Beaufort Collisions Reduced By Following the Golden Rules

Several Formula One drivers asked to provide highway safety tips have indicated that they try to avoid motor vehicle collisions by looking up the road farther than the average driver. By keeping focused on what is ahead, they have more time to react to hazards and avoid becoming involved in a collision. The New York Times reported that this advice could have potentially helped to avoid a recent collision in which a truck hit a car parked on the side of a highway.

Ironically, the parked car that was struck by the truck was a vehicle that had been occupied by two officials from the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (F.I.A.), which is the governing body of motor sports as well as the umbrella association of road car associations worldwide. The F.I.A. officials had stopped the vehicle to deal with a flat tire and fortunately noticed the truck barreling towards the car and were able to jump out of the way.

At the time when the incident occurred, the truck of the vehicle was actually filled with brochures that contained more tips on driver safety from professional race car drivers. The brochures list the 10 Golden Rules of safe driving, which the F.I.A. is pushing all drivers to pledge to obey as part of a road safety campaign. A personal injury lawyer knows that if all drivers did make a commitment to road safety, collisions could be avoided and lives could be saved.

The 10 Golden Rules of Driver Safety

The F.I.A. has developed the 10 rules of driver safety to combat bad driving, which the organization compares to a disease epidemic. It is true that bad driving does have a tremendous death toll. Each year, 1.3 million people are killed throughout the world as a result of motor vehicle collisions and 50 million more people are hurt in accidents. By 2020, around two million people per year will be killed in collisions worldwide.

Drivers could prevent many of these deaths if they pledged to:

• Buckle their seat belts whenever they are driving or whenever they are riding as a passenger in a car.
• Check their vehicle's tires regularly to make sure the tire treads are not too worn and the tire air pressure meets manufacturer recommended guidelines for their vehicle.
• Drive sober at all times.
• Stay focused on the road and avoid distractions at all times.
• Avoid fatigued driving and stop driving when feeling tired.
• Wear a helmet when on a motorcycle or when riding a bicycle.
• Be courteous and respectful of other motorists on the road.
• Respect and obey the rules of the road at all times.

A driver who fails to obey the rules and be courteous to fellow motorists could significantly increase the risk of a collision. The motorist could be considered negligent and found legally liable if his rule violation causes a crash to occur that injures or kills another driver, vehicle occupant, pedestrian or bicycle rider.

A Beaufort personal injury attorney can help if you've been injured or a loved one was killed in an accident. Contact Twenge + Twombley today at 866-452-6315 for a free case consultation.