I have never had an accident, but at least weekly I avoid one where the other driver would be at fault. Having to stop, change numbers, deal with the insurance company seems such a hassle.
Usually the other person is well aware that they were in the wrong.
I have been close to getting into an accident that would have been my fault. I don't know if the person didn't want to break their Tesla or it hit the break automatically. I turned left following another car because I just saw bad traffic jam ahead. I thought fast to turn left, but forgot that other cars need to get by first.

My teen kid got into watching dashcam videos on Youtube; they are simultaneously frightening and hilarious.
Often the clips end with text written by the person with the dashcam about how the other driver was clearly at fault.

I pointed out while this is often true, many if not most of the accidents could have been avoided if the dashcammer had exercised their defensive driving skills. A lot of folks out there are focused on being "right" and always "winning" when things might be a little easier if they focused on avoiding an accident even if it would not have been "at fault." Sometimes, it's best to let the bad guy win every once in a while.

I knew a guy who totaled two cars his junior year of high school. He probably calmed down, but for 1999, he definitely had more than his fair share of wrecks.

It’s true for almost everything. See the Pareto Principle. A small percentage of people are responsible for most crimes. A small percentage of people rack up the biggest health bills. A small percentage of kids cause most of the disruption in class. A small percentage of people make the biggest contributions in science, medicine, business, art, etc.

I totaled one car. It was entirely my fault. I hadn't gotten enough sleep and shouldn't have been driving.

It's hard to parse what's truly bad luck and what's inattention and lack of planning.

Sure, maybe the other driver is always "at fault", but we all know that poor driving skills and lack of attention contribute to such accidents. Very frequently, people don't anticipate that cars in front of them will come to a stop, and then hit the brakes hard at the last minute. Result: they get rear-ended by the car behind. Who is at fault? Often not the person who rear-ended them, even though legally, it's "their fault".

There are so many bad drivers and distracted drivers on the road. You need all your wits about you when you take the wheel or cross the road as a pedestrian.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother has totaled 7 cars. Only one was his fault - he was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. (I despise him, so it pains me to say this.)

While he may legally have been in the right (ie not at fault), a big part of accident prevention is defensive driving and being hyper aware of your surroundings. I am CONSTANTLY checking my mirrors and paying attention to things around. One needs to constantly be aware of people veering into your lane, swerving, watching (even predicting) people making stupid moves. The people who just look forward are not being safe, imho.

Correct. His issue was constant deployments, not driving for a year at a time, then getting back to it. It's a contributing factor, sure, but I don't think it's a "fault." Neither did the police or insurance companies.

Anonymous wrote:My brother has totaled 7 cars. Only one was his fault - he was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. (I despise him, so it pains me to say this.)

While he may legally have been in the right (ie not at fault), a big part of accident prevention is defensive driving and being hyper aware of your surroundings. I am CONSTANTLY checking my mirrors and paying attention to things around. One needs to constantly be aware of people veering into your lane, swerving, watching (even predicting) people making stupid moves. The people who just look forward are not being safe, imho.

I think that some people are in their cars more than the average person, and therefore are in more crashes. In 25 years of driving, I'm almost never in my car. I was in one little fender bender where someone rolled into me during heavy traffic. We didn't even exchange info.

Yes. Sometimes things happen, but I know some people who have been in too many accidents for it not to be them. PP above May have had some bad luck, but 3 cars totaled in accidents is a lot. I’ve only been in one accident ever (knock on wood) and the car was only lightly damaged.

Anonymous wrote:I am not a repeat car accident person but an unlucky person.
3 cars totaled two driveway and one in garage in a flood
2 cars stolen (one wife and one me)
3 cars totaled in accidents. One clearly their fault other two times 50/50.
1 heavy damage car in driveway hit by drunk driver going 60 mph who crossed lawn. He left his totaled car upside down on my front lawn and ran off.

6 of those claims cars were parked!

Dang. Have you thought about moving somewhere else?

My brother has totaled 7 cars. Only one was his fault - he was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. (I despise him, so it pains me to say this.)

I am not a repeat car accident person but an unlucky person.
3 cars totaled two driveway and one in garage in a flood
2 cars stolen (one wife and one me)
3 cars totaled in accidents. One clearly their fault other two times 50/50.
1 heavy damage car in driveway hit by drunk driver going 60 mph who crossed lawn. He left his totaled car upside down on my front lawn and ran off.

6 of those claims cars were parked!

I was wondering today, are there repeat car accident people out there? Or are they so rare that even the chronically bad/distracted drivers only get in one or none in a lifetime?