Be Aware of the Potential for a Vehicle Fire

Out of all of your daily activities, driving has the most potential to cause you and your family harm. Every day you must stay alert for poor drivers on US-522 and dangerous distractions when driving your kids to school. Fatigue and bad weather can also lead to a tragic accident, so you must be aware of those as well.

Unfortunately, there is one more driving hazard that you may not have thought about: car fires.

How Motor Vehicle Fires Start

Car fires are fortunately not a common occurance, but they do happen every day in the United States. The National Fire Protection Agency estimates that 33 cars catch on fire every hour in the United States alone. This statistic is scary enough, but additional data from the National Fire Data Center's Topical Fire Report Series illustrates even further how likely you are to experience a car fire and the consequences of such an incident:

• Fire departments across the nation respond to over 60,000 highway accident sites each year where a car fire has played a significant role in the destruction.
• Approximately one in seven fires responded to is a highway vehicle fire.
• Eighty-six percent of highway vehicle fires occurred in passenger vehicles.
• Sixty-one percent of highway vehicle fires originated in the engine, running gear, or wheel area of the vehicle, causing over a third (35 percent) of all car fire fatalities.
• Mechanical failure is the leading cause of car fires, contributing to more than 44 percent of the incidents; the second leading cause is unintentional driver error, at 32 percent.
• Electrical wiring insulation and flammable liquids in the engine have been found to be the most common ignition points in a car fire. Insulation ignites first, approximately 28 percent of the time, while flammable liquids ignite first 18 percent of the time.

No matter what the cause of the fire, protecting yourself and your family needs to be your number-one priority. Once you’re all safely away from harm, then you can begin to make sense of what happened and where you go from there.

How an Accident Lawyer Can Help After a Car Fire

Insurance companies can be less than understanding when it comes to car accident claims. However, if you were injured in a car fire caused by another party's negligence, you don’t have to rely on the insurance company to help you understand your rights and options. Our car accident lawyers are here to help. Not only do we know how to deal with insurance companies, but we know how to fight for your rights. Don’t allow an insurance adjuster to confuse the issue or keep you from getting the settlement you deserve.

Fill out our contact form or call us at 540-341-0007 for a free consultation and step-by-step review of your rights, options, and claim goals.