Every year, about 165,000 people are injured by drivers running a red light. Although the vast majority of drivers agree that running a red light is wrong, about a third confess to doing so within the last month.

Colorado Ranks #3 on QuoteWizard’s Annual Poll

Bad drivers are everywhere. But according to QuoteWizard’s annual best and worst driver study, they are especially prevalent in Wyoming, Virginia, and Colorado.

QuoteWizard reviewed more than two million insurance quotes to create a composite score for each state based on four factors: accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs, and traffic citations. “States considered to have the worst drivers had the highest rates of each incident factor.”

In addition to learning that Colorado is the third-worst state, QuoteWizard also determined that Denver is the eighth-worst among America’s major cities in the bad-driver category.

Bad Drivers and Bad Roads

OutThereColorado.com suggests that Colorado may rank third-worst in the QuoteWizard survey because so many drivers here lack winter driving skills, merge inconsistently with traffic, and ignore traffic rules. The state’s winding and overcrowded roads don’t help either.

“Colorado is booming in population in recent years, and the roads have yet to catch up. This means that traffic is reaching a surge unlike ever before — just try to drive to the mountains on a sunny Saturday. With crowding on the roadways comes heated tempers and boredom, two things that can result in dangerous driving. More cars on the road also means less margin for error.”

How to Be a Bad Driver

All it takes is indulging in one or more of the following bad habits:

  • Making poor parking decisions. Bad drivers park where they shouldn’t: in spaces reserved for the handicapped, no-parking zones, and otherwise restricted areas.
  • Running yellow lights. A yellow light means that you should be careful and slow down, not that you should speed up. Speeding up to zip through a yellow light before it turns red can lead to a collision with a pedestrian or another motorist.
  • Blowing through stop signs. Motorists are required to obey stop signs and red lights even when they don’t see anyone else around. According to the Federal Highway Administration, running a red light or other traffic control is the most common cause of urban accidents. It adds that some 165,000 people are injured every year by drivers running a red light.
  • Ignoring blind spots. Either loitering in a truck driver’s blind spots or neglecting to check your own before executing a maneuver may cause anxiety, distraction, and a serious collision.
  • Messing up merging. Some bad drivers are content to let car after car drift past them, thinking they’re being polite when they’re really disrupting the flow of traffic. Others aggressively shove their way to the front of the line. Both dangerously ignore proper merging techniques, which include being attentive to other drivers on the road and appropriately matching their speed.
  • Skipping turn signals. Bad drivers change lanes or turn without signaling, throwing off other drivers and endangering everyone in the vicinity.
  • Weaving like a wildebeest. When bad drivers are in a hurry, they may zigzag between lanes without regard to other drivers.
  • Tailgating. Drivers who tailgate are giving themselves less time to react and slow down if they need to. Tailgating may also provoke other drivers to retaliate by braking hard or deliberately slowing down, putting everyone at risk.
  • Routine speeding. Everyone speeds now and then. Bad drivers make a habit of it. According to the National Law Review, speeding dramatically increases the chances of a collision that results in injury or death. “The driver in a speeding vehicle has less time to react to a road hazard or a traffic control device,” observes the Review. “Speeding also makes a vehicle more susceptible to a loss of control due to weather-related road conditions, such as rain, snow, or ice.”

 If you have been involved in a collision with a bad driver, you may have a legal right to pursue compensation for your injuries.

Contact an experienced Colorado personal injury attorney.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact the Law Offices of Daniel R. Rosen online or call 303-454-8000 or 800-ROSEN-911 to schedule your free initial consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney today.

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