There are many reasons why motor vehicle accidents occur. Here we analyse the top 5 causes of motor vehicle accidents to reduce deaths and injuries.
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
Although authorities have taken extreme measures to help reduce the amount of people driving under the influence of alcohol, this is still a leading cause of motor vehicle accidents across Australia. Alcohol consumption affects your ability to focus and make rational decisions which is dangerous for you, other drivers, and pedestrians. Here are some tips for precautionary measures:
- Drink within the legal limit
- Nominate a person to be the designated driver
- Try to carpool and use services like Uber
- Avoid getting into a car with an intoxicated driver
- Mobile phone use
Mobile phones provide the most useful tools in our daily lives, but they can be the biggest distractions. This causes a growing number of motor vehicle accidents. The more time we look at the phone on the road, the more information we miss including vehicles, pedestrians, and road signs. The only useful advice we can give is to not use the mobile phone while operating a vehicle at the same time.
- Speeding
Speed limits are carefully enforced and vary depending on the road conditions. These include road type, pedestrian activity and surrounding infrastructure differentiating between 40 km/h zones and 100 km/h zones. By ignoring speed limits, drivers put themselves and everyone else in danger. The more a car speeds, the less time to evaluate the road conditions for drivers. Our advice is simple, please stay within the speed limits and the chances of car accidents are minimised.
- Weather conditions
Fortunately, Australia has good weather for most of the year. Sometimes however, when it rains, it really rains. Poor weather impairs a driver’s vision causing less time to react. In harsh weather conditions, we recommend slowing down less than the speed limit, say about 20% less. Also, if you are not in a hurry, park somewhere safe and wait until the weather conditions improve.
- Fatigue
Driver fatigue remains a high concern for road users today. Micro-sleeps mainly occur at night and if any point, as a driver, you are feeling sleepy or drowsy, it is safe to “Stop. Revive. Survive”. Micro-sleeps are episodes of light sleep that can last only seconds involuntarily. Our advice is that it is always safe pull over and rest to prevent fatal accidents.
At Alliance Compensation and Litigation Lawyers, we helped many people who have been victims involved in motor vehicle accidents. Contact our office on how you can claim compensation regardless of the circumstances of the accident.
What you need to know about hit and run car accidents
When it comes to hit-and-run motor accidents, some people think that you cannot claim for compensation, because you cannot identify the driver at fault. This is incorrect, if you’ve been injured in any way, you have a legal right to make a claim. You shouldn’t be left to deal with your medical bills, loss of income or any suffering because of the motor vehicle accident.
Who do you sue? You can sue against the Nominal Defendant. All insurers in New South Wales are required to be part of the Nominal Defendant scheme. So, a compensation case can be made even if the driver at fault cannot be identified.
You still need to attend to your obligations just as you would against a real driver such as reporting the accident to the police, inquiring witness, and contacting your motor vehicle accident lawyer.
You also need to satisfy a due search and enquiry. This means that you must undertake a genuine “due search and enquiry” to identify the driver at fault. Some actions that will satisfy this requirement include putting an ad in the newspaper, radio station, liaise with the police station and any other means of investigation. Consulting a lawyer will vastly benefit you at this stage.
The compensation entitled will be largely the same with or without a driver at fault including medical expenses, loss of income and pain and suffering. Make sure you also keep track of all medical records and receipts, including travel expenses to get to and from your medical appointments. Proof of income, sick leave forms, a letter from your employer, and records from your accountant will also be required as evidence of loss of income.
Finally, if the hit and run results in death, a family member or relative of the victim can make the claim and will be entitled to receive death benefits and funeral expenses.
At Alliance Compensation and Litigation Lawyers, we know how stressful is of claiming for compensation when you cannot identify the driver at fault. We will take care of all processes and documentation so that you can work towards your recovery without delay.
