The improving U.S. economy is good news to most individuals, but when it comes to California roads, there is a downside. According to a recent article from The Sacramento Bee, California has seen a 13 percent uptick in CA fatalities. In fact, U.S. roads experienced nearly a 10 percent increase in fatalities over the first three months of 2015. Those increases are a logical effect of increased traffic caused by a better economy.

How the Economy Affects Traffic

During the heart of the economic downturn, more people undoubtedly spent more time conducting job searches on the phone or on a computer. However, as the economy improved, there were a number of changes that affected traffic patterns, such as the following:

• Additional traffic has come from many newly-employed individuals who need to get to work each day.
• While auto sales plummeted during the economic downturn, 2015 marked a record high in car sales, adding over 17 million cars and trucks to U.S. roads.
• As the economy improved, gas prices went down dramatically, even though the two events are not necessarily directly connected. The saving of per-gallon gas expenses has encouraged drivers to get back on the road.
• In spite of robust public transportation in many CA cities such as Los Angeles, service cuts during the downturn reduced ridership. That issue continues even now, possibly due to a combination of changed habits, fare hikes and reduced gas prices.

It is currently difficult to predict precisely what combination of conditions will cause Californians to reduce their driving habits due to heavy traffic conditions. Until that time comes, it is reasonable to expect the higher accident rate to continue.

Defensive Driving is More Necessary — and More Difficult in Heavy Traffic

When drivers can predict upcoming collisions by observing the behavior of nearby vehicles, they can often make defensive maneuvers that can prevent expected accidents from occurring. Defensive driving is highly effective on the open road and it can also be effective in high traffic areas. That said, drivers cannot typically carefully observe the behaviors of a seemingly endless number of nearby vehicles that are in a position to cause accidents.

The bottom line is that increased traffic volume naturally attracts increased auto accidents, even when defensive drivers are in the mix. Just as important, it also adds confusion when trying to identify parties with liability.

Each Los Angeles auto accident attorney at The Rudman Law Firm works closely with our clients to unravel a complex maze of evidence to help reveal the true causes of heavy-traffic collisions. To help protect rights to compensation from negligent drivers who cause injuries, call us at (844) 478-3626 / (844) 4RUDMAN, at our Los Angeles office at (213) 375-3777 or at our Studio City office (818) 769-6969.