of them brakes suddenly. In such cases, it is very difficult to slow down or stop the car immediately and you may hit the car in front of yours. Many fatal car accidents have occurred when a motorist dangerously tailgated another driver at high speeds. You can prevent these car accidents by giving the car in front of you a one-car-length cushion for every 10 mph you drive.
19. Animal Crossings- Persons Killed: 6 (MN)
While people driving cars are required to know the “rules of the road”, wild and domestic animals do not take driver’s training. Wild animals such as a deer will cross the street, and it’s up to you to make sure that you don’t get into a motor vehicle accident with them. Take caution when you see a deer crossing sign and make sure you use your high beams when driving in the countryside, wooded areas.
20. Following Too Close - Persons Killed: 6 (MN)
Following too close or “tailgating” is considered an aggressive driving behavior. It is dangerous in all weather and road conditions and can have tragic consequences. Because of the often poor driving conditions we experience each winter, the need for space - and patience - increases.
