Sure, you know when you’re on the road that you’re always taking a chance you’ll end up in a car accident — but what about when you’re trying to take a swim at the local gym?
That’s what happened to several shocked patrons of a Centerville gym after a driver accidentally drove his car straight through the wall of an LA Fitness club. The car landed in the club’s pool, but only one swimmer and the car’s driver suffered any injuries — and those were minor compared to what could have happened.
Cars crashing into buildings is actually a fairly constant problem — although it’s hard to even get clear figures on how often it happens because crashes into residential buildings don’t always get reported to authorities.
However, researchers have concluded that the three kinds of non-residential buildings most likely to be hit by a car include retail stores, other commercial buildings and restaurants. Convenience stores and office buildings aren’t immune — but they rank further down the list.
What causes someone to drive into a building? Well, about 30% of the time, a driver who crashes into a building has made an “operator error.” That could mean anything from speeding to missing a turn in the road and overcompensating. Pedal errors account for another 26% of incidents. A pedal error usually occurs when a driver mistakes the gas pedal for the brake. Surprisingly, drunk driving only accounts for 17% of these kinds of accidents.
Age may be a huge factor in many of these accidents. While only 19% of our nation’s drivers are beyond 60 years of age, 44% of the accidents involving a car crashing into a building involve a driver of that age or older.
Incidents like this serve as a reminder that you don’t have to be behind the wheel of a car or be a passenger in a car to be in an accident with a car. If you’ve been injured by a driver’s mistake while you were walking, sitting, running, cycling or otherwise trying to go about your day, find out more about your legal options for recovery.