As someone who is on the road regularly, one of the things you have to think about is how to protect yourself against collisions. Rear-end collisions are extremely common, and they can be caused by a few different actions.
Rear-end crashes are normally caused by:
- Drivers who aren’t paying attention.
- Drivers who are looking away from the road ahead of them.
- Medical emergencies.
- Brake issues.
- Drunk drivers.
- Speeding and tailgating.
While not all of these actions are in your control, there are some things you can do to protect yourself against an accident.
Steps you can take to avoid a rear-end collision
There are several important things you can do to avoid rear-end collisions. Some tips to remember include:
- Not slamming on your brakes or stopping suddenly.
- Slowing down and allowing people to pass if they’re tailgating you.
- Not speeding.
- Avoiding pulling into lanes in front of other drivers. Always give them enough space and time to slow down or stop.
If you see someone who is driving dangerously close to you, you have some options. The first thing you can do is turn on your hazard lights and slow down to allow them to pass you.
If that doesn’t work, you could wave or signal for them to go around you when it’s safe to do so.
Third, you could pull over and let them pass instead of allowing them to stay behind you.
Finally, if none of these things work, you can consider calling 911 and reporting the dangerous driver. If they’re showing signs of road rage or are acting oddly behind you, let the 911 operator know, so they can send a police officer out to find you. You’ll need to know your general location and, if possible, your license plate number as well as information about the vehicle behind you.
If you get into a car crash, remember that you can look into making a claim against the other driver. They chose to act the way they did, so they should be held accountable if they cause a collision because of the way they were driving.
