Head-on

Head-on collisions often result in severe or fatal injuries to car crash victims

Head-on collisions are an often fatal type of road traffic collision. U.S. statistics show that in 2005, head-on crashes were only 2.0% of all crashes, yet accounted for 10.1% of US fatal crashes.  Head-on collisions, sideswipes, and run-off-road crashes all belong to a category of crashes called lane-departure or road-departure crashes. This is because they have similar causes, if different consequences. The driver of a vehicle fails to stay centered in their lane, and either leaves the roadway, or crosses the centerline, possibly resulting in a head-on or sideswipe collision, or, if the vehicle avoids oncoming traffic, a run-off-road crash on the far side of the road. Preventive measures include traffic signs and road surface markings to help guide drivers through curves, as well as separating opposing lanes of traffic with wide central reservation (or median) and median barriers to prevent crossover incidents. Median barriers are physical barriers between the lanes of traffic, such as concrete barriers or cable barriers. These are actually roadside hazards in their own right, but on high speed roads, the severity of a collision with a median barrier is usually lower than the severity of a head-on crash.

What to do after a serious or fatal head-on collision

When someone has been injured or killed in a head-on collision, it is important to learn as much as possible about the cause of the crash. Since injuries tend to be more severe and death is common, the accident victims will need to launch an insurance claim to begin the process of recovering financially from the staggering costs that come with these serious injury accidents. Finding an experienced personal injury attorney is the best place to begin, to preserve an insurance claim and maintain the rights of the injured party.