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Phone: 817-294-1900
As a Dallas-Fort Worth personal injury lawyer, I know that a disproportionate number of auto accidents occur on the roads around DFW at night time. Reasonably, since there is often less traffic after dark, there should be fewer collisions. However, driving at night poses a number of challenges and hazards which ultimately lead to more injury-causing wrecks. In 2010, for example, the National Highway Transport Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported in 78 percent increase in the number of fatalities which occurred at nighttime.
One of the primary causes of nighttime car, truck and motorcycle accidents is simply the fact that darkness impairs a person’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. Numerous scientific studies have proven that women actually have inferior night vision to men, but in truth everyone’s ability to perceive and judge distance is significantly impaired while driving at night.
Another problem is that it takes time for the human eye to effectively adjust from brightness to darkness – a major problem if you are driving at night and your eyes are frequently being bombarded by bright headlights coming in the opposite direction. For this reason, driving at dawn and dusk is similarly dangerous as the road may be dark even though the sky is not.
Perhaps the best advice I could give you when driving at night is simply to limit your distractions. Using your cellphone is a bad idea when behind the wheel anyway – but when you take into account the aforementioned information, the danger is further increased. It is critical that when you are driving at night you limit your distractions as much as possible. You are already in an environment where your reactions are not as effective as usual, so you don’t need to introduce any other elements which could further distract your attention from the road ahead and the task in hand.
If you or a loved one has been hurt in a nighttime car crash, it is important that you consult with a board certified personal injury and wrongful death attorney as there could be a number of factors which contributed to your accident. One of the first things we often investigate is how well the roadway was illuminated: Were there any road lights in place? If so, how bright were they?
Of course, the darkness alone is not responsible for all nighttime wrecks. Drunk drivers and tired motorists are also responsible for a number of such collisions. If you are driving at night, it is important that you realize that you are sharing the road with other motorists who may be impaired (whether by alcohol or fatigue) and you should drive defensively to avoid any negative encounters which such drivers.
To speak with a lawyer today, please call toll free at 800-354-6275 or locally in Ft. Worth and Arlington at 817-294-1900.
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