There’s a lot that can cause a road accident: distracted driving, drunken driving, vehicles that aren’t roadworthy, to name a few. A lot of the time it’s a simple mistake which could’ve been easily avoided that causes a major accident.
By taking note of the following 10 facts, you might be encouraged to pay more attention the next time you’re behind the wheel and to take the necessary precautions:
- Worldwide, male drivers have a higher risk of dying in a car accident than women due to their inclination to speed more, drink more and take more risks
- In South Africa, the major contributory factors to festive season fatal crashes are drunk driving, speeding, overtaking when unsafe to do so, fatigue, overloading of vehicles and a tyre bursting.
- Deaths from road accidents are at least twice as high in South Africa as the global average.
- The most dangerous drivers are young men.
- While women are statistically safer on the road, they have just as many accidents as men; however, they tend to be minor fender-benders, while men are usually involved in more serious collisions.
- Cautious old ladies are more inclined to die behind the wheel than speeding teenage boys – not because they’re reckless, but because they’re frail and less likely to survive injury.
- In SA, according to stats released in 1998, your likelihood of being in a fatal crash between midnight and 4am is four times higher than during daytime.
- Motorbikes are especially vulnerable on the road as motorists regularly fail to see them, and intersections are the most likely place for a motorcycle accident to occur.
- In the US, of all road users, 4-year-olds have the lowest death risk -“ probably because they’re in child car seats, and their parents drive more carefully.
- In the UK and the US, the drivers of station wagons have a death rate of less than half the national average for cars due to the fact that they’re safer on the roads and their drivers tend not to take risks.
