The term, side swipe generally brings to mind a minor accident resulting in damage to a car door or fender. However, this term does not adequately describe the true dangers of side impact collisions. According to the most recent statistics from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), frontal impacts account for 56 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths. Another 34 percent of passenger fatalities were caused by side-impact collisions.

Considering the heavy traffic in Los Angeles and many other areas in California, practically any Los Angeles car accident lawyer can confirm that other drivers, as well as various types of third-party negligence, can cause serious injuries when vehicles approach from the side.

How Side Impact Collisions Happen

Lane markings help identify the boundaries in which a motorist may drive, and traffic signals and signs dictate when drivers must yield the right-of-way. However, these devices offer no physical protection to drivers. The following are some of the most common ways that negligence causes side impact collisions:

• Distracted drivers frequently take their hands off the wheel, allowing their vehicles to swerve into another lane and collide with other vehicles.
• Some drivers signal a lane change and then immediately move into the lane without first checking for traffic.
• Motorists can strike other vehicles when they race through yellow lights that turn red before they clear the intersection.
• The IIHS reports a study of specific intersections where, on average, a motorist ran the red light about every 20 minutes. Often called T-bone collisions, motorists traveling through green lights at these times can sustain full frontal impact on the sides of their vehicles.
• Unexpected potholes can cause vehicles to leave their own lanes and move towards another vehicle.

Even though the most common causes are well-known, proving these types of negligence can be challenging — especially for severely-injured victims who cannot remain at the accident scene.

Car Doors Seldom Adequately Protect Vehicle Occupants

Through the years, vehicles have gone through significant design changes to make them safer. Crumple zones were introduced to absorb crash impact before it reaches occupants, car interiors generally have more padding and front airbags are required by law in all new models. While car doors are now generally designed to be safer and side airbags are an option in many models, most attention continues to focus on front and rear collisions.

Additional legal concerns arise if, for example, a side airbag fails during a collision. Of course, this failure would not remove liability on the part of a negligent driver who caused a collision, but since it could affect the level of injury, it certainly can raise issues of contributory negligence on the part of the airbag or auto manufacturer. The Rudman Law Firm APC regularly delves into issues like these. To learn how we help protect the rights of auto accident victims, 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.