Head-on collisions are very dangerous and carry a high chance of fatalities or serious injuries. A big part of the reason for this is just the combined speed of the vehicles. If two cars are traveling at 45 miles an hour, a head-on collision happens at a combined speed of 90 miles an hour. It’s a very violent type of traffic accident.
In some cases, these accidents happen because drivers go the wrong way down the road. On smaller streets, there could be a relatively innocent explanation. Maybe the driver just got confused. Maybe their GPS didn’t tell them to turn at the right location. A low-speed collision may happen, but the odds of serious injury are also low.
But what about when a wrong-way accident happens on the interstate? This could happen at a combined speed of 150 miles an hour, so these are devastating accidents. They should also never happen because of the road design of the interstate highway system. So why do drivers end up going the wrong direction, down the wrong side of the interstate?
They are impaired
Most of the time, these drivers are suffering from impairment. They have been using recreational drugs, illegal drugs or just alcohol. But these substances have impaired their ability to drive, and they’ve made a critical error – such as driving up an offramp to get onto an interstate.
These accidents are most common late at night. Traffic levels are lower, so it’s easier for drivers to make this mistake. Drunk driving is also more common at this time. If you’ve been injured due to an accident caused by another driver, be sure you know how to seek financial compensation.
