Despite a rise in safety features on cars, the incidence of motor vehicle accidents in which people are injured or killed remains high. However, many of these accidents are preventable. Below are a few things you can do to keep yourself, your passenger and other drivers safer.

Don’t Use Your Phone

You’ve probably heard it hundreds of times by now, but that’s for a good reason. Study after study has shown that people’s crash risk increases when they talk on their cell phones and do so even more significantly if they text and drive. Even hands-free phones aren’t a solution. Studies also show that these create a cognitive load that distracts you from the road. If you have to make a phone call or send a text when you’re behind the wheel, experts say it’s best to just pull off the road and do it.

Avoid Fatigue

Most people have driven when it was too late or too early or when they just haven’t had a good night’s sleep. However, what many of them may not realize is that fatigue can impair your reaction time and other driving skills as much as driving under the influence of alcohol can. There are many people who wouldn’t dream of driving after a few drinks who think little of getting behind the wheel of a car when they are drowsy. Drowsy driving is dangerous driving, and if you must go somewhere when you aren’t very awake, consider carpooling, a rideshare service, public transportation or a taxi.

Wear Your Seat Belt

This won’t protect others drivers and passengers on the road, but it will keep you and your passengers safe. It seems like such a simple thing, but buckling up will significantly increase the likelihood that you will survive a motor vehicle accident. The majority of people who are killed in car accidents are not wearing their seat belts. If you take this precaution but are injured in a car accident caused by another driver, you may want to talk to a car accident lawyer Houston about your situation.

Compensation may be available for people who are in car accidents caused by another driver. A law firm such as Simon & O’Rourke Law Firm, P.C. may be able to help you obtain this compensation if this happens. However, with the safety tips above, you may significantly reduce your chances of injury in a car accident.

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