Have you ever gone to the store and back, or perhaps back and forth to school to pick up your kids, and realized upon getting home you hardly remembered the ride at all? Many of us are set on auto-pilot for those errands we tend to complete over and over; however, those drives are the ones you should be most careful about as so many accidents can happen very close to home—often with 15 miles or less—and keep in mind how often you may have seen or heard about neighbors having accidents backing out of their own driveways! The key is to always be vigilant when you are behind the wheel, but to also be cognizant of areas that require special attention, such as:

• Work zones – Those signs are posted everywhere in bright orange for a reason. Be cautious, and reduce your speed. You may find yourself driving through areas that are much more constricted than usual as well as lanes that are uneven due to re-paving. For 2015, the S. Department of Transportation reported almost 100,000 crashes in work zones, and unfortunately, these numbers just seem to be increasing.
• Four-way intersections – if you live in a city with lots of four-way stops, you may feel lucky to escape an accident each time. Many drivers are not aware of—or have forgotten—the rules, which are simple enough: yield to whoever arrives at the intersection first. If it is a ‘tie,’ then the person on the left yields to the one on the right. Because there is often confusion at intersections, your best bet is to travel slowly when arriving and departing from one, as well as remaining patient with other drivers who may be tentative or even aggressive.
• Stoplights – Although it should seem easy and safe enough to approach a red light, many drivers are going too fast and have trouble stopping—and may just blatantly run them. This is always an area to practice great caution in as you are in the thick of traffic and there are far too many distracted and speeding drivers.
• Rural areas – Ironically, out of the way areas can be the scene of dangerous accidents as the lack of traffic causes drivers who are familiar with the area to become almost too comfortable driving. Rural areas may have rougher areas of pavement, as well as dirt roads—plus, wildlife crossing at unpredictable times can cause an issue, along with debris in or on the sides of the road.
• Shopping centers – While they may present danger, shopping center parking lots are the scene for many different accidents as drivers often cut corners with lanes, go the wrong direction, are highly distracted and more.

If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident due to the negligence of others, please call Heintz Law for a free consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys. We handle all types of Florida personal injury cases, and our law firm has established an impressive record of verdicts and settlements. If you have been seriously injured, call us now at 941-748-2916 or contact us online. We are here to help!