Tips on How to Avoid Common Car Accidents and Prevent Injuries

No one leaving their houses or driving from one place to the other prays for an accident. But accidents, most especially car accidents, happen a lot. Car accidents are common unforeseen driving mishaps that can happen to the best car drivers in the world.
When car accidents happen, most people either survive it without any injury, survive it with lifetime injuries, or don’t survive it all. Whatever category one falls into is dependent on the steps you take when accidents happen.
To help you be on the safe side of driving, read on to learn about the different types of common car accidents, how to avoid car mishaps, and how to battle them without any injury.

What are the Common Car Accidents that Happen?

1. Rear-end collision
   This type of car accident occurs when the driver at the back hits the one in front. This type of accident can be caused by the following: panic stops, tailgating, distractions, overspeeding, poor weather conditions, and a faulty braking system.
2. Head-on collision
   This type of accident occurs when the front ends of two vehicles facing themselves collide. Head-on collision accidents are caused by bad weather conditions, drunk or stoned drivers, overtaking, distractions, overspeeding, and ignoring traffic signals.
3. Intersections crashes
   Due to the vehicular busyness of intersections, two or more vehicles can easily crash if care is not taken and if one of them makes a driving mistake. Reasons why a driver can make a mistake include missed traffic signs, parked cars blocking the driver’s view, illegal maneuvering, misjudgment of other cars’ speed and distance, and of course, distraction.
4. Vehicle rollover
   This kind of accident happens when a driver loses a grip of the car, and the car hits something, thereby causing the car to flip over or roll sideways. Causes of rollover include high speeding, faulty cars, and bad tires.

How to Avoid Getting Into a Car Accident?

One of the key ways to avoid car accidents is to avoid getting into one completely. While that might sound far-fetched and ludicrous to read, you can avoid car crashes if you follow these tips mentioned below religiously.

Watch out for animals and kids
It is often common to see children and random animals pop out from anywhere into the road right in front of your moving car!
If you are driving fast without putting these two probabilities into consideration, you will find yourself in a car crash. But if you are on the lookout for kids and animals who cross the road without looking well, you will drive with caution and ultimately avoid getting into a road mishap.

Wear your seatbelt at all times
A lot of drivers overlook the importance of seat belts and neglect them while driving. Seat belts are very important as they can be the only thing that saves your life during a tragic accident.

The seat belt is important as it helps in the following ways:

1. It keeps you from being thrown out through the windscreen during an accident.
2. It helps to activate the airbags during an impact.
3. It helps to reduce the risk of fatal injuries and death.

Keep your car in good shape
Keeping your car in good shape is another way that you can avoid getting into an accident. When your car is in shape, this means that everything in your car is sound and in perfect shape. When you keep your car maintained regularly, it helps to mitigate the chances of your car getting out of hand when you are driving.

Be focused on your driving
Driving with an unfocused mind will get you into a lot of trouble, as distracted drivers miss things like changing traffic signals, other drivers, their turns, their lanes, etc.
Hence, this is why you must ensure the following when driving:

1. Your eyes and mind are on the road.
2. You are not texting or calling with your hands.
3. That you are not under the influence of any substance

Stay away from fast lanes
Fast lanes are common spots for accidents, and the best way to avoid getting caught up in the high-speed menace that many fast lane drivers do is to stay in a different lane altogether.

Keep both hands on the steering
Lazy driving with one or no hand on the steering is a sure cause of car crashes. This is why it is advisable to use both hands while driving. Also, note that there is a proper way to keep your hands on the steering, and it is known as the 9 o’clock and the 3 o’clock positions.

How to Battle These Common Car Accidents and Prevent Injuries?

In the preceding sub-head, we talked about what you can do if you want to avoid getting into an accident in the first place. Now, in this sub-head, we will be sharing what to do in the event you find yourself in a car incident.
As early stated, no one deliberately plans to get into a car mishap on the road. But when you are in a scenario where it happens out of nowhere, you should know what to do.
Do you just throw up your hands in defeat and accept whatever happens? No, you shouldn’t, and this is why mentioned below are some ways by which you can battle road collisions and prevent incurring any injury.

1. Reduce your speed rate.
   Should you see yourself in an incoming collision with another driver, do your best to reduce your speed. There is no possibility that the driver of the oncoming vehicle would be calm enough to slow down. Hence the onus is on you to be the logical person and slow down your vehicle.
   When you do this, regardless of the speed rate of the other driver, you get to reduce the impact of the collision and save yourself from the effects of a full-blown head-on collision.
2. Remain in control of your vehicle
   Regardless of what sort of collision or accident you are in, try not to lose total control of your car. Easier said than done, you might argue. But think about it, you have been hit, and things are spiraling down south, is throwing caution to the wind and letting go of the control of your car the best option?
   Definitely no! The best option for you at that point is to remain calm and in control of the wheels. By doing this, you will be able to easily control your car’s movement and mitigate your chances of getting badly injured.
3. Don’t make any sudden movement.
   It is important to make calculated moves during an accident, not just any movement that comes to mind. Of course, it is understandable that many drivers perform reflex actions such as slamming their foot on the brakes, jerking the steering, and other sudden and dangerous movements during a car collision.
   When you make any sudden move based on your reflexes, there is a high possibility that you will lose control of the car and get into more serious issues.
4. Maintain your driving position
   Commonly, the effect of the accident might cause you to either duck, hunch, or get into any abnormal driving position. You would be wrong to do that, as any of these postures can get you easily injured or fatally injured.
   Hence, maintaining your normal driving posture, i.e., sitting straight and upright in your car seat, is a sure way to protect yourself from getting unnecessarily injured.
5. Drive off the road
   The last thing that you want during a car crash is for you to get hit again by another vehicle. This is possible because staying in that accident spot can make you the target of an unsuspecting reckless, fast, and furious driver.
   For this reason, it is advised that drivers involved in a car accident find a way to move their cars out of traffic to avoid multiple secondary hits.
6. Don’t lean forward
   When you find yourself in a car crash, endeavor to keep your head against the headrest. Refrain from trying to lean forward, as this simple action can cause injuries should the airbags get deployed due to the accident.
7. Aim for least dangerous objects
   When you have found yourself in a position where you know that an accident is inevitable, you must swerve rather than go head-on with the oncoming vehicle.
   Swerving and steering your vehicle from the vehicle in front of you towards the bush or other less dangerous areas can help you reduce the gravity of damage that might have occurred should you face the oncoming vehicle head-on.

Car accidents happen in the blink of an eye. While this statement is true to a large extent, it is also true to state that car mishaps can be avoided.
Avoiding a car collision doesn’t require supernatural support from Superman or any other superhero, but following the steps mentioned above will help you mitigate any chances of getting into a car crash.
In a case where you couldn’t avoid the accident, listed above are ways through which you can battle the accidents and mitigate the risk of getting injured in the accident.