Many accidents in California are caused by defective equipment in a vehicle. While automakers may sometimes be to blame for such defects, others are simply caused by a lack of maintenance on the owner’s part. The latter includes bad brakes, bald tires and defective power steering. Moreover, owners of older cars are more likely to neglect routine maintenance than owners of newer cars.
Defect-related crashes may only become more widespread because there’s an increasing number of older cars on the roads. In Ohio, for instance, the average age of automobiles went from 9.6 years in 2002 to 11.8 years in 2020, according to the Ohio Insurance Institute.
The Ohio Highway Patrol found something interesting about the defect-related crashes that had occurred in its state in the previous three years. Fifty-six percent were caused by vehicles released between 1999 and 2008 while 24% were the doing of model year 2009-2018 vehicles. Ohio HP stated that the most frequent causes in these collisions were blown tires and brake failure.
More drivers are sticking to their older vehicles because they can get more out of them for less money. A car can usually last some 15 years and 300,000 miles. Newer vehicles are expensive, too, and their parts can be costly to replace on account of the electronics.
Nevertheless, drivers are expected to maintain their vehicles. When the failure to do this indirectly leads to a crash, an injured party may have the grounds for a claim. This can hold true even if the plaintiff is partially at fault; although, any degree of contributory negligence will naturally lessen the amount they might recover in damages. For more details about a case, the victim may want to consult a lawyer. The lawyer could assist with negotiations and more.
