Accidents

Being involved in a side-on accident whilst driving can be a traumatic experience; there is often little or no warning, such as when another motorist pulls out from a side road and collides with your car. Side impacts often have more serious consequences for the motorist and passengers in the car that has been hit. This is because the impact protection in the doors of modern cars is not as robust as the protective measures built into the front and rear of most cars.

Side-on accidents happen most often at road junctions, usually where one motorist has failed to give way to another motorist who had right-of-way. At traffic lights, if one motorist ignores the taffic lights, or fails to stop for any reason, then he or she will be likely to collide with the side of traffic that is crossing in front of them from left to right or right to left.

When a car is hit in the side by another car, the crumple zones at the front of the striking car will absorb some of the energy of the accident, but most of this energy will be transferred to the car that is being hit. It is quite common for the car that is hit in a side-on accident to be forced sideways, either across the roadway or onto the pavement/roadside. This sideways movement can turn a minor accident into a much more serious one, especially if the cars are travelling at a high speed, because there is a chance that the car that is being hit may be either spun or rolled over. This is a particularly dangerous type of crash, and can leave the occupants of the car that is rolled with several severe injuries.

If you have been involved in a side-on collision as a driver or as a passenger, then call our Specialist Advice Centre on 0844 854 5090