A recent crash on Atlanta's southwest side left three motorists dead after a car struck an electric poll and then a tree. The BMW caught fire as a result of the violent crash. A spokesperson for the Atlanta police told 11 Alive that a car matching the description of the BMW had been spotted earlier by a police officer who was parked at a gas station. The officer who saw the car go past had indicated it appeared to be traveling at excessive speeds.

If the driver was in fact speeding, he was engaging in one of the three top causes of motor vehicle accidents throughout the United States, as reported by NPR.  Two of the other three causes include drunk driving and driving while distracted.  Speeding, drunk driving and distracted driving are the most common human errors to cause crashes, and these behaviors are a big problem because human error is the cause of around 94 of all fatal car accidents.

Unfortunately, Atlanta drivers are at greater risk now of a crash occurring than they were just two years ago. This recent deadly accident demonstrates the tremendous consequences when motorists make unsafe choices, which more motorists appear to be doing. If drivers don't stop engaging in dangerous behaviors in increasing numbers, there are likely to be many more tragic fatal accidents in Atlanta this year.

Drivers need to be concerned about rising risks of car accidents because both of the last two years have seen big increases in the number of auto accident fatalities. More than 40,000 people died in car accidents in 2016, according to NPR. This is more than the number of victims killed in fatal car accidents since 2007, which was before the great recession occurred.  There were six percent more deaths in 2016 compared with 2015, and a whopping 14 percent more deaths in 2016 than in 2014. This is a troubling trend, and drivers should be very worried that the situation will get even worse in 2017.

Drivers must stop the kinds of behaviors that are raising crash rates so much and costing so many lives. Among young adults between the ages of 19 and 24, a full 88 percent of young motorists have admitted that they text and drive, speed, or even run red lights. Among all drivers as a whole, 70 percent say they do these things. Every motorist must be aware of the dangers and should make a commitment not to put themselves or others at risk, particularly as the economy continues to improve and roads become more crowded since people can afford to drive more.

Unfortunately, most drivers know that speeding, drunk driving and driving distracted are dangerous and they continue to do it anyway.  These drivers must be held accountable by victims they hurt if they cause a crash, and must be held accountable by the family members of anyone they kill by causing an auto accident through their negligence.