Passenger vehicles are far safer than in the past, but accidents still cause far too many injuries and even deaths. Most accidents turn out to have been easily avoidable, with five factors contributing to the vast majority of all motor vehicle collisions. A quick look at these and some of the associated issues will reveal that roads everywhere could easily be a lot safer.

After becoming involved in a serious accident, it will always be best to seek out any required medical treatment. In many cases, visiting a website like vadnal.com to look into legal counsel and representation will be helpful, as well.

That such measures become necessary so often is an unfortunate fact of modern life. Most people like to think of themselves as safe, responsible drivers, but that simply cannot be true of everyone. With about 2.35 million people sustaining accident-induced injuries annually in the United States alone, there are clearly plenty of problematic drivers on the nation’s roads and highways.

Although safety features like airbags and seat belts make a definite difference, dangerous drivers combine with other issues to cause serious but avoidable injuries and even worse every year. The five factors that most often contribute to collisions between motor vehicles are:

  • Distraction

There are more ways to become distracted today than at any time in the past, and accident reports and statistics make that amply clear. From built-in “infotainment” screens to powerful smartphones, even drivers who try to pay attention to the road can easily find themselves becoming distracted. Unfortunately, many develop habits such that driving while distracted starts to seem like the norm. That can easily change in an instant, with a crash leaving one or more of those involved seriously injured.

  • Impairment

Drivers who consume alcohol or other mind-altering drugs before getting behind the wheel regularly rank among the most threatening. Downing even a few drinks quickly enough can leave a driver’s reaction times far higher than they would be when sober. Inebriated drivers also suffer from impaired judgment, which can lead to anything from extreme aggressiveness to the inability to assess the sizes of gaps. Drivers who take safety seriously always avoid taking control of vehicles while impaired.

  • Speeding

Most roads and highways are designed to safely accommodate vehicles that are traveling at speeds within a relatively narrow range. A single speeding driver can throw a wrench into the works and endanger everyone else in the process. Going with the flow of traffic is always the better bet, as traveling even a few miles per hour faster than most others can cause a dangerous chain reaction.

  • Recklessness

Some drivers stick mostly to posted speed limits but are reckless, nonetheless. Tailgating other vehicles or cutting them off can easily lead to serious accidents and does with regrettable frequency. Drivers who have a tendency to become upset behind the wheel can benefit everyone by learning to control their tempers.

  • Rain

Although icy roads might seem more treacherous, rain causes more accidents. Rain is more common and also seems less threatening to many drivers. Failing to recognize just how wet a road is, though, can easily lead to hydroplaning that causes a collision. Even though rain itself cannot always be avoided, drivers can individually lessen the likelihood that it will cause an accident.

What is perhaps striking about these five most common causes of accidents is how responsible drivers can always make them less of an issue. Whether that means doing a better job of staying calm behind the wheel or taking rain more seriously, just about every driver can become safer.