A car crash is not a random event. In that sense, you could argue that it is not an “accident” at all. It is an event that has a clear root cause — or multiple causes — and that happens for a reason.
This is an important distinction to make. If you get hit by someone else, they may try to act like you’re both just a victim of bad luck. You’re not. If they caused that accident, luck had nothing to do with it. It’s their fault. With that in mind, here is the leading cause of car accidents:
Human error
That’s the reality that you’re facing every time you get on the road. Most accidents are just the result of human error. Even if you’re a flawless driver, all it takes is one other driver to make a mistake and hit your car.
Many people simply don’t realize why accidents happen. Say you get rear-ended while slowing down for a traffic jam. The other driver may act like you’ve both been victimized by the unexpected traffic jam. What bad luck, right?
Wrong. The real reason for the crash could be:
- That driver did not keep a proper following distance.
- That driver did not slow down in time to avoid a crash.
- That driver was distracted or simply not alert enough to see the other stopped cars in time.
- That driver was speeding or driving recklessly, meaning they had no chance of stopping when you both reached the traffic jam.
In other words, they caused the crash. Their actions were responsible for the wreck. They may not want to see it that way, but they could have corrected it — taking their eyes off of the phone, slowing down, creating a longer following distance, etc. — and prevented the crash. They did not, and so the responsibility for the wreck falls on them.
What can you do?
If you do get hit, you have legal options. You may be able to seek compensation for costs ranging from lost wages to medical bills.