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Home » Consumer Information » Automobile Safety

Head-on Collision

A head-on collision can cause a multitude of devastation in terms of property damage and injuries that are often critical or fatal. This kind of collision is more likely to result in death than any other kind. It involves two vehicles moving in opposite directions which meet front bumper to front bumper. Such an auto accident usually happens when one of the automobiles crosses the median or turns against the flow of traffic down a one-way street. A head-on collision can also be between a car and a standing object such as a telephone pole or tree. These are often more disastrous than two-car frontal impact collisions because the stationary object often does not collapse or crumple in the same manner that an automobile is designed to absorb the blow and protect its passengers.

Causes

Head-on collisions can almost always be avoided through driver awareness. Most accidents of this genre are usually the result of the driver misjudging the velocity of an oncoming car or not seeing it at all until the last second. Negligent driving tactics that could cause a driver to cross the centerline include:

  • Poor passing judgment.
  • Cornering at a rate of speed too dangerous for the conditions.
  • Turning left right into the path of an approaching car or truck.
  • Making a wide right turn.
  • Failure to follow road markings.
  • Overcorrection of an outer wheel that drops off the road's shoulder.
  • Drug or alcohol use.

Research has shown that poor judgment and loss of vehicle control are most responsible for head-on collisions. Innocent people often fall victim to a head-on collision caused by another driver's poor decision-making skills.
Other reasons that a driver may cross the centerline that are outside their control include:

  • Obstacles in other lanes.
  • Low visibility due to weather conditions.
  • Tire blowouts.
  • Construction.
  • Pedestrians and bicyclists.
  • Another car parallel parking, pulling away from the curb, or leaving a driveway or side street.
  • Debris or animals in the middle of the road.

Avoidance

Try to predict where a head-on collision could take place in your course of driving. Head-on collisions can happen on a curve or straightaway, so staying alert at all times is a must. Look as far down the road as you can, and you'll usually see a vehicle exhibiting erratic behavior before it's too late. Turning on your headlights during the day is a good idea because you will stick out amongst other cars since running daytime lights is still a rarity; other drivers may stop and think how it is that you have them on. Also if you're rounding a blind bend, try to stay as far away from the centerline as you can to avoid anyone taking it too wide.

Reaction

Even if you consider yourself a top notch defensive driver, you never know if you're going to be the next victim of a head-on collision. If you have any time to react at all, slow down rapidly while still maintaining control. This will help lessen the force of the blow. If you have room, pull off the road to the right. Do not ever head to the left, or you may wind up hitting someone else head-on. If you are about to run into a solid, immobile object on the side of the road, turn the wheel in an attempt to graze the object and minimize damage. You are better off crashing into something at an angle for your safety's sake and the condition of your vehicle. In the end, you have a greater chance of survival by vacating the roadway and taking your chances than meeting another driver head-on traveling at a high rate of speed.

Keep in mind that if you are driving an automobile equipped with an airbag, you chances of living through the crash improve by 60 percent. The bigger your vehicle, the more likely you are to make it as well. So, all those bad things we hear about sport utility vehicles may not be so bad if it means the difference between life and death.