The average age of a car on the road today is nearly 12 years old – however, the Ohio Highway Patrol says drivers of these older cars have a greater chance of causing a preventable — possibly even fatal — car crash because routine maintenance is often ignored.

According to a story in the Alliance (Ohio) Review, vehicles from model years 1999 to 2008 accounted for 56 percent of crashes involving defective equipment and vehicles from model years 2009 to 2018 were involved in 24 percent of the vehicle defect-related crashes.

Lt. Leo T. Shirkey of the Highway Patrol’s Canton post said the most common causes of preventable accidents were blown tires and brake failure.