Car veers off the road
Drunk driver and vehicle defects
Sequence of events:
The 23-year-old, heavily drunk driver of a car veered to the right off a rural road while going round a lefthand bend at excessive speed. The right-hand side of the vehicle first struck a tree next to the road, which caused the car to spin round slightly to the right. The left-hand side of the car then struck a second tree. The rest of the accident involved the car striking several other small trees as it was brought to a standstill. The accident happened at night, the road was wet, and the temperature was just above freezing.
The 23-year-old, heavily drunk driver of a car veered to the right off a rural road while going round a lefthand bend at excessive speed. The right-hand side of the vehicle first struck a tree next to the road, which caused the car to spin round slightly to the right. The left-hand side of the car then struck a second tree. The rest of the accident involved the car striking several other small trees as it was brought to a standstill. The accident happened at night, the road was wet, and the temperature was just above freezing.
Persons involved in the accident:
A car driver
A car driver
Consequences/injuries:
The car driver was fatally injured.
The car driver was fatally injured.
Cause/problem:
The accident occurred because the vehicle was traveling at a substantially excessive speed, probably due to the driver being very drunk. What also contributed to the accident was the fact that the vehicle was traveling with summer tires in almost freezing temperatures, the wheels on the front axle were different dimensions, and the tread depth of 1.4 millimeters of one of the tires was under the minimum legal tread depth of 1.6 millimeters. The ESP installed in the vehicle could have been impaired by the different rolling circumferences of the wheels on one axle.
The accident occurred because the vehicle was traveling at a substantially excessive speed, probably due to the driver being very drunk. What also contributed to the accident was the fact that the vehicle was traveling with summer tires in almost freezing temperatures, the wheels on the front axle were different dimensions, and the tread depth of 1.4 millimeters of one of the tires was under the minimum legal tread depth of 1.6 millimeters. The ESP installed in the vehicle could have been impaired by the different rolling circumferences of the wheels on one axle.
Avoidance measures, mitigation of consequences/strategy for road safety measures:
If the driver had adhered to the speed limit and adjusted his speed and driving style to the road and weather conditions, the accident could have been prevented. If the driver had not been drunk, he probably would not have been driving at such a high speed, and if he had swapped their summer for winter tires at the right time of year and had a sufficient tread depth and uniform tire dimensions on the front axle, this would also have made the journey safer.
If the driver had adhered to the speed limit and adjusted his speed and driving style to the road and weather conditions, the accident could have been prevented. If the driver had not been drunk, he probably would not have been driving at such a high speed, and if he had swapped their summer for winter tires at the right time of year and had a sufficient tread depth and uniform tire dimensions on the front axle, this would also have made the journey safer.