Head-on crashes are the most dangerous type of collision due to the increased force sustained by drivers and passengers in each car.
In these wrecks, two cars are traveling toward each other before the collision takes place.
Statistics estimate that only 2 percent of all crashes are head-on collisions. However, they account for well over 10 percent of driving deaths.
The most common types of injuries related to a head on collision include brain injuries, catastrophic injuries, broken bones, and even paralysis.
Head-on crashes are the most serious kind
Head on collisions are most likely to occur in the following scenarios.
- A driver crosses a center line
- A driver is heading in the wrong direction.
According to The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, about one in five fatal accidents are head-on collisions. The deadly nature of these accidents is highlighted by the stark fact they cause 20 percent of deaths but a mere 2 percent of accidents are head-on collisions.
Older research from 1999 suggests most head-on collisions occur on rural roads. Georgia has many such roads. Often when drivers lose control on a curve because they are traveling too fast they can veer across the road and end up in a head-on collision. Also, rural roads may be less well lit than urban roads at night.
The figures from the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) indicate that 18 percent of fatal crashes away from interchanges were from two vehicles colliding head-on. The percentage was consistent with statistics from previous years. It found:
- 75 percent of head-on crashes are reported on rural roads,
- 75 percent of all head-on crashes take place on undivided two-lane roads, and
- 83 percent of two-lane undivided road crashes happen on rural roads.
We are all familiar with the scenario when a car attempts to pass and runs out of space as another vehicle approaches. However, research found few head-on collisions relate to passing.
Of 7,430 vehicles involved in serious head-on crashes on undivided, two lane highways, only 4.2 percent involved a vehicle “passing or overtaking another vehicle.”
If you have been hurt in a head-on crash, you may have grounds to file a claim against the other driver’s insurance company.
Contact the Newnan-based Law Office of Michael West at (404) 913-1529.