Preventing Head On Collisions

Head On Collisions can be prevented. Be aware while driving. The fatal flaw of all head on collisions is that the driver was not aware of either the speed of the approaching car and misjudged or did not see the car until it was too late. A head on collision is more apt to result in a fatality than any other type of collision.

Faulty driving maneuvers that might cause a driver to cross the centerline include: Bad passing judgment; Driving around a curve too fast for conditions; Left turns directly into the path of on-coming vehicle; Wide right turns; Failure to interpret pavement markings; Over correcting from a right wheel dropping off the pavement.

Traffic studies show that bad judgment and lack of control cause most of these collisions. Remember that someone, who has bad judgment even if you are doing everything right, can hit you. Like they say, when you number is up, your life is over.

Often there are conditions or obstructions that might cause a driver to cross the center line, these can include: Obstructions in other lanes (road conditions); Loss of control of vehicle (driver condition); Faulty driving maneuvers (driver condition); Cannot see the center line (weather or light conditions); Tire blowouts (vehicle condition); Impaired driving (driver condition); Construction barriers; Pedestrians or cyclists; Another vehicle parking or leaving the curb; or even Debris in the road.

Fire Trucks are often painted yellow to prevent head on collisions. The National Firefighters Union did a study and found that yellow fire trucks had 35% less accidents than red trucks and the red trucks had 140% less accidents than white trucks. Chances are you will not ever be in ahead on collision, but stay alert any way. You will probably be in your car two hours a day and that