No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. In some arenas, those mistakes don’t hurt anyone; they are just more of an inconvenience and something to fix. Correcting a mistake becomes another task to mark off a “to-do” list.
Under some circumstances, though, making a mistake could cause a significant amount of harm. For instance, if you make an error while being at the wheel, it could result in serious injuries or even deaths. Rarely are the people who officials determine are at fault for an accident doing the right thing when it happens.
Common unsafe driving behaviors
While some unusual circumstances have led to motor vehicle accidents, the most common unsafe driving behaviors include the following:
- Distracted driving: Using your cell phone, eating, drinking or messing with your radio all fall under this category, but they are not the only distractions you encounter while you drive. Your car’s infotainment system, your passengers and your GPS system also qualify, among other things.
- Speeding: Everyone wants to get where they are going as quickly as possible, but if you exceed the posted speed limit, you could lose control of your vehicle. Moreover, you won’t have enough time to react to an emergency if you speed.
- Drunk driving: You would have to live in a cave not to understand the dangers of drunk driving. Law enforcement officials and advocacy groups have made sure that anyone who gets in a vehicle, license or not, driving or not, knows it’s dangerous.
- Angry driving: You may not think that your attitude will lead to a car accident, but that would be a mistake. If you are angry, your driving could become aggressive and reckless, which could make you take risks you wouldn’t ordinarily take while driving.
If you think about it, you have probably driven in at least one of these states during the time you’ve been driving; most people do. Even if you refrain from doing so, someone else may not. That means that you could become the victim of another person’s mistake. You could suffer serious injuries and end up in the hospital. If that happens, you could be out of work for a significant amount of time. The financial losses you sustain during your recovery could put you in a precarious position.
Fortunately, you may exercise your right to file a personal injury claim, pursuing compensation for those losses and other damages allowed under Louisiana law.
