Wrong-Way Driving Accidents and Personal Injury Compensation
The safety of drivers depends on their ability to navigate the roadways and the safety hazards that can arise. Reckless and negligent behaviors contribute to the number of injuries and fatalities that occur on the roads each year.
Wrong-way driving is one of the most serious and dangerous risk factors that drivers face. It leads to head-on collisions that put you and your family at risk for serious injuries and even fatalities.
However, victims can obtain compensation so that they can recover from their injuries and restore damaged property.
Wrong-Way Driving and Your Safety
Sadly, fatalities caused by wrong-way driving have not significantly decreased over time.
Though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has observed a decrease in the number of fatalities resulting from car crashes over the last decade, wrong-way driving resulting from the negligence or reckless behavior of others still continues to cause an average of 360 fatalities each year.
The nature of these accidents demonstrates how easily they can be prevented. Wrong-way driving typically occurs when drivers try to pass others on divided highways. Also, access ramps are a common location in which drivers can enter the wrong side of a roadway and end up driving against the flow of traffic.
These types of accidents may represent a small percentage of the collisions that occur on the roadways, buy they present a significant risk of a higher likelihood of causing severe injuries, disability, and death.
Why Do Wrong-Way Accidents Happen?
There are many factors that contribute to wrong-way driving accidents and the injuries they cause.
Many accidents occur when drivers enter access ramps due to poor signage or roadway designs that lead to confusion.
Many drivers also cause wrong-way driving accidents through reckless behavior such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. When drivers are cognitively impaired, they run a higher risk of making poor decisions that put others at risk.
Driving at night or on unfamiliar roads can also cause wrong-way driving accidents. Impaired visibility and other factors related to driving at night increase the risk of these accidents. Also, when drivers are unfamiliar with the roadways, they may end up driving the wrong way down a busy street, so they must be especially careful when driving in areas with which they are not familiar.
Legal Protection and Compensation for Your Injuries
Wrong-way driving accidents can result in lasting injuries that impact you and your family. Short- and long-term disabilities can prevent you from earning a living, and the medical costs related to your injuries can be overwhelming.
Getting compensated for your injuries helps you to obtain the financial resources you need to recover as fully as possible from your injuries and damages.
Consulting with an experienced legal professional is the first step in getting the compensation you deserve. More importantly, working with a personal injury attorney who understands wrong-way driving accidents gives you the resources you need to file a successful legal claim.
Establishing liability, gathering the right evidence, and working with insurance companies are just some of the complex steps necessary to recover the losses resulting from your accident.
Wrong-way driving accidents are just one of the many risks that today’s drivers face on the roadways. Understanding the factors that contribute to these accidents and having the quality legal protection you need can ensure that you get the highest possible compensation to help restore your quality of life after an accident.