Traffic collision

A car crash in Japan.

A traffic collision, also known as a car accident, motor vehicle collision or car crash, is when a vehicle hits another vehicle, person or object. Pedestrians, animals, road debris or other objects may be involved. Sometimes a trial occurs, in order to determine fault in a traffic collision.^[1]

Traffic collisions often result in injury, death,^[2] and property damage. They injure tens of millions of people every year, and kill usually a little more than a million.

Road safety is partly a matter of design. Ideally, roads should be designed for the safety of all road users. This would mean providing adequate facilities for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Infrastructure measures such as footpaths, cycling lanes, safe crossing points, and other traffic calming measures can help reduce the risk of injury.^[3]

Traffic Collision Media

A traffic collision in Tokyo, Japan, 2007
The aftermath of an accident involving a jackknifing truck, near Inhassoro, Mozambique, 2022
A collision in Brussels between a Renault Kangoo and a tram
A Honda Accord after it collided with another vehicle
A man with visible facial scars resulting from a car collision
A crash on Ring I in Helsinki, Finland, on August 25, 2006, at around 13:00 local time. The incident caused traffic congestion.
Relative risk of collisions based on blood alcohol levels
A graph outlining the relationship between the number of hours driven and the percentage of commercial truck crashes related to driver fatigue
A potential long fall stopped by an early guardrail, c. 1920. Guardrails, median barriers, or other physical objects can help reduce the consequences of a collision, or minimize damage.
Electric scooter crash in New York City