Cars are a necessary part of our day-to-day lives and it is easy to see why, considering all the highways and surface streets Southern California has crisscrossing its landscape. With so many cars on the road, accidents are inevitable.   However, there was some good news reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  According to the NHTSA, a 9.7 percent decline in traffic fatalities was seen from 2008 to 2009, even though the total miles that cars traveled between that time increased by .2 percent.

Reasons for The Decrease
Much of this decrease can be attributed to a multitude of factors, including:
 
  • seat belt awareness
  • Improved car safety features
  • Increased drunk driving patrols
  • Better education for new drivers

Many of the ways to stay safe in a car are simple and rather easy to accomplish. Avoidance or risk aversion is the key to creating a safe atmosphere on the road and there are many ways you can accomplish this philosophy of driving.

How You Can Help
The first step is to understand the common factors that lead to most accidents and then concentrate on eliminating them from your driving habits. Excessive speed almost always plays a role in traffic accidents and as wonderful as it may sound to arrive on time, especially if you are running late, driving fast only puts you in a dangerous predicament. If that does not convince you to slow down maybe your pocketbook will, as speeding also decreases gas mileage.

Risk Avoidance is Crucial
Another key factor in many accidents is the consumption of alcohol before driving. The obvious action is to not drink and drive, but if you insist on drinking then either call a cab or designate a driver. Before you go out drinking make sure that you have a plan set in place. There is no reset button on a Southern California drunk driving accident and the devastation is something that you would have to live with for the rest of your life.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a car accident, you should contact one of the experienced Santa Monica car accident attorneys at Steinberg Injury Lawyers at (800) 989-6385.
Peter Steinberg
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Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney Since 1982