Why Do Additional Collisions Often Occur at the Scene of a Car Crash?

Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of motorists like the words, “multi-car pileup.” We’ve all seen news reports of horrific chain reaction car accidents with an alarming number of vehicles crashing one after the other into a tangled mass of twisted cars and injured victims. In other cases, police camera videos capture additional collisions nearby when they are already at the scene of an accident. But what causes multi-car pileup accidents and additional crashes at an accident site, and how do drivers avoid becoming an alarming statistic?

Understanding Multi-Car Pileups

Large, chain-reaction accidents or multi-car pileups occur when an initial crash or collision happens and other vehicles traveling in the same direction don’t have adequate time to avoid the accident.

Multi-car pileup accidents happen most often on highways with vehicles traveling at faster speeds than they do on roadways in urban and residential areas. At high speeds, the stopping time required to bring a vehicle from 55-65 miles per hour is significantly longer than it would take to come to a stop when driving 30 miles per hour.

Tailgating or driving too closely to the vehicle directly in front of you may also increase the chances of a multi-car collision. When the first car or first two cars have an accident and another approaching driver does not have adequate stopping time, they collide into the accident scene ahead. After that, another car may collide, and another, and so on until approaching traffic slows sufficiently to stop the collisions.

Chain-reaction car accidents may be exacerbated by distracted drivers. In some cases, a driver’s speed and following distance should allow them sufficient stopping time, but they are looking at their phone and fail to spot the accident ahead in time to avoid a collision.

Why Are There Sometimes Additional Collisions at an Accident Scene Minutes or Even Hours Later?

Police officers and emergency service workers are aware of the dangers at an accident scene. Even long after the dust settles on an initial accident, as law enforcement and paramedics do their jobs, the sight of an accident scene raises a spectacle for other drivers. When drivers stare at a traffic accident on the roadside, they become distracted from their task of driving, sometimes causing a secondary collision at or near the original accident scene. A driver who is staring at an accident ahead or to the side of their vehicle may cause a rear-end collision with the driver directly in front of them.

What is Target Fixation?

One alarming phenomenon that sometimes causes a secondary accident at the scene of a car crash is known as target fixation. When a driver spots something interesting ahead on the roadway, they may become so fixated on it that they unintentionally steer into it instead of away from it. This occurs when staring causes a subtle lean in the direction of the gaze inadvertently causing a driver to steer their car in the direction of their gaze. Target fixation is even more common with motorcyclists who use their body weight as a part of their steering.

Target fixation is also to blame when a driver collides with a law enforcement officer when the officer pulls over a driver for a traffic citation.

How Can a Washington Car Accident Lawyer Help?

If you suffered property damage and personal injury due to a negligent driver or were involved in a multi-car pileup or secondary collision, you need the legal guidance of a car accident attorney with an in-depth understanding of Washington’s traffic laws and insurance system. A skilled Kent personal injury attorney helps recover some or all of your damages like medical expenses, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering. Under Washington’s pure comparison negligence insurance laws, drivers may recover a portion of their damages even if they contributed to the cause of an accident.