Traffic tickets often affect car crash cases. If an emergency responder issues a citation, the time-saving negligence per se shortcut could apply. Tortfeasors (negligent drivers) who violate traffic laws and cause wrecks could be liable for damages as a matter of law. For this reason, negligence per se cases often settle quickly, and on victim-friendly terms.
Additionally, a San Jose auto accident attorney can often obtain higher compensation in a negligence per se claim. Jurors often conclude that tortfeasors who flaunt traffic laws intentionally put other people at risk. In all kinds of negligence cases, compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.
Excessive velocity, which is a factor in about a third of the fatal car crashes in California, increases the risk of a wreck and the force in a collision.
Speed multiplies stopping distance. At 30mph, after a driver applies the brakes, the average car keeps moving forward for six car lengths. At 60mph, stopping distance triples to eighteen car lengths.
Similarly, speed multiplies the force in a wreck. According to Newton’s Second Law of Motion, speed multiplies the force in a collision between any two objects.
Many of these citations are technicalities, especially if the city uses red-light cameras. A rolling right turn at three in the morning usually doesn’t cause a crash. In other cases, running a red light could cause a vehicle collision or a pedestrian accident.
As mentioned, speed multiplies the force in a collision. Usually, when drivers mistime or ignore lights, they’re traveling at or near top speed. As a result, intersection collisions are among the most devastating kinds of vehicle collisions.
Rolling right turns also increase the chances of a pedestrian accident. Normally, when drivers turn right, they only look to the left. So, they may not see pedestrians in the crosswalk to their right, who are crossing with the light. Since pedestrians have no protection from oncoming cars, the fatality rate in these wrecks is quite high.
Cities don’t erect no U-turn, no left turn, and other such signs to annoy drivers. These signs are in place because such turns are inherently unsafe. Usually, the “no turn” sign is almost literally in front of the driver, yet the driver ignores it.
Bad brakes, low tire pressure, and other mechanical issues could be the result of driver negligence, or the result of a defective product. Usually, manufacturers are strictly liable for the damages their defective products cause. Because of this higher standard, it’s easier to obtain maximum compensation in such cases.
DWI causes even more wrecks than speeding, despite a decades-long crackdown against drunk drivers.
Many drivers are impaired but not legally intoxicated. These two I-words are different. Legally, intoxication is the loss of mental and/or physical faculties. Impairment is a restriction of these faculties. Alcohol impairment begins at the first sip.
If the driver wasn’t legally intoxicated, the ordinary negligence doctrine is usually available. Basically, ordinary negligence is a lack of ordinary care. Motorists who aren’t at their best, mentally and physically, when they get behind the wheel violate this duty of care.
Car crash claims are usually complex. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Campbell, contact the Solution Now Law Firm. We have offices in San Jose, Los Angeles, and Oakland.
Source:
Solution Now Law Firm
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