To clarify, I'm not talking about fault – who is at fault and who isn't. I'm talking about the cause: The human and environmental and technical elements that combined to result in a collision. In every collision, you're going to get some combination of:
- The exact level of driver attentiveness (or inattentiveness) prior to the collision
- The speed of both vehicles at collision
- Accuracy and timing of reactions of all drivers involved
- Technological failure of vehicles (not necessarily complete failure but a car with slightly less grip on its tires might take longer to stop than a car with new tires)
- Climate conditions (sun, rain, snow, fog, etc.)
- Road conditions and geometry (a dirty intersection might cause more collisions than a clean, straight highway)
It's impossible to list everything but you can see how each of these elements can contribute to cause an accident. Consider this fictitious collision example to show you what we mean: If a driver was going 5 kilometers slower, and if the driver pressed his or her brake just a second sooner, and if his or her tires had an extra millimeter of grip, and if the intersection had less dirt (which reduces friction), and if the driver hadn't been adjusting the radio at the time, then the accident might have been avoided. See how all of these things might contribute?
A lot of study has gone into other disasters, such as plane crashes or building collapses – and science has found the same thing – there's never a single cause but a "constellation" of seemingly minor "failures" that add up to something catastrophic.
So, what can you do about it? Well, it's impossible to do something fuzzy like "avoid collisions" but you can instead manage all of these small parts: Make sure your car is in peak working order (change your tires and brakes regularly, for example); pay attention while you are driving and try to eliminate distractions; stick to the speed limit, and slow down when approach some of the potential collision "hot points" (such as an intersection).
Collisions are not completely unavoidable but they can be minimized. But it's not as easy as simply deciding not to crash. Instead, you have to cover all of the little things and safe driving will take care of itself.
If you do get into a collision, Boyd Autobody & Glass is there to help. Our team of collision repair experts can restore your car to its pre-collision condition and ensure that you are safe again so you can drive with confidence.
