99% of Fatal Auto Collisions Are Preventable

Drive safe. It’s a familiar saying. Car accidents rack up a lot of costs, either monetary or emotional.  Too often, it costs lives, too.

What leads to crashes? In an interview with Bethesda Magazine, Detective Cpl. David Cohen said, “…in 99.9 percent of our cases, the fatal collision could have been prevented if someone had just done something differently.” To consider them accidents, according to the Detective, is to suggest there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it. We can always take precautions to protect our own lives and property, and those of our neighbors.

When a fatal crash occurs, county collision detectives get involved.  It is their task to study the scene of the collision and analyze the factors that went into it. With calculations, simulation, and long hours, detectives gain an understanding of the crash and determine who was at fault, and if that fault is of a criminal nature. Often, investigations do not end with criminal charges being pressed, but not for the reason you might think. In about 60% of the investigated collisions, the perpetrator died in the crash.

Intoxication is a common factor in crashes, especially lethal ones, with annual rates of collisions involving teens driving under the influence being especially concerning. For some years, efforts to halt this trend worked, but there has been a recent resurgence of teen drinking and driving. If you have driving teens in your family, or even kids that take rides with driving peers, do not put off discussions about intoxicated driving. A passenger of a drunk driver is still at a severe risk, even if they are not behind the wheel. Do your best to keep your children informed and safe, and instilled with the sense to make the right choices.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a vehicular collision, be it as a driver, bicyclist, or pedestrian; please contact us for a free consultation. We can all do our part to make our roads safer for everyone, so always remember to drive safe out there.