Opinion: Failure to Yield Causes Accidents

Driving this morning at about 9 a.m. at the corner of Bypass 72 and Cokesbury Road, I watched as fire fighters answering a call had to slow down and beep their horn to prevent additional vehicles from failure to yield. 

A quick online search revealed that there are approximately 140,000 car accidents in South Carolina each year. 

According to trustedchoice.com, the leading causes of Driver-Error Accidents in South Carolina are as follows: Speeding 31.4%, Failure to Yield 21.6%, Improper Lane Change 8.31%, Following too Closely 8.30%, Distracted Driving 7.5% and Misc. 23.87%.

The one element almost all of these accident causes have in common is that they are  preventable. 

On a side note, next time you’re on the road notice how many drivers are on their phone. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Texting while driving is six times more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol.”

If folks knew enough to pass their Driver’s License Test, they know enough to prevent accidents. 

Beyond that, you might want to consider defensive driving. When seeking to get a motorcycle license in my early 20s, I took a defensive driving course to have a reduction in my insurance rate. I learned to think 12 seconds ahead by scanning my surroundings. I learned to always check my blind spot, and importantly I learned to avoid bad drivers. 

I’m not preaching. Thinking back, I realize I’ve driven over the speed limit. I’ve forgotten to use my turn signal. I’ve looked at my phone when a notification sounded.  But no more. I’d rather do my part to prevent accidents. 

If we each just drove like we did while on the driving portion of our driver’s license test, imagine how many fewer accidents there would be.