3 Small Mistakes that Cause Big Highway Accidents

Every accident that happens on the road is tragic, but some of them can be particularly catastrophic. While crashes on main streets happen regularly, they pale in comparison to the kind of accidents you see on America’s highways. 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 39,345 people died in traffic crashes in 2024. While it’s a 3.8% decrease compared to the 40,901 fatalities of 2023, even a single death is regrettable. 

When you’re riding a motorcycle, what could be a survivable crash in a car is often fatal. This is unfortunate because many highway accidents are completely avoidable. In fact, many of them are caused by minor mistakes or factors. If you want to stay safe on the highways, read on to avoid the following three tiny mistakes that can have life-altering consequences. 

Lane Lapses or Unsafe Changing of Lanes

When you’re traveling above 70 mph, lateral movement becomes incredibly risky. Countless people get into crashes even when they signal and then make a lane change. It’s inherently a dangerous move because you’re not the only factor that’s involved. If the drivers behind you are distracted even for a few seconds, they’re not going to adjust to your change. 

At highway speeds, even a love tap can get both vehicles out of control. So, give the riders behind you some extra time to adjust by ensuring they’ve seen your turn signals before adjusting. 

Likewise, be very careful around cars that are pulling over or stalled out on a highway. For instance, last week, a stalled car on the left lane in Colorado Springs’s Powers Boulevard caused a 12-car pile-up. Thankful, no one was seriously injured, despite the damage to multiple vehicles. However, you can be sure most of them called up a car accident lawyer in Colorado Springs that day. 

As Springs Law Group explains, finding fault in a multiple vehicle accident can be tricky. They note that if you were on the wrong side of the road at the time of the collision, the law will presume you were negligent. So, make sure you never slow down or stop on a busy road or highway. The last thing you want is to be responsible for a multi-vehicular pile-up. 

#2. Underestimating Reaction Time

Just like how you had to give riders around you a little extra time to ensure they know you’re turning, you might need that leeway, too. No one has perfect reaction times, and it’s one of the often overlooked factors that actually has an important role to play. Data backs this up as well.

Research on road accidents has found that drivers between the ages of 25 and 50 are more prone to accidents than younger drivers. Other behavioral insights that cause accidents include following too closely, lane violations, and distractions. 

The thing about reaction times is that the faster you’re moving, the more demanding it is in terms of reaction time. Even when you’re traveling at 40 – 50 mph, reaction time still needs to be in the single-digit seconds. What looks like a decent distance between you and the truck ahead actually needs an insanely quick reaction time.     

At 70+ mph, 1 second of distraction = 102.67 feet. If you were 30-50 feet behind, you can imagine how fast a reaction time you’d need to adjust. That’s the thing about highway driving. The fast speeds really amplify risk in a manner that the average driver doesn’t expect or understand.

#3. Distractions and Mental Preoccupation

While closely related to the previous point, distractions and mental preoccupation are another risk factor that are particularly dangerous. At the very least, distractions mean a delayed reaction time, leading to situations discussed above. However, in the worst-case scenarios, it completely eliminates the possibility of even reacting. 

Recent research has shown that simply talking on the phone while driving increases your crash probability by 27%. On the other hand, listening to music while driving had the effect of increasing reaction time by 5.2% or a 10.5% increase in crash probability.

If you need to talk on the phone or engage in tasks that could potentially distract or occupy your mind away from driving safely, pull over. Even with Bluetooth earphones under a helmet, it’s not worth it. Your mind will still be distracted, so find the nearest safe space, such as the road shoulder, and then take the call if you have to. 

It’s simply not worth the risk to have a conversation on the phone while you’re driving at highway speeds.

All things considered, so many crashes and accidents happen on highways because people misunderstand what it takes to stay safe. They believe that as long as you’re good at driving fast, you’re okay. However, as we’ve seen today, that’s far from the truth. 

In addition to decent driving skills, you also have to take into account your reaction time, others’ reaction time, distractions, and more. These factors get even more deadly if you happen to be on a motorcycle instead of a car, so do pay attention when driving. It just takes a fraction of a second to make a mistake that ends your life.