If you fail to notify your insurance company of an accident but then you later make a first-party claim under your policy, your claim could be denied. Failing to give notice may eliminate the insurer’s duty to cover the damage or injuries caused by the accident.

32,885 people

$277 billion

Good decision making is the most important capability to safe driving.

Here are four of the most common places where car accidents take place:

1. Parking Lots. While accidents in parking lots aren’t likely to be as serious, they’re quite common.
2. Stop Signs. Stop signs are another common place for car accidents.
3. Rural Highways.
4. Two-Lane Roads.

For both fatal and nonfatal crashes, the peak time of day was 4 p.m. to 7:59 p.m., but peak crash periods vary substantially over the span of a year: During the spring and summer months, fatal crashes tended to peak between 8 p.m. and 11:59 p.m.

Approximately 70 percent of all fatal crashes on road ways with speed limits of 40 mph or less are in urban areas. Slightly less than half (47%) of all fatal crashes occurring on roadways with speed limit between 45 and 50 mph are in rural areas.

However, crashes in the left lane are less common than those in the right. It should be noted that the crashes that do occur in the left lane tend to be more serious than those in the right. Left-lane crashes often result in more severe injuries and fatalities.

These Los Angeles roads are: Interstate 5 (I-5) and Interstate 10 (I-10). These highways are particularly prone to fatal accidents because of the high volume of traffic and other contributing factors. This highway is dubbed as one of the most dangerous roads in Los Angeles in terms of fatal car accidents.

Drive in the lane that is best suited to the traffic conditions. On a two-lane freeway, use the right lane for cruising and the left lane for passing. When there are three or more lanes, use the right lane if you are traveling at a slower speed than traffic, the left lane for passing, and the center lane for cruising.

In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, nearly 300,000 merging accidents occur every year. Depending on the type of merging scenario encountered, approximately 50,000 of these crashes are fatal, while the remaining collisions vary in injury severity.

The best way to let in a merging vehicle depends on the situation. It could mean speeding up just a little to get ahead of them, slowing down a little to let them in front of you, or switching lanes. The same thing happens when one lane is closed up ahead because of construction or an accident.

The traffic already on the highway has the right of way. You must adjust your speed accordingly and merge safely! When you can’t safely merge into the highway traffic–if you have the option to stay in the entry lane as it immediately becomes an exit lane, then do exit–do not stop on the acceleration/exit lane.

Look for merge gaps ahead — Scan the traffic ahead of you while you’re in the merge lane. Find a gap you fit into and prepare to merge. Look behind you — Glance back over your left shoulder to make sure you have room to merge behind you. Make sure the gap is big enough in front of and behind the car.

When you first begin to drive, merging onto a highway may seem like a daunting task. Merging can be a complicated task but, like anything else, it takes time and practice to master. As a teenage driver, here are three helpful tips to remember when merging onto a highway: Use the entrance ramp to your advantage.