What Makes Reckless Driving Deadly?

Reckless driving is more than just a simple traffic violation – it is a criminal offense in Florida. It is more serious than careless driving since it involves total disregard for the rules of the road and other motorists’ and pedestrians’ safety and property.

Unfortunately, since reckless driving accidents typically involve high speeds, injured victims of such devastating crashes usually sustain serious to life-changing injuries, such as neck and back injuries, traumatic brain injuries, multiple bone fractures, internal organ damage, spinal cord injuries, or even death.

Reckless driving crashes can be deadly because they often involve multiple driving behaviors or practices that violate the traffic rules, including the following:

Distracted Driving

The astronomical rise of wireless communication devices has resulted in unintended and sometimes fatal consequences. A worrying number of traffic crashes are related to distracted driving, including the use of mobile phones when driving, causing serious injuries and deaths.

Distracted driving is basically anything that could divert your focus away from driving. Drivers who are drinking, eating, grooming, tinkering with the radio, or using their mobile phones to text, call, etc., particularly if coupled with other reckless driving behaviors, are the perfect recipe for a potentially fatal reckless driving accident.

Driving Under The Influence (DUI)

A DUI, whether involving alcohol and/or drugs, is sadly a common reckless driving behavior that kills more than 10,000 people in the U.S. yearly. Even a seemingly negligible increase in blood alcohol content (BAC) or drug content in the body raises the risk of a driver getting into a fatal crash.

Speeding

This is also a very common and particularly dangerous reckless driving behavior because speeding drivers can easily lose control of their vehicles or not have adequate time to slow down or stop safely to avoid a crash. In 2020, 1,647 people were injured, and 61 were killed in crashes caused by drivers who drove too fast for the road conditions. Likewise, 616 people were injured, and 137 people were killed in crashes involving reckless drivers who exceeded the posted speed limits.

Running Red Lights and Stop Signs

Reckless drivers are notorious for not stopping at stoplights and red lights and failing to give other motorists or pedestrians the right-of-way. But what’s even more dangerous, sometimes fatal, is when drivers run a red light when an innocent driver or pedestrian with the right-of-way simultaneously crosses the intersection.

Following Another Vehicle Too Closely

A lot of reckless drivers often combine tailgating with speeding and fail to leave sufficient space and time to stop safely in case the vehicle in front suddenly stops. This can cause devastating traffic crashes, especially when the reckless driver is driving at excessively faster speeds.

Talk to a Skilled Port St. Lucie Car Accident Lawyer Now

If you’ve been hurt in a reckless driving accident in Florida, our Port St. Lucie car accident lawyer can recover fair compensation for your injuries and all your accident-related losses. To set up your free initial consultation, please call 866-640-7117 or send us an online message.