Car accidents often cause severe damages to the lives of anyone involved. Unfortunately enough, you might be doing everything right but still be in an accident. The only surefire way to avoid being in a road accident is to never be on the road.
However, that is unrealistic and not an option. What’s practical is being aware of the reasons for road accidents and being extra careful to avoid any such situations.
We are discussing the major reasons for car accidents, especially in Alberta, in this article. After all this, you should be able to keep an eye out for these possibilities and know what you could do to avoid getting in an accident or being severely injured.
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Top 6 Reasons for Car Accidents in Alberta
An accident is entirely a coincidental event. Accidents happen when they are meant to happen. However, it isn’t really hard to be safe.
Following are some of the underlying reasons for accidents that you can look out for and do your best proactively to avoid being in such a situation or being injured:
Inexperienced Drivers
Everyone goes through this phase. Enjoying the newfound freedom of the open road immediately after learning the basics of driving is common practice. However, this is a situation where drivers should be extra careful.
Otherwise, they could be endangering the safety, well-being, and lives of others. Regardless of how good they’ve already become, a new and inexperienced driver can often make a wrong move in the heat of the moment. Novice drivers would not be able to handle what an expert driver could.
According to statistics by the Alberta Ministry of Transportation, among all drivers in fatal collisions accompanied by the highest rate of accident casualties in 2015, young drivers take up the major portion.
Of all the accidents in 2015, a whopping 86.4% were caused by one or more drivers making an error in driving.
The truth is, new and inexperienced drivers will always be present on the roads. What everyone else needs to do is protect themselves from these drivers. For starters, the young drivers should always be given a wide berth on the road.
You can easily spot an inexperienced driver on the road. They give their lack of experience with their driving behavior which is quite evident.
That said, all other drivers should do is maintain a safe distance as soon as one such driver is spotted, drive defensively, and be prepared for any driving mistake from the driving seat of such a vehicle.
Speeding
This is possibly the most obvious reason for car accidents on any possible road. Everyone is repeatedly reminded of the risks of speeding. However, people will always disregard such warnings and driveway over the posted speed limits.
The 2015 Alberta car accident statistics show that speeding has caused 25% of fatal car accidents.
Speeders can be seen as volatile elements on the road. When sharing a lane or road with a speeder, you need to maintain more caution than usual and keep track of the surroundings to calmly and tactfully react to negligent and irrational driving behavior.
Trying to explain their negligent driving behavior would be futile since they would not really take that into account. The smart thing to do would be to stay out of their way as much as possible. If you think they are speeding and it’s getting out of hand since they might crash into and severely injure someone, simply pull over to safety and inform the police.
However, maintain your speed while reacting to such drivers since you might be making things risky for others and yourself going over the speeding limits while making such maneuvers.
Keep in mind that it’s better to be safe than sorry, and it’s definitely better to arrive late than get in a crash.
Distracted Driving
Nowadays, everyone has phones and other gadgets keeping them occupied throughout the day. Using a gadget might not be a healthy habit, but it’s safe until you do it behind the driving wheel. Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents in Alberta.
Distracted driving could mean simply splitting attention between driving on the road and any other activity or object such as music, food, mobile phones, GPS, conversations, or any other form of distraction for that matter. Like other reasons for car accidents, distracted driving can have consequences just as severe and deadly.
According to statistics, distracted driving has been causing more accidents than impaired driving has caused in Canada. It’s every driver’s civil duty to avoid any common distraction to keep the roads and themselves safe.
To avoid such distractions, maintain the best practices (avoid touching or using your phone while in motion, avoid eating or multitasking, keep your music reasonably audible, etc.).
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Wildlife Crossing
Alberta is blessed with the natural beauty of beautiful forests and wild animals. Unfortunately, this province has seen many accidents caused by wild animals suddenly appearing on the roads.
According to IIHS HLDI, In 2020, 66% of the total car accidents happened due to collisions with an animal. This is frankly an alarming rate. Animals appearing on the road is a sudden and random event. Also, there’s no telling, anticipating, or forecasting for this kind of situation.
To avoid any collisions or accidents involving these animals, it’s entirely vital to keep calm in situations like this. If you panic and swerve, it’s almost guaranteed that you will end up injuring yourself or the animal and damage your vehicle.
You might injure someone else on the road too. No matter how much we love animals, saving yourself, your family, and any other vehicles or people in the streets is way more important.
You would actually have to hit or run an animal over to protect yourself and others if it comes to that. It might seem a cruel thing to do, but unfortunately, this is the only feasible harm reduction technique.
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Machinery Error
It is possible to reduce the probability of accidents based on by equipment damage by performing regular maintenance on important car parts including the brakes, steering, tires, and suspension.
Weather Factors
Drivers may stay safe by responding to the weather, except in the worst-case scenarios. They can achieve this by driving more slowly and giving other cars more room. Drivers should pull over in situations of extremely unsafe conditions until the situation becomes better.
FAQs:
What Happens If You Don’t Report a Car Accident in Alberta?
If you don’t report a car accident in Alberta, you might face a fine or jail. If the damage exceeds $2000 and the vehicle is driveable, you have 24 hours to report the accident to the local police station.
How Long Do You Have to Report an Accident?
You’ll get 24 hours to report an accident after to your nearest police station. Failure to do so may result in a fine or penalty.
What is the Insurance Statute of Limitations in Alberta for Car Accident Reports?
In Alberta, you’ll have a certain time limit to report your case to the insurer, depending on the details of your car insurance. In general, you’ll have 30 days to report the case.
Do I Have to Report Accidents That Happen in a Parking Lot?
Yes, you have to report accidents that happen in a parking lot. It will fall under hit-and-run laws, and thus you should immediately report the accident to the police and insurance. It’s the same after an accident occurred on a public highway.
Closing Words
Knowing the reasons for car accidents in Alberta might help increase awareness, but the risk of accidents remains. We are only human and can’t avoid the inevitable.
However, maintaining safe practices is everyone’s civic duty. Drive safe, keep yourself and others safe and be proactively aware of your surroundings while driving.
