Thousands of people are involved in automobile accidents every year in the Chico, Oroville, Marysville, and Yuba City areas. Almost every one of these accident could have avoided if a driver had exercised some common sense and/or used more caution. That is, in almost every automobile accident, negligent operation of motor vehicle is involved.

I have personally represented thousands of people injured in automobile accidents due to some other driver making a mistake that could have been avoided. Unfortunately, as an accident attorney in the Chico and Yuba City areas, I have seen injuries ranging from a sore neck to paralysis, to death. Clearly, the consequences of causing an automobile accident can be severe and life-altering. The following suggestions are given to help the reader avoid becoming a statistic when it comes to automobile accidents and injuries.

Before You Even Leave The Parking Spot:

1. Maintain a safe car by keeping the tires inflated per manufacturers instructions and checking the tread periodically. Have the brakes checked regularly and, of course, have them adjusted or repaired as needed. Be sure all the lights are working and keep the wiper blades in good working order.

2. Always buckle your seatbelt before you put the car in gear and drive off. Research proves that a majority of accidents occur near the driver’s home.

3. Level your head rest with the middle of your ear. This will help to minimize neck injuries in accidents.

4. Transport heavy objects in the trunk of your car. Heavy objects in the passenger compartment could easily fly through the air and strike the driver or passenger as a result of the forces generated even in a relatively minor automobile accident.

Safety Tips While On The Road:

1. Pay Attention. It sounds overly simple, but many accidents in and around Chico, Oroville, Yuba City, and Marysville occur because drivers are not paying attention! Drivers get distracted by talking on their hand-held cell phones, fiddling with the radio, eating, or leaning over to pick something up. A car is not a restaurant, phone booth or office. Drivers should force themselves to avoid distractions by remembering their life and the lives of others can be drastically altered in the split-second it takes to be involved in an accident.

2. Following Too Close. Most rear-end accidents are caused by tailgating. Maintain at least a two second buffer between you and the car in front. In hazardous weather conditions, the buffer should be increased to 3 or 4 seconds. Nearly all the rear-end accidents I handle in and around Chico, Oroville, Yuba City, and Marysville could have been avoided if people just gave themselves an adequate buffer.

3. Intersection Errors. Intersection car wrecks make up approximately 23 percent of all fatal crashes. Look around carefully and always proceed with caution into an intersection, even if you have the right of way.

4. Scan Ahead. Don’t just watch the car in front of you, but watch the traffic in front of that car as well. This increases your chance of seeing a problem before it happens, such as a sudden stop ahead.

5. Blind Spots. Don’t just rely on your mirrors. Actually turn your head to take a quick look before changing lanes. Always consider your blind spots and the blind spots for other driver, especially truckers. Minimize the amount of time you spend in others’ blind spots.

6. Overcorrecting. Don’t radically swerve to miss something in the road like small debris or rubber from truck tires. In most cases, the consequences are far less severe to simply hit the object rather than swerving at a high rate of speed.

7. Turning Left on a Yellow Light. When the light is turns yellow, vehicles going straight from the opposite direction try to beat the light. If the person waiting to turn left at the intersection begins to turn at the yellow light, it can be a fatal mistake. I have seen many instances where the turning driver turns on the assumption that the car going straight is going to stop. That is a risk you should not take.

None of the above tips are surefire ways to prevent a car accident. You can only control what you do behind the wheel, not what your fellow drivers do. But take responsibility when you drive and focus on the task at hand.

Author Bio: Learn the secrets to maximizing your injury claim at injury lawyer Chico

Category: Self Help
Keywords: injury lawyers, car accident, injury lawyer chico, accident