Abstract
The article presents basic definitions related to road accidents and types of tests carried out in the field of road accidents. The effects of road accidents on participants, drivers as well as social and direct costs of road accidents were discussed. The correct conduct of people involved in a road accident (incident) was presented. In the research part, the most common causes of accidents in Poland were analysed. Particular attention was paid to the participation in accidents of participants under the influence of alcohol. The article ends with a discussion on the presented research results and the resulting conclusions as well as a proposal for preventive actions to reduce the number of road accidents.