There are many ways to have a car accident. Auto accidents between two vehicles are common, but they can also involve a single vehicle, more than two vehicles, or any number of vehicles plus animals, pedestrians, or cyclists. Accidents can also involve non-moving large objects such as telephone poles, trees, buildings, road signs, or highway medians.
It is important to use precise terminology when describing the accident to insurance, law enforcement, and medical personnel to ensure the best possible outcome in the case. Being vague can make it hard to receive proper treatment and compensation, and it can cause the official record of the incident to misrepresent the collision in a way that may be unfavorable for the victim. A New York car accident attorney can help you learn exactly how to describe what happened.
Collision Terminology
Many auto accidents involve two or more vehicles, but simply saying that two cars collided is not helpful for law enforcement, medical, and insurance officials. Use these terms to describe exactly where the two vehicles made impact:
Head-On Collision: When two vehicles make impact on their front ends while traveling in opposite directions
Rear-End Collision: When one vehicle’s front end makes impact with the other’s rear end. Though this most commonly happens when one car drives into the car in front of it, some rear-end collisions can happen while a vehicle is traveling backward, meaning that the vehicle in front can sometimes be at fault.
T-Bone Collision: When the front of one vehicle makes impact with the side of another vehicle. This is also sometimes called a broadside collision. The “t-bone” name comes from the perpendicular nature of the two vehicles, which is similar to the letter T.
Other factors should also be part of an accident description. High-speed impacts are those that take place at a high speed. There is no technical starting point for what is considered “high speed” in this context, but generally, a crash that takes place at highway speeds, usually 50 mph or above, can be considered a high-speed collision. The higher the speed, generally, the more dangerous the accident.
Other Types of Auto Accidents
It is important to be descriptive about all types of auto accidents, not just those that involve two or more vehicles. Other types of auto accidents include:
Accidents involving pedestrians
Single-car accidents
Accidents involving cyclists
Animal collisions
Multi-car pileups
Single-car accidents and animal collisions may not necessarily involve another person, but depending on the legal circumstances of these accidents and an insurance company’s response to the outcome, it may still be necessary to retain the services of an attorney.