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Each year, hundreds of people become involved in motor vehicle accidents, with consequences reaching from mild property damage to severe personal injury with long-term effects. Even more alarmingly, the risk of such collisions has been found to be over one-hundred-and-fifty percent higher on city roads.

Intersections Are A Breeding Ground for Collisions

Statistically, the vast majority of inner-city collisions take place at intersections, and from those, an equally vast majority are the result of these four major driving errors:

• badly executed left turns
• failure to come to a full halt at a stop sign
• driving over the speed limit
• tailgating other drivers

Because of this, the best way of preventing your own involvement in such intersection collisions is to educate yourself and others of the proper behavior and driving methods, followed by the actual execution of said behaviors and methods. Furthermore, even as a passenger or pedestrian, you should still be aware of all intersection rules in order to express proper and safe behavior.

Rule Obedience Will Increase Compensation In The Event of A Collision

The amount of compensation you are entitled to in the aftermath of a motor vehicle collision is heavily influenced by whether you are found partially or fully liable for causing it in the first place. Because of this, a disregard for the rules governing intersections could cost you quite a chunk of the compensation you would have otherwise been able to recover from the other driver’s insurance company.

What this means that, even if the other driver was speeding, or rushing a red light, or otherwise displaying negligent behavior, if you were also behaving wrongfully, you will still be held accountable for contributory negligence. This sentencing could then stop you from claiming the full extent of compensation and leave you with accident related expenses that will need to be paid out of your own pocket. This isn’t financially viable and you need to be compensated for your losses and damages incurred due to the accident.

Learn To Drive Defensively

Full knowledge of all the rules can, unfortunately, not protect you from other drivers’ recklessness. Because of this, it is wise to drive defensively. Keep your safety distance and stay alert. Maybe even find ways around highly trafficked intersections. Less populated side roads may not lead straight to your destination, but the slightly longer commute may save you a lot of time and effort in the long run, if it means avoiding a collision and its aftermath. And still if you are involved in accident for no fault of yours, it is time to discuss it all with a personal injury lawyer in Fredericton.