Head-on collisions are among the most deadly motor vehicle accidents in the Bay Area because the vehicles absorb the entire force of impact as they move toward each other. A recent accident in North Contra Costa County (Brentwood) provides an example of the serious nature of these dangerous collisions. A Ford Ranger pickup and a Toyota Sienna minivan were involved in a head-on crash early Monday morning. Two of the vehicle occupants involved in the collision were airlifted to the hospital after suffering major injuries.
A head-on collision occurs when the front ends of both vehicles are involved in the point of impact. These types of dangerous car crashes are most common on freeways when drivers enter the freeway traveling in the wrong direction or at intersections. A head-on collision on a freeway typically is the result of a driver inadvertently entering the freeway from the off-ramp or crossing the center median into oncoming traffic. A variation of this type of head-on collision occurs when a vehicle proceeding down a highway makes an unsafe lane change and moves into the adjacent lane of oncoming traffic to pass another vehicle. The enormous force of the impact generated by vehicles moving toward each other at freeway speeds makes head-on freeway accidents especially dangerous. When head-on collisions occur at intersections, it is usually the result of drivers disobeying red lights, yield signs, stop signs or otherwise disregarding right of way rules.
Because roadways are designed so that vehicles do not travel in the same lane of traffic in opposite directions, head-on collisions are almost always caused, at least in part, by the negligence of one of the drivers. The types of negligent driving that typically contributes to a head-on collision includes:
- Drunk driving
- Distracted driving
- Running traffic lights or stop signs
- Failure to yield
- Turning the wrong way down a one way street
- Entering the freeway from an on-ramp
- Drowsy drivers
- Unsafe passing on two lane roads
The physics of a head-on collision make these crashes highly likely to cause life-altering injuries. However, the nature of the danger is slightly different than many people presume. If two vehicles are moving toward each other at fifty mph, it is a common misperception that the force of impact is twice the intensity as a vehicle slamming into a brick wall at fifty mph. In reality, the force is exactly the same because of Newton’s Third Law of Motion, which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Because the force is equal and opposite, this means that the vehicles move away from each other with the same force that they collide with one another. What makes these accidents so deadly is the factor of increased speed. There is four times as much energy released on impact for every time speed is doubled. This is why head-on collisions at high rates of speed tend to result in catastrophic injury and wrongful death.
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If you or someone you love is seriously injured in a head-on collision on the streets of San Francisco or a Bay Area freeway, our experienced San Francisco auto accident attorneys at the Law Office of Ian Zimmerman may be able to represent you in seeking financial compensation for your injuries or loss. We invite you to contact The Law Office of Ian Zimmerman for your free initial consultation. We are open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., speak Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, and are available for weekend, evening, home and hospital meetings and visits. We also offer free initial consultations and work exclusively on a contingency fee basis so that you pay nothing if we don’t win your case.