New Orleans Personal Injury Law Blog

As a driver in New Orleans, being involved in any kind of accident is usually stressful. Hit and run accidents are particularly so, as you may not be able to find the responsible motorist in order to file an accident claim and receive compensation for damage. However, there are steps you can take to seek justice while also preserving the safety of yourself and others. State Farm offers the following advice to help you do just that.

Stay on the scene

Once again, it’s the time of year when many families are preparing to send their children back to school. This season can be full of hope, stress and chaos for parents and their children and there may be an increased risk of a car crash for some families. For example, parents may be under a lot of pressure and more likely to crash due to sleep loss, anxiety, distractions and other factors. It is important to be vigilant during this time of year, especially since an accident can be particularly hard for a child who is focusing on returning to school.

Often, parents face some hurdles during back-to-school season. For example, a parent may have to adjust his or her schedule to drive their children to and from school each day. Before school starts, parents may be running around trying to buy school supplies and clothes. Sadly, accidents that have taken place during this season have resulted in the loss of lives and devastating injuries that have a major impact on a child’s ability to study. Moreover, parents may become involved in a crash regardless of how safe they drive. For example, another parent may be under the same pressures but fail to drive safely, causing a wreck that involves multiple vehicles.

Drug and alcohol use, smartphones and other auto accident risk factors often receive a lot of attention and are widely recognized as threats to safety behind the wheel. There are many other potential areas of concern when it comes to the likelihood of a motor vehicle collision, however. For example, someone who is struggling with debilitating negative emotions may be more likely to cause an accident while they are driving. From a recent divorce to the loss of a loved one or a cancer diagnosis, there are many reasons why people struggle with these challenges and it is important to be aware of this if you are dealing with strong emotions.

From intense depression to anger and high levels of stress, many different negative emotions can be problematic with respect to driving. Whether someone found out that their partner was unfaithful, or they were unexpectedly fired, people can become overwhelmed by a wide variety of unfortunate and upsetting events in life. When these emotions run high, they can cause drivers to become distracted while operating a vehicle. In fact, some drivers may be physically affected by their emotional state (shaky hands, abrupt movements, etc.).

Motor vehicle crashes have all sorts of causes and many drivers realize that intoxication, speeding, distractions and other behaviors can significantly increase the likelihood of a wreck taking place. However, there are many other factors that cause motor vehicle wrecks, such as language barriers. There are different ways in which a person who is unable to speak or read the local language may find themselves in an accident and language barriers can be difficult for many reasons.

When someone cannot read a particular language, they may struggle to make sense of signs or be unable to follow directions. This can be challenging for people who may have moved to a new country or are driving during their vacation. Not only do some drivers potentially put themselves in danger by getting behind the wheel when they are unable to read signs on the road, they may endanger other peoples’ lives also.