What additional steps can you take to avoid a car accident in Louisville?  You may realize the absolute importance of safety restraints and how they reduce injuries and save lives every day across Kentucky.   However, recent years have brought a surprising increase in the number of car accidents and fatal accidents here in Louisville and across the State of Kentucky.

The design of modern vehicles has actually increased the safety of their occupants, so what are some of the factors associated with the recent increase in injury accidents?  What additional steps can you take to avoid a car accident in Louisville or as you travel across Kentucky and throughout the nation?

One of the primary sources of these accidents is a distracted driver, and one of the leading causes of distraction is a cell phone.  There is a national advertising campaign which claims the simple action of checking an inbound text takes your eyes off of the road for 5 seconds.  We all see drivers each day who are looking at their cell phone, checking e-mail or responding to texts.  Cell phones have contributed to the increase in personal injury accidents and wrongful death throughout Louisville.

Intersections are another crucial source of serious injuries and fatal motor vehicle accidents.  Recent statistics provided by the Kentucky State Police show the most common location of a serious or fatal car accident in Kentucky is an intersection.  Be extra cautious as you enter any intersection, especially if you are tempted to accelerate to get through a yellow light.  Side impact car accidents in intersections are now the most common source of injury.

Silence your cell phone and place it out of reach when you get behind the wheel.  Secure your cell phone, backpack, purse and all other loose items which may move about and cause distraction, or worse, become hazardous flying objects in the midst of an accident.  Slow down as you approach any intersection and carefully scan the area ahead of you and to your right and left.  These extra simple steps may not only save you from serious injuries in a car accident, they may save your life.