Did you know that, according to the National Safety Council (NSC), Americans get in 10 million car crashes per year, including anything from minor, parking lot scrapes to highway pileups? The Insurance Research Council, moreover, reveals that the average auto accident injury claim costs $23,450. Auto accidents can be extremely costly, and, still, it can be difficult to get insurance companies to pay out enough to truly cover accident costs. How can drivers avoid accidents, and what should drivers do if they get into one?

Avoid Auto Accidents

Keeping car accidents at a minimum depends on three things, or the three leading causes of fatal crashes: speeding, drunk driving, and distracting driving behaviors. Drivers can dramatically reduce the likelihood of crashes by going the speed limit, using a designated driver, and keeping their eyes on the road. In fact, one out of three fatal crashes involves at least one drunk driver. Likewise, seemingly harmless actions, like texting, make auto accidents up to 23 times more likely. Drivers can also stay safe by avoiding densely populated cities, whenever possible, and staying off the roads from 12 to 3 a.m.

Filing a Car Accident Injury Claim

Statistically, car accidents will occur once every 17.9 years. When it happens, filing a successful claim often depends on your actions immediately following the accident. Here’s what to do:

• File a police report. Always contact the police. If applicable (in other words, in the case of minor or major injury), call 911 immediately. Insurance providers remind drivers that, ideally, the police report should not entail any personal admissions of fault from either party.
• Contact the other driver’s insurance company. If you are a victim of an auto accident injury and the other driver is at fault, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) recommends writing an official letter to the at-fault party’s insurance company. Make sure the letter is specific, including your name, accident date and location, and the date you intend to send the letter. Notify the company that you were injured.
• Talk to auto injury attorneys. Insurance companies are trying to profit. You are much more likely to get fair compensation with the help of an auto injury attorney.

Avoid taking risks on the road. If and when an accident inevitably happens, get fair compensation for auto injuries by filing a police report and talking to an auto injury attorney. Good refereneces: St. louis personal injury attorney