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How can you avoid the most dangerous types of collisions?

Pileups, head-ons, and rollovers are the three most dangerous types of collisions. Learn how to avoid them if possible.

You can’t control what happens to you in life. You don’t have any guarantees, just like everyone else.

But, you can minimize your risks and maximize your safety.

And that’s what you have to do when you’re on the road. You can’t control whether the other driver gets drunk or high, or both, before driving.

But you can, for example, avoid driving late at night or early in the morning on Friday or Saturday when someone’s most likely to drive drunk or high.

So, take a minute to learn about these dangerous types of traffic collisions, and what you can do to minimize your chance of involvement in each:

1. Pileups

Weather is one of the leading causes of pileups. Snow, fog, ice, or rain send one driver skidding, and a chain reaction happens.

Since these happen on multi-lane highways, you can avoid them by taking a non-highway route to work, taking the day off work, or working from home.

For best results, work with your boss to create your contingency plan for days when driving conditions become too dangerous for your liking.

Fatalities and catastrophic injuries happen frequently in pileups. So, you’re wise to minimize your risk when conditions get ripe for pileup accidents to happen.

2. Head-On Collisions

These accidents happen most often when at least one of the two vehicles involved is driving at a high speed.

Head-on collisions typically don’t happen at lower speeds.

They have a variety of causes, including distractions, fatigue, severe weather conditions, intoxication, and ignoring stop signs or traffic lights.

What do you do if you notice another driver swerving into your lane, risking a head-on collision?

This:

  • Slowly take your foot off the gas and press your brakes
  • Flash your headlights and blast your horn
  • Ease over onto the shoulder of the road
  • Have the willingness to drive off the road and into the ditch, if necessary

3. Rollovers

These accidents happen because the other driver loses control of their vehicle. They could lose control because they’re fatigued, drunk, high, distracted, or engaging in a risky driving maneuver.

To avoid rollovers caused by other drivers:

  • Give yourself plenty of room between your car and the other driver. This means staying away from the center line and following at a distance of at least one car length for every 10 miles of speed.
  • Remaining alert for other drivers losing control or engaging in risky driving maneuvers.
  • Watching for other drivers dodging debris in the road.

Rollovers also frequently happen during hazardous weather conditions. You know your local weather and how other drivers will likely react.

Keep yourself on high alert and slow down even more than normal during severe weather.

You can’t prevent all car accidents from happening to you. But with these tips, you can certainly minimize your risk of a major car accident and severe injury.

Suggested Reading

Tactics insurance companies use to reduce or deny claims

Determining fault in 3 different types of collisions

What you need to know about accidents in the United States

How can you avoid the most dangerous types of collisions?

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