When you think of coming home, you think of coming to a safe place. However, you can’t always get home safely. A large percentage of car accidents occur close to home. If this happens to you, you can best protect yourself by retaining experienced Utah auto accident lawyers.
There are a lot of reasons that lead to auto accidents. Either you or the other driver might be distracted, on their phone, under the influence, or even just tired. Any of these factors can affect how quickly one is able to react while they are driving.
Most people prefer to stay close to home. As such, it should come as no surprise that fifty-two percent of car accidents occur within a five-mile radius of the home. Sixty-nine percent take place inside a ten-mile radius. Too many of these occur when someone is headed to or from the grocery store or home improvement store. Others come from those who are either in a hurry to get to work or a hurry to get home.
As you get closer to your home, you tend to start to become more relaxed and let your guard down. You might not be paying attention as you should. You are in a comfort zone that feels safe. Ironically, close to home is where the greatest danger of getting into an accident resides.
After The Accident
If you are in a car accident, it is important to remember what to do immediately following the accident. It is also important to remember that not all injuries suffered in a car accident are immediately apparent.
Remember that at this stage, it is a sharing of personal information. Do not make any comments or statements at this time to others involved in the accident.
Here is what you need to do when you have just been in a car accident.
- Pull over and stop your car.
- Assess who is injured in the accident beginning with yourself.
- Call 911 and tell them you have been in an accident, where you are, and what kind of injuries there are among those involved.
- Exchange information, including drivers license, insurance, and contact information.
- Take pictures of the damage to your vehicle and the other vehicles involved.
- Take note of any factors that may have contributed to the accident.
- Contact your insurance company to file a claim.
- Obtain a copy of the police report. See a doctor to be assessed for any injuries that might not be immediately apparent.
- Contact a car accident lawyer.
Remember that your first priority absolutely needs to be the health of you and your passengers.
Accidents Close To Home
Statistics in various studies over the years have shown that a high percentage of car accidents occur when you are close to home. You need to remember that just because you are close to home, that you are still driving. With the results of these studies, it might be wise to try to be more vigilant when you are driving close to home instead of being more relaxed.
Fortunately, being close to home also means slower speeds in residential areas. Because of this, the level of fatalities in most close to home accidents are far less than the ones on both urban and rural streets and highways. Most of these close to home accidents are minor in nature.
An Esurance study on car accidents confirmed that most accidents do happen closer to home. Just because you are familiar with the roads near your home does not mean that other people are. Many of these close to home accidents involve unexpected actions by other drivers.
When you are driving, it is best to always wear your seatbelt, stay off the phone, keep in-vehicle distractions such as radio, kids, and pets to a minimum. Don’t drive if you haven’t had enough sleep or are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If you are sick, you should do your best to let others do the driving because you can be distracted by both how you feel and any medication you might have taken for it.
Car accidents can happen at any time and anywhere. If you are behind the wheel of a car or truck, you need to be aware of the actions of others at all times. You also need to take stock of your own situation and assess whether it is conducive to driving safely. Always try to be more aware of other drivers in your own neighborhoods and keep that seatbelt on no matter how short your drive might be.
