(June 30, 2022) On Wednesday, June 29, 2022, a portion of Interstate 10 was shut down after a fatal collision, according to KSAT12. The accident happened at around 11:00 a.m. and left one unidentified driver dead. According to police, a white truck carrying a heavy load of lumber and bags of cement pulled over to the left shoulder of the Fresno exit after experiencing a stalled engine. The driver exited the vehicle in an attempt to discover the issue when a white sedan collided with the back of the truck. The driver of the white sedan was pronounced dead at the scene. This fatal accident resulted in the closure of all eastbound lanes between Fresno Street and Hildebrand Avenue, just northwest of downtown San Antonio. The driver of the truck and his passenger sustained no injuries. The police described the incident as a tragic accident and did not expect to file criminal charges at the time of the accident.
Why are rear-end collisions so common on Interstate Highways?
Rear-end collisions account for twenty-eight percent of all traffic accidents in the United States, according to the National Highway Safety Administration. This makes them one of the most common accidents in the United States. However, of those twenty-eight percent, only six percent of all rear-end collisions result in a fatality, as in the above case. But why are they so common, especially on Interstate Highways?