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Everything You Need to Know About Car Accidents Caused by Pedal Error

Pedal mistake is a contributing factor in some auto accidents. A pedal error is when the motorist steps on the accelerator when he or she actually meant to push the brake pedal. While these accidents are mainly low-speed crashes, they can badly hurt pedestrians or bikers. Storefronts may also be included. Drivers who cause them may have to retake a driver’s license examination.

Read on to learn more about these types of accidents. If you have been injured in a pedal accident, or another type of vehicle accident, contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 to request a free legal consultation.

How Frequently Do Pedal Missteps Result in Auto Accidents?

Pedal mistakes are thought to be a factor in 16,000 auto accidents annually. This indicates that 44 crashes every day are caused by pedal mistakes.

However, this figure is only an approximation. It is based on crash data from North Carolina. 2,411 crashes, or almost 480 per year, occurred between 2004 and 2008 as a result of drivers who admitted to pushing the improper pedal, according to a review of the data. This results in an annual estimate of 16,000 when extrapolated across the country.

The data it is based on is limited to crashes that produced a police report, and where the motorist admitted to using the improper pedal. Police are not called to the scene because many pedal mistakes result in minor collisions with negligible property damage and no injuries. In many other cases, the driver denies making a pedal mistake. The estimate would not take these mishaps into account. The actual number of these accidents is therefore probably substantially larger.

Where Do These Mishaps Typically Take Place?

Parking lots are where pedal mistake accidents frequently occur. 77 percent of pedal mistake crashes that were reported in the media occurred in parking lots or driveways, according to one research. Yet, the North Carolina crash statistics showed that 57% of them occurred in parking lots or driveways.

Several of the remaining traffic accidents occurred at junctions and highway exit ramps. Each of these instances involve shifting from one pedal to the other while the driver is preoccupied with their surroundings.

Can Pedal Misapplications Cause Crashes into Buildings?

Building collisions, in which a car hits a building, can also result from pedal errors. Most of these collisions are caused by pedal errors than by auto accidents. According to one estimate, there are approximately 100 building collisions per day, resulting in 2,600 fatalities and 16,000 injuries each year. An estimated 35 percent of these building collisions are caused by pedal mistake.

These incidents often happen when the motorist is either pulling into a parking space in front of a building and pushes the gas pedal instead of the brake, or backing from a parking space in front of the building and has accidentally put the vehicle into drive rather than reverse.

Potential Causes for Pedal Errors

There are numerous ways in which pedal mistakes might occur. Many of them are brought on by drivers who have lost track of where their foot was, cramped or tight pedal placement, drivers who want to switch from the accelerator to the brake but press down on the gas pedal while doing so, drivers whose feet slip from the brake edge to the accelerator, drivers who hit the brake and accelerator pedals at the same time, and drivers whose feet slip from the brake edge to the gas.

Any of these problems may result in a pedal application that produces an unexpected and abrupt acceleration. These drivers had the potential to cause a major car collision since they were expecting brake force rather than full throttle.

If you have been injured due to this type of accident, contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 now for a free legal consultation.