On the Road
By: Milani Vanniyasingam
Fatal car accident on Parramatta Road
Three men have been involved in a recent car accident on Parramatta Road. The driver died on the spot while the passenger is seriously injured and has been receiving treatment at the hospital.
According to the police investigation, The driver is a 20 year old while the passenger was a 19 year old both drunk. The accident happened around 4:30 am on a Sunday morning. The driver was driving at 150km/hr on a 80km/hr road. Speeding was the main cause of this accident but due to the 20 year old getting himself very drunk with also a drunk passenger led up to this fatal accident.
Causes of road accidents
Getting into car accidents can lead to several unwanted consequences such as serious injuries, not being able to work, etc.
Top 3 causes of car accidents:
- Speed driving - Speeding is on of the greatest cause of death and injuries. About 40% of fatal accidents happen because of speeding.
- Use of mobile phones - texting while driving also causes a lot of car accidents. Looking down and typing keeps the driver distracted and thats what causes accidents.
- Drunk driving - According to studies, driving while under the infulence of alcohol results in not being able to focus on the road and this issue causes car accidents.
Consequences of unsafe road use behaviour
There are many consequences involved with unsafe driving, these include:
- injury or fatality
- losing loved ones
- guilt of killing a passenger or pedestrian
- loss of licence
- loss of vehicle due to crash or consequences
- jail
- fines
- loss of demerit points
Actions that could be taken by individuals to prevent accidents
- Don‘t speed - it‘s always important too keep up to the speed limit and not to drive over speed.
- Obey traffic rules - traffic rules have been created for drivers to obey them for safety purposes.
- Wear seat belts - a statistic has been revealed that about 68% of accidents have been caused due to not wearing seat belts.
- Always look out - look out for people crossing the road especially children.
- Take all the road/safety signs seriously - road and safety signs have been placed on roads for a reason. You should always follow them because signs let us know if there's an accident, speed limits, slippery roads, etc.
Factors that affect an individual's decision making and how that may contribute to risky road behaviors
Young drivers are the group of drivers most likely to crash. There are a number of factors that contribute to the high crash risk experienced by these drivers. Young car drivers are five to 10 times more likely to experience injuries as a result of road crashes when compared to drivers among the safest age group. Teenager being able to drive for the first time is like, they have been given the rights to rule the world. Freedom. They want to take advantage of it and make the most out of it.