Exercise Caution at Accident Scenes
Rush hour traffic is always a nightmare. Whether it’s during the morning when the roads are full of school buses or in the afternoon when the roads are full of commuters, rush hour can be the most stressful and also the most dangerous time for accidents. However, it is during this time that drivers must exercise the most caution and common sense.
This morning I witnessed an accident on a heavily traveled two lane road. One car had been driven into a deep ditch on one side, while the other car was stopped in the middle of the road. The car in the middle of the road did not have on its hazard lights and it was difficult to see that an accident had occurred. The good news is that both driver’s appeared uninjured.
Unfortunately, cars on the side of the road where the accident occurred continued driving between the two cars in the accident. This created an even more dangerous situation. Cars trying to go through the accident scene endangered not only those persons involved in the accident, but endangered other drivers on the roadway. They also increased the chance that another, more serious accident, was going to happen. Fortunately, a police officer was only a few cars away approaching the scene.
There is no doubt that the fact it was rush hour and drivers were in a hurry contributed to the lack of caution. If you approach an accident scene please be sure to exercise extreme caution, but most importantly common sense. If you approach an accident and have time to plan, use a different route. If you can go around the accident without endangering yourself or others, do so. However, you should never travel through an accident scene. If you must stop your vehicle to avoid going through the accident scene, do so. Causing a second accident or injuring those in the first is not worth the extra time it takes waiting for emergency assistance or for the drivers to clear the road. If you approach an accident treat it with extreme caution and exercise common sense to avoid making a bad situation worse. Don’t forget, if you are in an noninjury accident, move your vehicle from the road to avoid creating a dangerous situation.
