Fast Facts on Collisions in the United States

There are, on average, approximately 6.5 million car accidents in the United States each year. This is almost 17,000 accidents per day. The vast majority of these accidents are collisions, where a car or truck strikes another vehicle, object, or person causing damage to the automobile itself.

Not all collisions cause the same amount or even type of damage. For example, a very common type of accident is colliding with a deer or moose. In fact, 1.5 million vehicles are involved in this type of collision on a yearly basis, which adds up to a staggering 1.5 billion dollars in damages. The vast majority of vehicle-animal collisions involve the driver striking the deer or moose with the front of their vehicle. If the animal is large enough and is struck dead center, there is often very little that can be done to repair the car or truck – even the most experienced instructors at the best collision repair schools would declare the automobile a total loss. However, glancing blows or those which occur with smaller creatures can often be repaired.

Less common are head-on collisions. These are probably the scariest form of automobile accident, as they involve two vehicles essentially driving straight into each other, with perhaps a small offset between the front bumpers. The forces involved in this type of collision are magnified by the speed of each vehicle, and the injuries and damage that can occur as a result of a head-on collision are horrific. Fortunately, thanks to the prevalence of center medians and dividers, and the general competence of drivers, head-on collisions do not occur nearly as often as other types of accidents.

In fact, most of the time collisions involve other automobiles at either slow speeds or glancing blows, or occur when an automobile impacts a stationary object. The first scenario can be as simple as a car running a stop sign and being hit by a vehicle already in the intersection, or having someone pull out of a parking space on the side of the road directly into the side of a passing car. Stationary objects are often struck due to carelessness – backing into a low pole or wall, or another car – or due to poor weather conditions, such as snow and ice or slippery wet roads. Single car accidents often involve collisions with telephone poles, guard rails, or other stationary objects located near the road surface.

Collisions are common in the United States, but they don’t usually spell the end of the vehicle involved in the accident. Thanks to the training provided by collision repair schools, there is an army of body shop workers out there who can take even the most mangled automobile and reassemble it so that it once again looks as good as new. The work is challenging and the hours can be long, but the rewards of reconstructing a vehicle after a bad collision can be great – particularly the smile that is displayed on the face of the customer who has come to pick up their car or truck and take it back home again.