Auto accidents happen under a wide variety of circumstances in California. Some can occur on the open road at high rates of speed while others happen in congested traffic. The latter incidents increase during the rush hour or in urban areas where there are abundant traffic lights along the grid. Regardless of the unique set of factors that can exist in causing any collision, the truth is that accident types generally fall into a small number of categories based on the angles at which vehicles collide with each other.
Fender-bender collisions
Some accidents occur at slow speeds when drivers do not realize what others are doing while in transit. Damage in fender-bender collisions can be relatively low comparatively speaking when the cases are finally evaluated. However, the injuries can still be more significant than California insurance companies often want to admit when they do happen in low-impact motor vehicle accidents.
T-bone crashes
A “t-bone” accident happens when the side of a vehicle is struck directly by another vehicle, but it can also involve being forced into another vehicle in a multi-car crash. They are easily among the most deadly of all motor vehicle accidents on the highway due to a lack of physical protection from the side doors.
Rear-end accidents
Rear-end accidents are also very common in California, and they can happen at both reduced speeds in urban areas and on the open highway. Rear-end accidents at high speed are particularly deadly based on the type of vehicle being driven, and especially when compact cars are involved. They can also happen for various reasons as well, and it is important for California motorists to remember that the driver who strikes an opposing vehicle from the rear is not always at fault.
Of course, the worst of all accidents on California roads are head-on collisions, and it is not necessary for drivers to be running at excessive speeds for serious damage and injuries to be the result. Actually, many fatal accidents are head-on collisions regardless of the impact speed.
