A sideswipe could turn into a serious crash with severe results

No one wants to end up in a car accident while on Tennessee roads. Unfortunately, an accident could occur at any time under any circumstances. Try as you might to remain a conscientious driver, another person could easily succumb to distraction, drowsiness, or other negligent or reckless actions that could cause a serious collision.

When you think of serious crashes, you may think of head-on collisions or T-bone type accidents. Certainly, these specific events could have devastating outcomes, but many other types of crashes could also lead to serious or fatal injuries. One type of incident that is commonly overlooked is the sideswipe accident.

Is a sideswipe accident dangerous?

Any type of vehicle collision is serious, and a sideswipe is no different. Some people may think that the term "swipe" makes the situation seem less dangerous as if a swipe is a minor occurrence. However, if the side of one vehicle hits the side of your vehicle, you could easily lose control. Your vehicle may start swerving and could become so unstable that it overturns or rolls multiple times. Though you may try to stay in control, the sudden movement may be too much for you to handle.

You may be unable to keep your vehicle on the road, and if it does travel off the side, you could hit trees, power poles or other objects close to the roadway. As you likely know, a collision with any stationary object could cause serious damage and injuries. Even if you do manage to stay on the road, the initial collision could cause you to leave your lane of travel, and your vehicle could hit or be hit by another vehicle.

What contributes to these accidents?

Sideswipe accidents typically occur because one or more vehicles do not stay in the proper lane of travel. A driver could veer out of a lane or change lane without properly checking blind spots. Some contributing factors to this type of accident include the following:

• Drunk driving
• Distracted driving
• Two vehicles trying to merge into the same lane at the same time
• Hydroplaning
• Skidding
• Reckless driving
• Drowsy driving

Of course, more details could contribute to a serious sideswipe accident, and you could suffer serious injuries as a result. If you do suffer harm after such an event in which another person was considered at fault, you may want to look into your legal options for seeking compensation.