Understanding Head-On Collisions: Causes and Prevention
Head-on accidents are terrifying and can result in serious injuries or even death. If you were in a head-on collision or lost a family member, you may be eligible to recover the costs of your injuries or wrongful death. Consult a best rated attorney for more information.
What are head-on collisions?
A complete frontal collision occurs when two vehicles collide head-on. Two automobiles collide immediately from the front, generally while traveling in opposite directions. A head-on accident might occur when a car drives directly into a fixed object, such as a telephone pole or road barrier.
Head-on collisions create significant force since the two cars clash immediately in multi-vehicle head-on accidents. The hoods of the cars may crumple to absorb part of the impact force, but these sorts of crashes are among the most hazardous of all road accidents.
Common causes of head-on collisions
An accident is sometimes simply an accident. It might happen due to a mechanical issue, such as a brake or power steering failure. However, most head-on collisions occur when one driver drives on the wrong side of the road. Often, it is due to intoxicated or distracted driving (such as texting while driving), dangerous passing, sleepy driving, or some other type of disorientation behind the wheel, such as an elderly person who approaches a highway in the incorrect direction. Other causes for a vehicle to swerve into the other lane include avoiding an animal, road debris, or an ice patch.
- Driving in the wrong direction
Drivers who take the incorrect turn down a one-way street risk colliding head-on. When this occurs in a larger city with lower speed restrictions, the consequences may be less severe. However, when a driver is unfamiliar with a region, tired, drunk, or high on drugs and turns the wrong way on a highway or interstate entry or exit ramp, severe injury and/or death are likely. Highways and interstates have substantially higher speeds. A head-on accident might occur when the at-fault motorist waits too long to recognize their error.
- Centerline crossover
A head-on collision is probable when vehicles veer into oncoming traffic and cross the centerline. Drivers may cross the centerline if they are affected by drugs or alcohol, if they are distracted by their phones or other things inside or outside the car, if they are dozing off while driving, or if they are undergoing a medical emergency such as a heart attack or stroke. Low weather with low visibility and poorly maintained roads may lead a vehicle to swerve.
Furthermore, drivers who see dangers on the road, such as debris, animals, or anything else in their path, may swerve to avoid them, which can occasionally force them to enter oncoming traffic on a two-lane roadway.