The Safe Driver

Tips on how to avoid the risk of a side impact collision

**A contributed post as written for The Safe Driver by Vicki Haskett.

You’re in your vehicle waiting for the traffic light at an intersection to turn from red to green so that you can drive across it. But once the intersection’s traffic light turned green, you felt a sudden thud hit the side of your vehicle, and before you know it, you’ve already become a victim of a side impact collision that resulted in your vehicle’s doors getting deformed and you or any passengers you brought along with you sustaining physical injuries. As most – if not all – accidents are preventable, here are some tips that you can use to avoid the risk of a side impact collision so that you can arrive at your destination without any hassle:

1. Take extra care whenever crossing an intersection.

When driving through an intersection, it’s best to think of it as very similar to how you as a pedestrian would cross a busy street.

• Once you’re allowed to cross an intersection, you should look to your left first and then to your right for any vehicles that may approach from your side.
• But even if all vehicles to your left or right have been asked to stop and give way to you as you cross an intersection, you shouldn’t assume that every single one of them has gone to a full stop. You should remain alert for any possibility of a vehicle to your left or right that may brazenly approach and hit you.
• Only after you’ve ensured that “the coast is clear” so to speak can you start crossing an intersection safe and sound.

1. Follow all traffic lights and stop signs.

Traffic lights and stop signs are essential to the safety of every driver. And yet, some drivers treat them as if they’re mere suggestions instead of rules of the road that they have to observe. You’re better than them though, so don’t be like them.

• If an intersection where you’re driving through has a traffic light, it usually turns from green to yellow first before changing to red. Thus, when a traffic light in an intersection changes from green to yellow, you should slowly decrease your vehicle’s driving speed. When the same traffic light changes from yellow to red, you should step on your vehicle’s brake pedal to make a complete stop.
• Whether you’re in a hurry or not, you shouldn’t beat the red light, especially when crossing an intersection. Aside from increasing your risk of getting caught in a side impact collision, you’ll get into legal trouble as beating the red light is against the law.
• But in case a traffic light in an intersection is not working, traffic enforcement usually deploys one of its enforcers to control the movement of vehicles crossing it. If you see a traffic enforcer at an intersection either holding a red STOP sign or raising their palm in front of you, it means that you should make your vehicle come to a full stop. Only after the traffic enforcer either flips the sign they’re holding into one that’s green and says GO or moves their arm to the direction where you’ll be crossing can you resume driving.

1. Blow your vehicle’s horn to warn the driver of a vehicle approaching towards your side.

Visual inspection of any oncoming vehicles to your left or right might sometimes not be enough. You may, therefore, have to honk your vehicle’s horn so that the driver of a vehicle approaching to your side would be alerted that you’ll be passing in front of them – albeit in a perpendicular direction.

• However, you should only blow your vehicle’s horn a couple of times at most and in roads where you’re allowed to do it.
• You shouldn’t blow your vehicle’s horn when you’re driving along an intersection near a church, school, or any business establishment with a “no blowing of horn” sign outside them.

1. Buy a vehicle with a side airbag.

When you think of an airbag, you might be familiar only with the one located in the middle of your vehicle’s steering wheel that self-inflates in case you get caught in an accident and protects your head from getting crushed.

• But in a side impact collision, your body gets affected the most, and you can suffer various sorts of injuries that can damage your chest, pelvis, abdomen, and spine as a result.
• If your vehicle right now is an old one that only has a front airbag, you should consider selling it and replace it with a brand new vehicle that comes with a side airbag that protects your body from being massively injured should a side impact collision happen.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, side impact collisions accounted for more than 5,000 driver and passenger deaths in 2016. You wouldn’t want to be part of that ugly statistic; thus, you should observe the above-listed tips on how to avoid the risk of a side impact collision. After all, you can’t afford to get the doors of your vehicle bent out of shape which can set you back financially as you have to get them repaired, and even more than having your vehicle’s doors fixed, you simply can’t have your life as well as that of your vehicle’s passengers cut short by some vehicular accident.

If you want to ensure your utmost safety when driving, you may click here to learn more about the legal consequences of a side impact collision.

 Vicki Haskett

Vicki is a law writing enthusiast who’s had over 25 years of experience in her field. She enjoys sharing her experiences with  those who want to learn more about the legal world. In her spare time she spends quality time with her family and friends.