Common Types of Car Accidents in San Antonio

Types of Auto Accidents in San Antonio

When you consider the idea of an accident, it’s easy to think of it as two cars crashing into each other. It’s often more complicated than that, however. When a large truck is involved, it increases the potential for damages and catastrophic injuries. Whether the accident involves a private passenger car or a big commercial vehicle, it’s sometimes difficult for investigators to figure out exactly what happened.

When vehicles come to a stop after an initial impact, they’re sometimes far removed from the original impact location. Vehicles rotate, move sideways, and may even overturn. Airbags and restraint systems fail and increase driver and passenger injury severity. When a gas tank ruptures, fires occur. As drivers rarely make totally compatible statements, you must remember and explain your best recollection of what type of impact occurred and how it happened.

Single-vehicle crashes

Single-car crashes aren’t always as simple as they seem. The 2017 Texas Department of Transportation Contributing Factors crash report lists 19 single-vehicle accident fatalities. They happen both on city streets and in rural areas. They occur when a driver loses control and crashes without contacting another vehicle, and when other drivers cut someone off, cause an accident, and leave the scene. Contributing factors in single-car crashes often include mechanical issues, defective tires, defective vehicle parts, and animals on the roadway.

Frontal impacts

Frontal impact accidents occur when drivers fail to stay in their lane of travel. Reckless driving, distracted driving, DUI driving and, other actions are often involved. Texas 2017 DOT crash statistics show that 3,592 vehicles were involved in crashes when drivers were traveling the wrong way in an entryway, two-way street or a one-way street.

When a vehicle crashes head-on into another, the damage and injury severity depend on a vehicle’s size, speed, and the vehicle’s ability to withstand a crash. The NHTSA oversees crash safety testing and assigns star ratings. Vehicles with superior ability to protect passengers receive a five-star rating. Those with poor crash performances receive one star. Newer vehicles are much safer, but some older vehicles don’t fare as well during frontal impacts. You can review your vehicle’s test rating to see how it holds up under a frontal, side or rollover impacts on the NHTSA Rating page.

Rear-end Accidents

When a vehicle strikes another car in the rear, the striking driver is usually considered at-fault. Police often cite responsible drivers under Texas Transportation Code, Sec. §545.062, Following Distance, for failing to maintain an “…assured clear distance….” This is based on a common supposition that if a driver maintains a cushion of space between their car and the car in front of them, they will have enough time to stop without rear-ending the car in front or veering into adjacent traffic.

Rollovers

Rollovers occur when a vehicle not only loses control but rolls over and continues rolling until it loses momentum. Rollovers aren’t that simple to evaluate. Upon initial examination, they’re often considered a single car event. Past investigations have proven that some vehicles roll over due to design flaws or safety issues. Poor highway maintenance, soft shoulder conditions, hit-and-run drivers and other problems contribute to rollover accidents.

Side impacts

When a side impact accident occurs, the front of one driver’s car strikes the side of the other. The initiating vehicle may strike the vehicle’s side front or side rear. When it strikes the vehicle’s door, it’s often referred to as a “T-Bone” accident. When a side impact occurs, both drivers often claim that the other driver is responsible.

These accidents usually occur at intersections, parking lot exits, or driveways. They may involve stop signs, traffic lights, or right of way issues. Side impacts sometimes occur because one driver backs from a driveway into traffic. Unbiased witnesses play an important evidentiary role when the liability issues are unclear or the driver’s versions are questionable.

Multi-vehicle crashes

Crashes involving multiple vehicles often occur when speed, visibility, weather, road conditions, debris in the road and other factors simultaneously affect more than one driver. Sometimes a single driver makes a reckless move that affects others in close proximity. It’s another situation where statements from unbiased witnesses help resolve the liability issues.

Chain reactions

When cars are traveling in a line—usually in commuter traffic—a single action can initiate a chain of collisions. Investigators can usually track the initial impact to a single vehicle. It’s difficult to analyze the causes of subsequent impacts. There’s rarely a consensus of opinion on whether one vehicle struck the next vehicle or was pushed into it. Chain reactions are often a series of rear-end impacts with resulting whiplash and serious back and neck injuries.

No-contact crashes

A no-contact accident occurs when a driver crashes after trying to avoid another driver who pulled into their path or failed to yield the right of way. Liability issues are often complicated when the driver who caused the accident refuses to acknowledge their part in causing the crash. Sometimes the initiating driver intentionally fails to stop. Other times they leave the area as they don’t realize they’ve caused an accident.