Lately it seems as though there are more incidents of cars going the opposite direction on the highways, so it’s incumbent upon ourselves to find ways to avoid wrong-way drivers in order to protect ourselves and our families.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) estimates that about 400 people are killed every year because of wrong-way drivers. We hope cities and states will begin improving these problem areas on the roads that are confusing drivers into driving the wrong way. But until then, we must be proactive.
Fears Nachawati is a Houston truck accident lawyer that has seen one too many motor vehicle accident cases involving wrong-way drivers. An experienced personal injury attorney in Texas, they’ve come up with some tips on how to avoid danger when these situations occur.
4 Ways to Avoid a Wrong-Way Driver
A smart, defensive driver knows there are some things they can do to avoid these confused motorists. While many of these wrong-way drivers are over the age of 70, it’s the alcohol-impaired drivers that are the most common drivers involved.
1. Buckle Up This tip isn’t unique to avoiding a wrong-way driver, but more so a way to avoid injuries from all drivers. But many wrong-way driver accidents happen head-on, or as side-swipes, so you help your chances of survival by taking smart precautions ahead of time, like buckling your seatbelts and not using your cell phone while driving.
2. Stay Aware of What’s Ahead When you’re on the highway, try to look more than just 50 yards ahead. By having more awareness, looking farther down the highway for upcoming dangers, you’ll give yourself more time to avoid wrong-way motorists.
3. Use a Blinker to Indicate Your Direction If you see trouble coming ahead, like a wrong-way car, then immediately put on your blinker to let all drivers know which way you’re going, and which lane you’ll be moving into.
4. Move Your Car to the Right Many wrong-way drivers move all the way over to the right side (to them) because they believe it to be the slow lane. In fact, their slow lane is your fast lane, which makes things even more dangerous. If you swerve to the right (after you throw on your indicator), you’ll have a better chance of avoiding them–and avoiding which way they’ll probably swerve, too.
Fears Nachawati has represented many families whose loved ones were injured or killed by wrong-way drivers. As a Houston truck accident lawyer, they know the area, understand how to investigate the incident and can gather evidence to obtain the largest settlement possible. Give Fears Nachawati a call at (713) 589-6958 to learn more.