Welcome back! In last week's post I introduced the idea of classifying all the different car accidents into different categories: controllable and uncontrollable events.
The controllable events are typically accidents that can be prevented by some input from the driver. These accidents are directly the result of a driver not driving properly. Just to name a few examples, they could be distracted by a phone or the radio or they could be driving too fast. The uncontrollable events are typically accidents where the vehicle malfunctions or there is a special weather condition, like black ice, thick fog or a sudden unexpected obstacle (like a deer or a falling tree). Essentially there are three main variables that can cause an accident: the driver, the car, and the environment.
All these different variables can result in the same accident. For example, a simple fender bender can be caused by a driver talking on the phone and not seeing the car stopped in front of him, by a slick road where the car cannot get any traction to stop, or by the car's brakes giving out. Now there is some cross over. One could argue that, under slick conditions, the environment is not to blame, but the driver for not leaving enough room to brake. It depends on the specific accident, but those are the three main factors contributing to automobile collisions.
In next week's post, after some more research, I'll explain how new technologies can correct for errors in these contributing factors.
Which accidents are usually the most severe: the ones caused by the driver, the car, or the environment?
ReplyDeleteHey Mac,
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that there are easy steps that people can take to prevent accidents that are their fault, but obviously that's easier said than done. Do you think anything legal should be passed that would assist with this? Or is it better to have people learn once they’ve been through an accident and suffered the consequences?
Daniel