Lakewood Colorado Legal Blog

It doesn't matter if you're taking a long road trip this holiday season or simply traveling across town to visit family, any time you get behind the wheel you're at risk of an accident.

There are many potential causes of holiday car accidents. Understanding these will go a long way in helping you remain safe.

• Distracted driving. This can include drinking a cup of coffee, sending a text message or talking to children in the backseat.
• Drowsy driving. It's easy to wear down during the holidays. Don't get behind the wheel if you're too tired to make safe and sound decisions at all times.
• Road conditions. For example, heavy snow and ice could blanket the roads, making it more difficult to maintain control of your vehicle.
• Nighttime driving. Decreased visibility during nighttime hours makes it more difficult to see the road ahead, as well as other vehicles.
• Reckless driving. From speeding on the highway to illegal passing on a city road, there's never a good time to drive recklessly.

It's that time of the year. The time when you never know when the snow will begin to fall. As exciting as it may be, especially if you enjoy the great outdoors, it can also pose a problem when you get behind the wheel.

It doesn't matter if you're driving on dry roads or in heavy snow, it's always your goal to reach your destination without incident. Here are five tips that will improve your chance of doing so:

• Avoid fast accelerations and hard decelerations: Both of these things improve the likelihood of losing traction, thus causing an accident.
• Slow down: Forget about the speed limit and drive at a pace you consider safe for the road conditions.
• Add more following distance: Snow can make it more difficult to stop your vehicle. Keep a minimum of eight seconds of following distance between other vehicles.
• Don't stop on slopes: Avoid stopping when driving up a snowy hill. If you lose momentum, it may be difficult to get going again.
• Don't leave home: It may alter your plans, but if the snow is too heavy, you should stay at home until conditions improve.

As a pedestrian, you should do whatever it takes to avoid an accident with a motor vehicle. You can only imagine the pain and suffering that results from being part of this type of accident.

Understanding the most common causes of auto-pedestrian accidents can help keep you safe. Here are some things to remember:

• Darting into traffic: If you need to cross the street, it's best to do so at a designated crosswalk.
• Speeding: When a driver is speeding, they'll find it more difficult to see what's going on around them. The same holds true if they need to stop their vehicle in a hurry.
• Failure to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks: Pedestrians have the right of way at crosswalks, but that doesn't mean all drivers will slow down and take extra caution.
• Disregard for weather conditions: When the weather changes, such as snow or rain moving into the area, drivers must adjust their approach.
• Distracted driving: For example, if a driver is talking on the phone while approaching a busy intersection, they may not see a pedestrian crossing the road.

At this point, practically every person in Colorado owns or at least uses a cell phone on a regular basis. The presence of cell phones in a person’s everyday life means these devices go with you almost everywhere, including in the car.

For drivers who struggle to resist the dangerous – and illegal – temptations of cell phone use in the car, it may be necessary to take steps to disable some of those tempting features while behind the wheel. Most smart phones now either come pre-loaded with a distraction-reducing feature or offer them in the form of a downloadable app.