It often appears that accidents happen because of a major mistake. Someone runs a red light or merges into a vehicle in a neighboring lane. While that may be the final piece of the puzzle, the reality is that people make a multitude of smaller driving mistakes all the time, and these can contribute to accidents as well. You may even have made some of these driving mistakes today.
For instance, it is very common for people who share cars with a spouse or a roommate to neglect to adjust the mirrors before they drive. They just get in and pull out of the driveway, ready to get to their destination. However, failing to adjust the mirrors can create new blind spots, which can then lead to accidents while backing up or merging. Two seconds to make the adjustment to your mirrors can prevent a crash.
Another common driving mistake is speeding up to make it through a yellow light. Drivers often don’t want to slam on their brakes — or simply don’t want to wait at the light — so they break the speed limit in an attempt to make it through before the light turns red. This leads to accidents when the drivers ahead of them hit their brakes to actually stop for the light and get rear-ended. Or, the driver speeding through the yellow light may not quite make it before the light turns red and end up in an accident with cross traffic.
On the road, things happen quickly. One tiny mistake can suddenly lead to complete chaos and a devastating accident. When someone else causes a car accident and leaves you with high medical bills and serious injuries, you need to know how to seek financial compensation for your losses.