Canadian drivers are involved in a fair amount of car accidents. While some are due to wildlife crossing the road or our due to harsh winter weather, there are other factors involved. To give you a better understanding about vehicle collisions in Canada, here are 10 facts about car accidents:

Making a phone call by actually dialing with your fingers instead of using voice assistance, multiplies your chance of having an accident by almost triple. On the other hand, texting and driving make an accident 23 times more likely to occur.

When you check a text you’re only taking your eyes off the road for about five seconds but it is five dangerous seconds. Checking a text while driving at 90/km per hour is the equivalent of travelling the entire length of a football field while wearing a blindfold.

Drunk driving is the leading cause of car crashes in the country even though we have strict laws in place. You can face up to 10 years in jail if you cause bodily harm to someone if you’re driving while intoxicated.

Aggressive driving also causes car accidents. According to Transport Canada, aggressive driving is defined as speeding, tailgating, running red lights, not yielding when another vehicle has the right of way, failing to adhere to traffic lights and making hostile, rude or assaultive gestures.

Maybe one of the more surprising of the car accidents facts on this list is that in Canada there are 4-8 vehicle collisions involving large animals every hour. And when you are involved in a serious collision with an animal, there is obviously no claim in negligence, so it is important to ensure your no-fault accident benefits claim is administered as efficiently as possible.

About 80% of wildlife collisions are with deer while moose, elk, bears, coyotes and other wildlife are responsible for the other 20%.

Holiday weekends see the most fatalities when it comes to vehicle accidents.

Overloading your car can cause accidents. When you strap items to your vehicle’s roof make sure they are secured; otherwise items can fall off while you are driving and lead to accidents with other vehicles. Common items people strap to their roofs improperly are mattresses, ladders, futons, desks, beach and camping equipment, and fridges.

The biggest excuse police officers hear after pulling people over and noticing they’re not wearing a seatbelt is, “I didn’t have time”. You always have time to put your seatbelt on. It’s illegal and dangerous to drive without one. In a personal injury case, if you were not wearing your seatbelt at the time of the accident, your damages could be reduced for this “contributory negligence” even if the other driver was 100% at fault.

According to Canadian insurance providers, claims involving vehicle collisions rise by 49% from December to January due to the weather. In fact, most claims are filed after the first snowfall of the year.

 

Call SG Injury Law at (613) 518-2416 for a free consultation.