Common Car Accident Causes in Prince George’s County

Car accidents in Prince George’s County are caused by many things. The causes of car accidents can be malicious or they can be a genuine moment of inattention that led to inadvertent damage. Regardless of the reason someone causes a car accident, it is always important to remember that they should be held responsible for their negligence. Any person who has suffered an injury as a result of someone else’s lack of care on the road should seek out an experienced car accident lawyer in PG County as soon as they can.

General Inattention

In this day and age, inattentive driving can be caused by illegal use of a handheld phone or texting while driving. Both of these are violations of the motor vehicle laws of Prince George’s County. The use of telephones for purposes of talking on the phone, texting, or social media has become a larger percentage of the cause of accidents since the advent of the technology. In PG County, it is illegal to text while driving and it is illegal to use a handheld telephone, although a person can use hands free and speak on the phone.

Drinking and Driving

One major cause of car accidents in Prince George’s County results from people drinking and driving. That is a clear violation of traffic laws in Prince George’s County. Anyone who blows over a 0.08 blood alcohol concentration is in violation of the motor vehicle laws of driving after drinking and reaching the legal limit of intoxication, of being under the influence of alcohol and intoxicated.

Drinking and driving cause very serious accidents because the driver who was drinking loses reaction time and their abilities to react, drive properly, stay within their lane, and stop in time to avoid an accident. These drivers cause very serious accidents because of their impairment.

Speeding

Another cause of accidents is speeding. Traveling in excess of the posted speed limit means that the speeding driver is cutting through traffic, driving too fast for the conditions of the roadway, and causes very serious accidents due to speed. Weather can have an effect on people’s driving. Extra caution must be taken when it’s raining, particularly in snowy and icy conditions. It takes extra reasonable caution and care to operate a motor vehicle so as not to cause an accident. Other violations of Prince George’s County motor vehicle laws include running red lights and stop signs. A driver must adhere to the traffic control devices while driving and violations lead to one of the many causes of car accidents.

Driving at Night in Montgomery County

While driving at night, the visibility is not as good, which can lead to greater instances of car accidents in PG County. This is a visibility issue. It’s also a fact that when it is late at night, people are tired and can fall asleep at the wheel leading to accidents.

Failure to Follow Rules or Signs

Other causes of car accidents include unsafe lane changes where people cut off the right of way of other motorists by changing lanes unsafely, by not looking, not signaling, and trying to cut in front of other drivers. Drivers not paying attention to one-way streets sometimes enter and travel the wrong direction on a one-way street. This can cause serious car accidents of a head-on nature. Another cause of accidents is when a motorist makes an improper turn, doesn’t yield the right of way to oncoming traffic, and either cuts off the flow of traffic or strikes a vehicle that has the right of way.

Tailgating

Tailgating can also cause motor vehicle accidents. Tailgating occurs when a car is driving too closely to the vehicle in front and does not leave the proper distance. The rule of thumb is that a driver should leave a car length for every ten miles per hour in speed that he or she is traveling. When the driver doesn’t leave enough space in front to react to the traffic conditions ahead and allow enough stopping distance, an accident can occur.

After a Prince George’s County Accident

Someone involved in an accident should check their physical and mental condition immediately after the accident and assess to what degree they’ve been injured as a result of the accident. A person can be stunned, dazed, or in shock depending upon the seriousness of the accident. If their condition warrants and they can contact emergency medical services, they should do so in order to get the medical attention they need. If they are not able to contact emergency medical services, presumably someone else on the scene will make the call. Those injured in the accident should follow the instructions of the emergency medical personnel who arrive on the scene.

Seek Medical Attention

Depending upon the nature of their condition, a driver involved in a motor vehicle accident should first check the condition of any other motorists involved in the accident to see if they need any medical attention. They should document the positioning of the vehicles, if they can, by taking photographs. They should call the police to the scene to investigate the accident and document the positioning of the vehicles, take statements from the parties involved including witnesses, and document how the accident happened as best as possible. Depending on the seriousness of the accident, the police are in a position to call their accident reconstruction investigators who can investigate and document skid marks, debris, the debris field from the accident, and conduct a more intensive investigation. Depending upon the condition of the parties and whether medical attention is needed on the scene, the drivers should exchange contact information.

Exchanging Contact Information

By exchanging information, the person is able to contact the other driver and their insurance company after leaving the scene. Anyone involved in a Prince George’s County car accident should document in writing everything that happened shortly after the accident so that they can maintain a clear memory of events as they occurred and when they occurred. Once the person leaves the scene of the accident and seeks immediate medical attention if needed, they should contact an attorney to be advised of how best to proceed before speaking to any insurance company or anyone else about the accident. They should at least get advice from an attorney to know their rights and responsibilities.