It appears that the older a car is, the more likely it is for the owner to neglect routine maintenance. Lack of maintenance can lead to defective brakes, steering and more, and with that comes a greater risk for a car crash. Drivers in Florida should know that most crashes that arise because of defective equipment are caused by older vehicles.

This was the conclusion that the Ohio Highway Patrol came to after analyzing all the defect-related crashes that occurred in the state over the last three years. Troopers said that 56% of the crashes were the fault of drivers in model year 1999-2008 vehicles while 24% were the fault of drivers in model year 2009-2018 vehicles.

The most common causes of these accidents were blown tires and brake failure. Blown tires were behind 42% of all defect-related crashes that ended in fatality. Troopers emphasize how each of these crashes was preventable. Drivers should maintain their cars and always have issues repaired the moment they arise.

Cost has much to do with drivers neglecting maintenance and keeping their older vehicles. Buying and maintaining new vehicles is expensive. A car can last for up to 15 years and 300,000 miles, yet as the average age of vehicles increases, so will the number of defect-related crashes.

In the event that a car accident arises because of defective equipment, the driver of the defective car, provided that he or she had a reasonable amount of time to fix the defect yet failed to, can be held liable for injuries on the other side. Florida is a no-fault state, so the injuries have to be severe for victims to be able to file a claim against the guilty driver’s insurer. Victims may wish to consult an attorney beforehand.

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