Most people rely on cars and driving to get where they need to go every day, from home to school, to the office, to the stores, back home, and everywhere in between. Despite everyone needing to take driver education courses to get their license and on the road, many people (often immediately) forget the basics of safe driving and put themselves and others at risk for collisions, accidents, and injuries. Usually, Denver car accidents are the result of driver negligence that can easily be avoided if they remember their basic training and think about how their driving actions will affect themselves and others down the road.
Listed below are the 5 most common negligent driving acts that cause Denver car accidents.
- Speeding: Whenever someone is running a little behind their schedule, they speed up on the roads to make up for lost time. The faster you go, however, the longer it takes to come to a complete stop – and if there is any obstacle in the road, a red light, or a car pulls out in front of you, stopping in time likely won’t happen.
- Tailgating: This one often goes hand-in-hand with speeding as people who are in a rush, or think that everyone else is going too slow, will drive too close bumper-to-bumper with the car(s) ahead in an effort to intimidate them to pull off to the side of the road, or switch lanes.
- Lane changing/weaving: Another fan favorite that often pairs well with speeding. By aggressively changing lanes, you increase the risk of needing to slam on your brakes to avoid a rear-end collision, or you heighten the risk of sideswiping another vehicle, or motorcycle.
- Distracted driving: This negligent driving act is bad on its own, and worse when paired with any other. The obvious reason is people texting their phones, posting to Instagram or Twitter, or checking emails while away from the office. However, another common example is a parent who turns around to speak to (or scold) their child and doesn’t see a car accident waiting to happen in front of them.
- Failure to maintain your vehicle: Have your brakes been squeaking for some time and you haven’t brought your car to the mechanic? This could cause you to fail to stop at a red light, stop sign, yield sign, or when you absolutely need to in order to avoid a collision.
Have you done any of these? If so, you may want to think twice the next time you drive and try to work on avoiding them, otherwise, you may find yourself in a crash and need a Denver car accident lawyer to help you out.
If you or a loved one has been in an accident, call our offices immediately to discuss the details of your case and we can begin to strategize the next steps. We can look into if the driver was guilty of any of the above negligent acts and help you collect the financial compensation you deserve.