Avoiding Car Accidents with Naturalistic Driving Studies

 Posted on December 26, 2017 in Personal Injury

As a recent article in Slate highlights, the number of serious and deadly car accidents in the country has risen in the last decade despite the fact that automobiles are getting “smarter” and that technology has only continued to improve. Indeed, as the article notes, the 8 percent rise in motor vehicle crash fatalities in 2015 was the “largest in 50 years,” and by 2016 the number had risen again to more than 40,000 annual traffic fatalities. While technology within automobiles might not be able to prevent crashes in some circumstances, it can provide us with more information about the reasons that car accidents happen. That kind of knowledge may help DuPage County drivers to avoid serious and fatal crashes.

“Naturalistic Driving Studies” and the Role of Technology in Car Crash Knowledge

In 2008, a study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan sought to use different kinds of technology to determine the actual causes of car crashes by installing devices in thousands of vehicles to produce “naturalistic driving studies.” The study caught on with other researchers and commentators interested in getting to the root of the specific causes of auto accidents. To be clear, such studies “are now equipping cars with accelerometers, sonar, sensors that track river inputs, and lots of video cameras.” Drivers who participate in the study agree to do so, and to drive with vehicles equipped with the tools we just mentioned.

How do these tools help us to figure out what causes most car accidents? As the article explains, in some of the vehicles equipped with the various forms of technology, the drivers get into accidents thus “leaving researchers with valuable data.” Such data can also be derived from highway cameras and from video recorders mounted to individual drivers’ dashboards. What does the data tell us about causes of traffic collisions?

Six Most Common Causes of Car Accidents

When we look at the data from the naturalistic driving studies discussed above, we learn that the following are the six most common reasons for motor vehicle crashes in the country:

• Making a rolling right turn on red: When a driver approaches a red light and knows she is planning to turn right, rather than coming to a complete stop, she rolls through the light and runs the risk of striking a pedestrian or a bicyclist;
• Falling asleep at the wheel: Many DuPage County drivers know that drowsy driving can lead to a dangerous car accident, and sleeping for fewer than seven hours can greatly increase your risk of falling asleep while you are driving;
• Losing control of the vehicle: This accounts for about 11 percent of all collisions in the naturalistic driving studies;
• Taking a turn or curve too quickly: It is important to slow down for curves in order to avoid a crash;
• Driving without looking: Around 12 percent of reported accidents occur when a driver runs a red light without paying attention to oncoming traffic or makes a left turn on a green yield without being able to see whether another vehicle is coming; and
• Rear-ending a vehicle: Rear-end crashes are common (accounting for anywhere from 23 to 30 percent of all collisions), and they often happen when drivers are following too closely and/or when drivers are distracted.

Contact a DuPage County Auto Accident Lawyer

The more you know about common car accident types, the more you can do to avoid them. If you were injured in a collision caused by a negligent driver, you should discuss your case with a passionate DuPage County car accident lawyer to learn more about filing a claim. Contact Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices today.

Source:

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2017/11/the_six_main_causes_of_car_crashes.html