What are the careless or dangerous things people do that cause accidents?

Answer 1

Generally people are just stupid, with vehicles, it's mostly the little things like chatting on a cell phone or forgetting to put a seatbelt, not watching the road or things behind you when you reverse etc.

Assuming that just because you can't see an oncoming vehicle because some of the viewable area is obstructed by trees, bushes, tall box trucks, or other, that a speeding car is not blazing through at 30mph over the limit.

Not wearing a seatbelt.

Driving while you can barely see out the windshield because of ice, hoping the heater will deice it eventually.

Driving too aggressively in familiar areas, hasty lane changes, lead foot, aggressive merges, disobeyed yields, tailgating, horn use.

Falling asleep at the wheel and getting the car wrapped around a tree.

Not understanding how alcohol makes you forgetful in how to drive even up to 24 hours after the last drink. Alcohol causing over and under-steering. Alcohol makes you completely forget to do important things, like stopping for red lights and stop signs, mis-judging where the center line of the road is and surprise-ending up embedded in someone's porch.

Forgetting that road ice patches can form and disappear in specific places in minutes in the darnedest places.

Not seeing red lights and stop signs.

Driving when the sun is in your eyes, and you hit oncoming traffic or rearend.

Slowing down too much when the sun is in your eyes, and someone else rear ends you.

Micro-sleeping dozing off at the wheel, not knowing your doing it, ending up in the other lane for head on collision, instant death.

Coffee in one hand, cellphone in the other, driving with a pinkie.

Reading the newspaper while driving.

Pulling out into traffic (right) without looking left and right, getting your driver side door pushed into your lap.

Pulling out into traffic (left) when you did look (but unconsciously ignored) the car coming, getting the passenger side pushed in.

Driving while using a gps device.

Changing the tire of your car on a highway, getting mowed down by tumbling cars fishtailing to avoid you when someone previously merged incorrectly.

Driving while using a cellphone or smartphone.

Incorrectly thinking people will slow down when you walk out into a highway to retrieve your chair that fell out of your pickup, wrong, they swerve around you at 65mph.

Driving on bald tires.

Not understanding that people break traffic law thousands of times a day, driving on faith that the other person will not do something illegal.

Turning left when you have a green arrow, or green light, and getting mowed down by someone racing to catch a stoplight turned yellow for 1.5 seconds.

Not knowing what "Florida Ice" fresh rain on newer oily road phenomenon.

Thinking that other drivers actually will work to avoid a crash, incorrect, false, many drivers are mindless action-reaction machines who drive as if you obeyed the law, even when you don't. They plow into you when they have plenty of time to avoid a crash.

Not understanding why fresh black pavement is icy when dry and wet.

Not understanding that there are vehicles out there who will try to get you into an accident so they can collect on your insurance with insurance fraud.

Forgetting that hydroplaning on bald tires equals no brakes and no turning at 40 mph, hitting a tree is like jumping out a 4 story building.

Not understanding why hydroplaning happens - when a tire encounters a thickness of water on the road greater than the tread height on the tire. Lifting the tire off the road.

Not understanding that some drivers will TRY to hit you, for example, waving you on when you have a yield, then plowing into your left quarter, and collecting on your insurance for a brand new car. Not knowing the tricks people use to get you to fund their new car on your dime.

Getting a tire stuck in a rut and over correcting, causing a fishtail.

Over speed where tires lose momentary contact with road causing fishtail.

Tailgating and looking over the left shoulder blind spot causing a rear end.

Hundreds of others.