Mechanical failures can cause even careful drivers to crash, as they can make it all but impossible for those drivers to control their vehicles. Fault can be difficult to determine in these cases, as it may lie with the driver for not taking reasonable care of his or her vehicle, or it may lie with the company that made the vehicle for not building it in a safe manner. No matter who is at fault, though, you must know what legal rights you have to compensation if you’re injured in an accident like this.
To get better acquainted with the reasons that these accidents happen, take a look at some of the most common causes below:
— Tires that are not inflated properly– Worn out brake pads– Brakes that fail entirely– Loose steering wheels– Windshield wipers that do not work– Anti-Lock Brake Systems (ABS) that do not function properly, either mechanically or due to broken sensors and software– Burned out headlights– Broken turn signals
As you can imagine, it’s very possible that drivers won’t even know that they have a problem until it is too late. For example, if the turn signal is not working, a driver may never see that the light isn’t flashing from inside the car, but it could cause him or her to turn or merge into another vehicle.
It’s been reported that different mechanical errors show up in roughly 12 to 13 percent of car accidents. While this is nowhere near as high as driver error, it still shows that the things listed above are a serious issue in West Virgina.
Source: AA1car.com, “Auto Accidents Caused by Mechanical Failures,” accessed May. 06, 2015
