A head-on car accident outside of St. Joseph left one person seriously injured. The crash is an example of how devastating these types of car accidents can be.
Head-On Car Crash Leaves One Seriously Hurt
The crash happened Thursday morning, October 29, east of Ravenwood on Route O.
According to the police report, a pickup truck that was going west crossed the centerline and hit the eastbound vehicle.
The driver of the pickup truck suffered “moderate” injuries and was driven to the hospital. The driver of the car that was hit suffered serious injuries from the collision. Both of the drivers were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash.
Neither vehicle had any passengers.
Head-On Collisions are Among the Worst
There are numerous types of car accidents, like rollover accidents or side-impacts. Some crashes end up falling into more than one category.
Among the worst, though, is the head-on collision. These crashes involve vehicles that are traveling in opposite directions. The front of one vehicle slams into the front or the front corner of the other vehicle.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, in 2015, head-on collisions made up only 2.3 percent of all car accidents, but 10.2 percent of the fatal ones.
As in this accident in Ravenwood, severe head-on crashes are more common in rural areas. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that head-on collisions make up 13 percent of fatal crashes in rural areas, but only 7 percent or fatal crashes in urban areas. The reason is simple: Fatal accidents in rural areas tend to involve speeds over 55mph, while urban-area crashes tend to be under 40mph.
Why Head-On Accidents are So Severe
The main reason why head-on car crashes are so devastating is obvious: Speed.
When the vehicles are approaching each other, the force of their impact is the speed of Vehicle A, plus the speed of Vehicle B. Meanwhile, in an accident is with a stationary object, the force is solely the speed of the vehicle, while in crashes where both vehicles were going in the same direction, the force is the difference between the cars’ rate of speed.
For example, this crash in Ravenwood happened on Missouri Route O, which has a speed limit of 55mph at the location of the crash. Even if both vehicles were actually abiding strictly by the speed limit, this would mean that the force of the collision would be the same as slamming into a stationary object at 110mph.
Of course, evasive maneuvers to avoid the crash right before impact can turn a direct impact into a glancing blow, reducing the severity of the accident. Braking can also reduce the vehicles’ speed at the last instant and mitigate the damage.
However, the speed of these crashes makes it more difficult to take these measures and reduce the severity of the accident.
Car Accident Lawyers at the Smith Law Office in St. Joseph
The personal injury lawyers at the Smith Law Office strive to legally represent victims of car accidents in St. Joseph, Kansas City, and Springfield, Missouri. Contact them online or call their law office at (816) 875-9373.