Safety And Collisions

Most crashes in Texas result from speeding, failure to yield, driving under the influence of alcohol, following too closely and running red lights and stop signs. To avoid a collision, slow down and use your best judgment to adjust your driving to the surrounding conditions, drive friendly by yielding to other drivers when appropriate and be courteous, maintain a safe following distance, look both ways and even look to the left a second time before you enter an intersection, signal every turn and lane change, stop at red lights and stop signs and don’t drive if you’ve been drinking. A lot of that may seem like what people like to call “common sense”, but if you’ve ever driven within a 100-mile radius of Houston then you know common sense isn’t all that common.

If you do have a collision then you should first check yourself and others involved for injuries. If people are hurt then help them as best you can. That could mean simply moving them away from debris or traffic or as much as performing CPR. Also, move your car out of the roadway to a safer place where you can exchange names, addresses, phone numbers, vehicle identification numbers, vehicle license plate numbers, insurance information and driver license information. Note the location of the crash and get the names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses. If the vehicles cannot be moved, protect the scene by setting up flares, raising your hood or using other safe signs that will inform other drivers that there is an dangerous situation nearby. One good collision doesn’t deserve another.