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Phantom traffic jams can cause accidents

On Behalf of | Oct 25, 2024 | PERSONAL INJURY (PLAINTIFF) - Car Accidents |

Traffic jams often lead to rear-end accidents. Ironically, one of the top reasons for a traffic jam is that there has already been a car accident. When there is one crash, the vehicles coming up behind it have to slow down, change lanes or stop. This often leads to subsequent crashes.

But in some cases, these are phantom traffic jams. Traffic slows down and even comes to a stop. But there isn’t an accident or a construction zone up ahead. Eventually, traffic just starts moving again.

These can be dangerous because they also lead to rear-end accidents. Drivers at the back end of the traffic jam may come over a hill and be unexpectedly presented with a line of cars that they can’t avoid, or they may be following too closely. But why do these phantom traffic jams happen in the first place?

Speed differences

Often, it’s because there is a speed difference between the cars. For instance, say that one driver makes an aggressive lane change. They cut off another driver, who has to hit the brakes to avoid an accident.

When they do, the vehicles behind that car also have to slow down. Drivers can hit the brakes and slow down more aggressively than they accelerate. So this moves like a wave through all of the cars behind the initial ones that were involved in the lane change. Eventually, a car has to come to a complete stop. All of the cars behind that vehicle now also have to come to a stop before they can start driving again.

By the time the traffic jam clears, the drivers who have been caught in it don’t see any evidence of the dangerous lane change, which happened minutes or hours ago. Those cars are long gone.

Seeking financial compensation

If you get injured in an accident caused by another driver, you need to know how to seek financial compensation. This can help to cover medical bills, lost wages and more.