Any car crash has the potential to cause serious injury or death. A low-speed pedestrian crash in a parking lot could lead to a deadly brain injury for the pedestrian. A vehicle side-swiping a slower-moving car on the highway could push the other vehicle off the road or into a guardrail with tragic consequences.
Crashes between motor vehicles and bicycles or pedestrians tend to be severe. The same is true of collisions involving commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles. When the crash involves two passenger vehicles, the type of crash that occurs has a major influence on the outcome of the situation. For example, according to federal collision statistics, one type of crash is far more likely than others to lead to a tragic outcome.
The angle of the impact is a key risk factor
The way in which two vehicles make contact has a direct influence on the severity of the consequences. When looking at federal crash statistics, it is very clear that one type of collision tends to be far deadlier than others.
Sideswipe and other less-common two-vehicle collisions are the least deadly type of collision. They account for 8.2% of all traffic fatalities according to the National Safety Council (NSC). Rear-end crashes are more dangerous, as they account for 17.3% of all fatal collisions.
Head-on crashes, which many people think of as the most dangerous type, actually only represent 29.6% of all crash fatalities. Angle collisions, such as T-bone crashes, are the deadliest. According to the NSC, they are responsible for 44.9% of all traffic fatalities.
Angle or side-impact collisions are often more dangerous because vehicles do not have safety system requirements for side impacts the way they do for head-on collisions. Some newer vehicles have side-impact safety systems, but they are not mandatory yet. Additionally, they are not part of the vehicle safety testing process.
Drivers generally need to be aware of how other vehicles approach them in traffic. Understanding that side-impact crashes are potentially the deadliest may help people prioritize safety the next time they approach an intersection.
Those involved in severe car collisions may need to take legal action afterward. When insurance compensation isn’t sufficient, a personal injury lawsuit can potentially help mitigate the costs of a serious collision caused by another’s negligence.