AN ECONOMIC OBSERVATION

By Michael LeMieux
August 12, 2011
NewsWithViews.com

You’re driving down the street and as you approach a busy intersection you see the remnants of a motor vehicle accident. There are car parts strewn about and glass everywhere as maintenance workers sweep the glass and debris from the street. A local news reporter is packing up their equipment into a van as you make a mental note to watch the news tonight to see if you can find out what happened; you hope no one got hurt.

That night you tune in to the local news station to find if there is any mention of the accident and if anyone was hurt. The newscaster announces that a collision at that intersection took the lives of three children and severely injures the parents.

The newscaster goes on to explain how an SUV driven by the mother of the children was returning from a birthday party of a friend and upon reaching the intersection and finding a green light proceeded where their vehicle was struck by a runaway semi-truck carrying 2,000 lbs. of steel. The tractor trailer’s brake system failed when the main hydraulic brake line ruptured just a block from the intersection making it impossible for the truck to stop.

After an accident occurs it is a lot easier to ascertain what happened by tracing the movements of those involved and thereby painting a picture of what led up to the accident.

We call events like this “an accidentâ€