Every day on your commute, you’re stunned by how poorly it seems everyone else is able to drive. You see people texting, drifting out of their lane, not stopping in time, tailgating, driving recklessly or aggressively, and much more. There are just a plethora of mistakes, and you’re always a bit relieved if you make it to work without getting into an accident.
What you start to wonder, though, is if these people realize how poorly they’re driving. Do they even know the dangers that they’re creating? Or are they thinking the same thing you are about everyone else?
Most people think they’re better than average
Interestingly, studies have consistently found that the majority of drivers believe that they are very good at what they do, or at least above average. This is true, for instance, for roughly 80% of male drivers in one study.
At the same time, it’s been shown that at least nine out of 10 accidents happen because of human error. Not only is it impossible for 80% of people to be above average, but it’s also obvious that most accidents just happen because people are not good at driving. They may not understand it, and they may not think that they’re contributing to this problem, but the statistics paint a fairly clear picture.
So what can you do?
The first thing you can do is to become a defensive driver, anticipating the mistakes that others are going to make and putting yourself in a position to stay safe. However, if you are still injured in a crash that one of these other drivers causes, then you need to know how to seek financial compensation for medical bills and other costs.