Something as simple as a windshield wiper can cause a crash

The campaigns of many law enforcement agencies and advocacy groups who warn you against serious or deadly accidents tend to focus on driver behaviors such as distracted driving and drunk driving, but these are not the only factors that lead to crashes.

In fact, your behavior behind the wheel only represents a portion of what could cause an accident. The condition of your vehicle plays a role as well. You may think of your vehicle’s brakes, tires and other major components. However, not many people will think about components such as windshield wipers.

Bad windshield wipers can create a dangerous situation

If you are like other drivers, you probably aren’t diligent about changing your windshield wipers. You may let them go until the person changing the oil in your vehicle recommends you change them. Even then, you may decide to wait a little longer. After all, they still seemed to work last time you used them. Even so, you may want to check them a bit more often and look for the following signs they may need to be changed:

• The metal on your wiper blades appears corroded.

• The rubber appears cracked, loose, stiff or worn.

• The wiper blades leave streaks when you use them.

• The wipers screech as they move across your windshield.

By the time your wipers are leaving streaks and screeching, they are probably already obstructing your view. When you can’t see everything ahead of you clearly, you could miss something important and end up in an accident. Knowing how important it is to be able to see, you should change your windshield wipers before they begin to obstruct your view, and it should be a regular part of your vehicle maintenance.

The problem is that other people may not consider changing their wiper blades often enough. It may be true that weather can contribute to an accident, but if a driver fails to properly maintain his or her vehicle, including changing out the windshield wipers, you could pay the price.

Pursuing compensation after a car accident

When pursuing compensation for your financial losses after a car accident, a thorough investigation into the factors that led to the crash could reveal that something as simple as not changing windshield wipers contributed to or maybe even caused the accident. This factor could help prove negligence on the part of the other driver.