Shocking Car Accidents & Near Misses Caught On film in El Paso

The traffic cameras set up at El Paso area intersections capture some pretty crazy stuff.

None of us are perfect and we can all be a little inattentive while driving. There are limitless distractions these days from phone calls and other electronic messaging ... all of which are illegal by the way ... to playing with the radio or doing hair and makeup. Even simple conversation can take your attention from where it should be and, in a split second, horrible things can happen.

A couple of examples:

• :59 seconds in, a careless driver barely escapes a serious, multiple car accident. Even scarier is the fact that pedestrians in the crosswalk are almost involved hit as well.
• The one that really hit me close to home happens at around 1:16. A car runs a red light, nearly broadsiding a motorcyclist making a left turn. The bikers turning angle and the fact that there was plenty of room to the right of the car are really all that prevented what would probably have been a fatal accident.
• At the 1:29 mark, one car strikes another after running a red light. The impact itself is pretty bad but then the car that caused the accident goes headlong into a support column.

Scary stuff that happens way too often. Around here, our roads are pretty wide, most times of the year they're dry and visibility is usually very good. Not a lot of trees or anything to block our view. The cars don't drive themselves, (yet), so ... with the exception of mechanical failure ... that leaves only the driver(s) to blame. Pay attention, PLEASE!

The life you save could be your own. Or a little kid. Or mine.