Car Accident Lawyer in Alexandria, LA Offers Tips For Safer Driving in The New Year
Prevention is always the first line of defense when it comes to improving safety on streets and highways throughout Alexandria, Louisiana. Seat belts, child restraint seats, well-maintained braking systems, proper vehicle lights and wiper blades for severe weather are all features in automobiles that are designed to keep us safer in the event of a car accident. But safe driving behaviors are one of the biggest factors that can help reduce the risk of collisions ever occurring in the first place and ultimately, make us all safer while sharing the road. While car accidents are an inescapable fact of driving today, the increase in the number of wrecks has a lot to do with the prevalence of driver-related errors and recklessness such as mobile device use and speeding. A renewed commitment to responsibility and vigilance behind the wheel is a resolution that drivers across Louisiana can all make in the New Year. Below a car accident lawyer in Alexandria, Louisiana shares a few helpful ways every driver can work to keep our roads safer and prevent crashes.
Habits You Can Adopt To Be A Safer Driver In 2017
Car accidents claim the lives of hundreds of Louisiana residents each year. A majority of these are the result of driver mistakes and carelessness. In fact, the Insurance Institute fro Highway Safety found that alcohol impairment was a factor in nearly one-third of motor vehicle crash fatalities in 2015. However, bad driving habits such as operating your car while sleep deprived are much more commonplace and are to blame for many severe auto accidents. One of the most important steps we can all take in 2017 is to change how we think about driving. Because this is such an integral part of our daily lives driving has become second nature and an activity that we do almost subconsciously especially if we are taking the same route day after day. We are too often relying on muscle memory and allowing ourselves to be distracted. Distractions are one of the leading causes of crashes nowadays and they come in all forms. Using cell phones and other mobile devices to text while driving are certainly serious dangers. Our mobile phones have almost become an extension of ourselves and we are always connected whether for work, communication with kids and spouses, or keeping up with social media. The danger of this is new technology dominated world is that we have difficulty turning it off when we get behind the wheel of a car. As we start a New Year, a critical change we can make in our driving habits is to turn the cell phone completely off while driving and focus our attention 100% on the task in front of us. That call or text message can wait – it is never worth the risk of getting into a car accident. Additionally, with the fast 24/7 pace of today’s society, drivers are frequently running on fumes when it comes to sleep. Unfortunately, this can mean a lot of drivers are fatigued on the road. Driving while extremely drowsy puts everyone at an increased risk for being involved in a collision. The fact is that nothing replaces the value of a good night’s rest and we should all make sleep a priority for staying safe and alert when driving as well as for our overall health. Finally, slowing down can make a huge impact when it comes to reducing collisions. Obeying the speed limits and using greater caution when switching lanes and passing cars on the road are simple behaviors that seasoned drivers may lose sight of as they become more comfortable and less diligent. Speeding makes it harder to stop in the event that something unexpected happens such as misjudging distance. Remember, you’re never in too big of a hurry to drive safely because no deadline is worth hurting yourself or injuring others on the road.
Get Help From A Car Accident Lawyer in Alexandria, Louisiana If You Are Injured
If you are hit and suffer an injury or lose someone you love because of a distracted or fatigued driver, you should consult with a personal injury law firm in Alexandria, Louisiana that has experience handling these types of legal cases. Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys has a local law office located at 3600 Jackson Street Extension Suite 116 to serve residents throughout Alexandria and surrounding communities. We understand that automobile crashes happen all times of the day and outside of normal business hours. That is why our law firm is available around the clock to help you. Our injury attorneys can even consult with accident victims on the weekends. Call us at 318-443-8888 to speak with a car accident lawyer in Alexandria, Louisiana about your injury case.
