Safe Driving in 2013 Should Top List of Priorities for Alabama Motorists

Jan 3, 2013 - Birmingham by Cross & Smith

New Years is a time for resolutions and you may have already made some promises and set some goals this year. Rather than going with the cliched resolutions of losing weight, getting healthy or being on time, our Birmingham auto accident lawyers urge you to make a resolution this year that could potentially save your life or save the lives of others.

We urge you to make a resolution to become a better, safer driver in 2013. 

There are lots of reasons why you should make the resolution to become a better driver: 38,328 of them in fact. That’s how many people were injured in crashes in Alabama in 2010. These injuries, and many of the 862 deaths that Alabama Traffic Crash Facts reported during the same time period, could have been prevented if every person throughout Alabama just made a commitment to stop engaging in dangerous or risky driving behavior.

Bad Driving Behaviors to Avoid in 2013
If you are ready to make the commitment to becoming a safer driver in 2013, it is important to understand what behaviors put you and others at the greatest risk of becoming involved in a crash. These are the behaviors to be sure to avoid, and we’ve compiled a list of them for you. They include:

• Tailgating. Tailgating was a top contributing factor to car accidents in 2010. According to Alabama Traffic Crash Facts, there were 17,268 auto accidents caused by tailgating. This means almost 76% of auto accidents in the entire state happened because an impatient driver followed too closely behind the person in front of him. Tailgating rarely, if ever, gets you anyplace faster and the few seconds you might save by tailgating aren’t worth the risk.
• Distracted driving. A person who is texting and driving has a 23 times greater chance of becoming involved in a car wreck as reported by Distraction.gov
• Driving too quickly for the current conditions on the roads. A whopping 4,836 accidents in Alabama happened in 2010 when people failed to adjust their speed to account for bad weather or other road conditions.
• Speeding. According to Alabama Traffic Crash Facts, 2,666 traffic accidents in Alabama happened in 2010 because people were going over the limit.
• Driving drunk. Alabama Traffic Crash Facts shared the starting news that 4,784 of the crashes in 2010 involved a driver who was drunk or on drugs. There’s simply no excuse for this in this day-and-age with harsh penalties for drunk driving and so much public emphasis placed on driving sober.

These are just a few of the many behaviors you should resolve to skip in 2013 if you want to become a safer driver. Of course, resolving to wear your seatbelt is also a smart move, since those not wearing their seatbelts were over 46 percent more likely to get killed in a car crash than those in the front seat who were properly buckled in.

By making these resolutions and sticking to them all year, 2013 will hopefully be a safe year for you.

Additional Resources:

The Risks of Backover and Parking Lot Accidents During the Holiday Season, Published by Cross & Smith LLC, November 25, 2012