Question: What are the main causes of most car accidents?

Answer: At some point during my career, the title of the official state report form was changed from “accident report” to “crash report.” While perhaps not the official explanation, the title change, nonetheless, reflected statistics that suggested “crashes” overwhelmingly involved "driver error," rather than “accidental” factors.

The U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) listed 94 percent of approximately two-million crashes during a two-year period involved driver error(s).

The NHTSA classified common driver errors into the following categories:

  • Recognition: driver’s inattention, distractions (such as cell phones and/or vehicle controls), and inadequate surveillance (i.e. looking, but not seeing or identifying hazards).
  • Decision-making: driving too fast for conditions, driving too fast for a curve, making false assumptions about other drivers’ actions or alertness (i.e. falsely assuming a driver is stopping for a sign/signal), illegal maneuvers, and misjudging speeds and gaps in traffic (especially while making turns, entering traffic, etc.).
  • Performance: overcompensation (such as over-steering and/or over-braking), and poor control of vehicle.

Additionally, the NHTSA emphasized that the data was not meant to blame the driver in each instance for the respective crash, because driver error did not mean an absence of other factors associated with a crash. However, driver error was the primary factor (stated as “critical reason” in the study) in 94 percent of the crashes.

Bottom line, and with deference to Smokey the Bear, only you, mostly, can prevent most crashes.


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