You can study car accidents from many different angles to find out why they happen. You can look at factors like the age of the drivers, whether or not they’re intoxicated, if they got distracted behind the wheel, and much more.
But looking at these direct factors can sometimes make you overlook more general factors that still contribute. You can generally divide drivers into two groups: Experienced and inexperienced. Do these groups have a role in accident statistics?
The clear danger of inexperienced drivers
People often refer to young drivers as dangerous drivers, and the stats do seem to back this up. The fatal crash rates for these young drivers are much higher than they are for older drivers.
However, as noted by the National Academy of Sciences, it’s often the level of experience a driver has that dictates whether or not they get into a crash. In the first six months that a person has a license allowing them to drive on their own, they have accident odds that are around eight times higher than the norm.
Now, many of these inexperienced drivers are also quite young. But they don’t have to be. A typical 25-year-old driver has a vastly lower crash rate than a 16-year-old, but the rate could be higher for someone who didn’t even get their license until 24 or 25 years old. They’re still very inexperienced, despite their age, and that’s what leads to critical mistakes.
Have you been injured by another driver?
You don’t know how safe the drivers around you on the road really are. If one of them injures you in an accident, you need to know how to seek compensation, which can be incredibly helpful when facing lost wages and high medical bills.