Charlotte Rear-End Accident Prevention Involves Staying Focused on the Road

Rear-end accidents are the most common type of collisions in the United States, with the Washington Post reporting 1.7 million of them occur annually. In 87 percent of cases where rear-end accidents occur, a cause of the crash is the driver not paying attention to what he is doing. 

Drivers need to stay focused on the road. While the Washington Post indicates rear-end crashes caused by human error could be eliminated if all vehicles incorporated crash avoidance systems as standard features, this is not likely to happen any time soon. Collision avoidance systems, which brake for drivers or alert them if they are about to hit something, cost money and car manufacturers are thus unlikely to voluntarily offer them as a standard feature because this would raise prices.

While someday these systems could be mandated in vehicles just as other safety features like seat belts, this day is not likely to come anytime soon because of the burdensome federal rule-making process. Drivers should not wait for technology to save them, but instead should simply keep focused on the road. This will not only help prevent rear-end accidents but can reduce the chances of involvement in any type of dangerous collision.

To Avoid Rear-End Accidents, Stay Focused on the Road

Drivers who take their attention off the road do not notice what the driver is doing in front of them as quickly as they would if they had 100 percent of their mind dedicated to driving.  Even when a motorist who is distracted sees someone in the front vehicle is slowing or stopping, it takes longer for the motorist to react and hit the brakes than if the motorist was not splitting his attention on something other than driving. People are not very good at multi-tasking and when they are distracted (even by a hands-free phone), they have slower reaction times.

A rear-end accident happens when the rear car hits the rear of the car in the lead. A driver with a slower reaction time is more likely to strike the back of the car in front of him since it takes several seconds for a driver to actually decelerate or come to a stop after hitting the brakes. The stopping distance of a vehicle depends upon how fast the car was going and the condition of the roads. Trucks have a 50-percent longer stopping distance than passenger vehicles under the same conditions, so it is even more imperative they slow or stop quickly when the car in front of them reacts.

Drivers know the dangers of cell phones, but unfortunately many people are still distracted anyway. One new study from FSU revealed motorists can be distracted not just by talking on their phones but simply by hearing an alert or feeling the phone vibrate. Even if the motorist does not pick up the phone, hearing the alert can send his mind wandering and lead to a moment of inattention. Drivers should keep their phone turned off or on silent and away from them while in the car, so they cannot access it or begin to think about who is contacting them.  If every motorist paid more attention, rear-end accident rates would drop considerably.