Getting into a motor vehicle accident is a fear that lives inside many of us. We do our best to be safe, conscientious drivers who obey the rules of the road and do our best to be as safe as possible when driving. But not everyone is careful when driving a motor vehicle. In fact, too many people are reckless and destructive because of choices they make while on the road. When you are the victim of a car accident caused by reckless or dangerous driving, contacting a car accident attorney should be one of your first steps. A car accident attorney can help to determine fault and get you the compensation that you are owed.
Many preventable motor vehicle accidents are caused by distracted driving. Distracted driving’s main culprit is the cellphone, be it actually taking a phone call or texting. Distracted driving means that the driver’s focus is not on the road, leading to accidents that cause property damage, injuries, and even fatalities. Fortunately, however, the number of distracted drivers, while still too high, is decreasing. It dropped to 3.3% in 2016 from 3.8% just the year before, in 2015. If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident caused by distracted driving, a car accident attorney can help you to navigate the legal process. Fortunately, the majority of personal injury attorneys are able to settle their cases outside of the courtroom. In fact, only about 5% of personal injury cases ever go to trial.
Distracted driving isn’t the only cause of avoidable motor vehicle accidents, unfortunately. Drunk driving and driving under other forms of intoxication remains a huge problem in the United States. In 2015 alone, over one million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence, and even more are never pulled over and caught. And this leads to serious consequences: drugs outside of alcohol account for over 15% of all motor vehicle accidents. When you factor back in alcohol, that percentage rises even more.
Car accidents are unfortunately all too common, resulting in almost 40,000 deaths every year, according to The Association for Safe International Road Travel. Young adults between the ages of 15 and 44 account for half of all these deaths around the world, and many motor vehicle accidents deaths could have been prevented. If you were a victim of a motor vehicle accident for which you were not at fault, a car accident attorney can help. They can walk you through legal proceedings and provide valuable information, helping you to get what you should be compensated so you can begin to rebuild your life.
