Who’s Liable in a Hydroplane Car Accident in Georgia?

We might not want to, but Georgians have to drive in the rain. We require our cars to get to jobs, schools, and other essential places in our lives. So when the weather isn’t cooperating, we have to brace for the weather, get in our cars, and get where we need to go. But driving in the rain risks more than just getting wet. As the rain pours down on city streets and county roads, it becomes a lurking hazard beneath our tires.

When the water puddles and pools beyond what our tires can handle, a driver can experience hydroplaning. Experience it once and you remember it forever—the loss of control, fear, uncertainty. In the best case scenario, the car hydroplanes for less than a second before you’re back in control. In some cases though, your vehicle can collide with another car or object on the road, resulting in a hydroplaning accident.

As the shock wears off and you realize what’s just occurred, a flood of questions rush through your mind. “If I hydroplane, am I at fault?” Or “is the road itself to blame, or my tires?” That’s where an experienced Georgia auto accident attorney from Montlick can make all the difference. Read below to learn more or contact us for a free consultation regarding a hydroplaning accident.

What is Hydroplaning?

Hydroplaning, sometimes referred to as aquaplaning, is a phenomenon where a driver loses control of their vehicle on wet roads. A car hydroplanes because its tires are no longer making contact with the road surface. Instead, the tires continue to slide on a layer of water until they’re able to regain traction with the road.

Any time a driver loses control of their vehicle, it poses a hazard to themselves and others on the road. Unfortunately, hydroplane car accidents are a common occurrence on roads in the United States – and can have fatal effects. One study showed that there were 114,960 hydroplane car accidents between 1980 and 2017 which lead to 128,917 deaths. This research also found a troubling connection showing that heavily trafficked stretches of road already experiencing hydroplaning are trending up in their risk for future hydroplaning events.

Zooming in on Georgia, the state is top ten in the nation for annual rainfall. That alone increases the likelihood of hydroplaning, but there are other factors that put Georgia drivers at a greater risk for a hydroplane car accident. According to one study, southern states like Georgia are at the highest risk of hydroplane car accidents because there’s more intense rainfall, wider lanes, and higher speed limits—and these risks extend over longer stretches of road than other locations.

What is Hydroplaning Caused By?

To better understand how liability in hydroplane accidents is determined, it helps to understand what specifically causes a car to hydroplane. As mentioned above, a car hydroplanes when its tires no longer make contact with the road and instead slide on top of water. But why does the tire stop making contact with the road, and why doesn’t hydroplaning occur every time it rains?

To start, there is a risk of hydroplaning whenever there’s rain. A depth of standing water as shallow as 1/10th of an inch is enough for hydroplaning car accidents to occur. However, various factors can increase the risk of hydroplaning, including tire condition, road design, a vehicle’s weight, and its speed.

• Tire Tread: A tire’s tread pattern is what helps it maintain traction with the road, allowing the car to move forward, stop, and turn. The treads work to move water out of the path, so the tire can maintain contact with the asphalt. The depth of the tread gives the tire more ability to shed water away from the tire. But as the tires wear out, that tread depth becomes shallower and starts to offer less protection from hydroplaning.
• Road Design & Maintenance: The road itself plays a role in the risk of hydroplaning. Roads should be designed to drain water as fast as possible from the driving surface. When the road doesn’t take account for the rainfall it can more easily lead to standing pools of water that increase the risk of hydroplaning. Likewise, a poorly maintained road may develop potholes that can become hydroplaning hotspots.
• Vehicle Weight: Another factor that can contribute to the risk of a hydroplane car accident is a vehicle’s weight. It may seem counterintuitive, but heavier cars are at less risk of hydroplaning than lighter cars. The heavier a vehicle is, the more downward force it exerts, increasing the likelihood that the tires maintain contact with the road instead of skimming across the water’s surface.
• Vehicle Speed: Finally, vehicle speed plays a role in hydroplane risk. The faster a car moves through water, the greater the risk of hydroplaning. More speed gives the tires less time to move water out of the way, saturating the treads and pushing the tires above the road surface.

Common Injuries from Hydroplaning Accidents

Hydroplaning robs drivers of the control they may need to avoid objects, cars, and pedestrians on the road. The resulting accidents may take the form of some commonly seen car accident injuries.

When the driver attempts to brake, the car may crash into nonmoving objects or stopped vehicles in front of them. In these kinds of collisions there are three distinct impacts that each have their unique injury risks for drivers and passengers.

The first is when the vehicle strikes the object, potentially causing injuries like bone fractures or traumatic brain injuries. The second impact occurs when the vehicle suddenly stops, as its forward momentum is stopped by the object it collided with. At this point, injuries like whiplash can result as the head and neck continue moving forward only to be jerked backwards. Finally, there’s the third impact, which is entirely internal. At this point, internal organs collide with bones leading to soft tissue issues.

There May be Delayed Pain After a Hydroplane Accident

If you’ve been involved in a hydroplane car accident, you may not notice your injuries at first. Adrenaline and shock may mask the pain you’d expect to feel if you were injured. The first phone call after an accident should be to emergency services, regardless of how you, other passengers, or other drivers feel.

Additionally, you should always follow up with your physician or emergency department to get a complete diagnosis. Not only does this help avoid minor injuries from becoming life-threatening, it also avoids complications in an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit. Insurance companies may flag delayed treatment as potential fraud putting the entire claim at risk or having the coverage reduced.

Is Hydroplaning an at Fault Accident?

While a driver may lose control when a car hydroplanes, that does not mean no one can be held liable for the accidents that result from aquaplaning. What sets a hydroplane car accident apart is that there may be multiple sources of fault in a single crash, even when there’s only one car involved. That’s why having trusted legal representation matters for hydroplane car accidents, whether you were in the car hydroplaning or hit by one that did.

In a hydroplane car accident sources of liability can come from a single party or multiple factors that came together to create the accident. The driver’s conduct may have been negligent and been the reason why the car hydroplaned. Or, it may be the case that the tires were defective or badly designed. The same might be said for the roads themselves—perhaps poor design let the water pool or neglect created the conditions for dangerous standing water.

A Driver Could be at Fault

If you were hit by a driver in a hydroplane car accident, they may be at fault for the injuries and damages the accident caused. A driver owes a duty to others on the road to act reasonably under the circumstances. If someone drives fast on very wet roads and this leads to the car hydroplaning, they could be considered negligent.

Similarly, if someone were to drive for years and hundreds of thousands of miles without ever changing their tires and those tires slide across the water, that could be a source of liability. An experienced car accident attorney could argue that not changing the tires and continuing to drive through wet conditions is unreasonable.

If you were the driver in a single car accident caused by hydroplaning, an insurance company may attempt to argue that all the fault lies with you. However, there may be multiple sources of negligence behind your hydroplaning accident. O.C.G.A § 51-12-33 provides that if you were less than 50% at fault for the accident you can still potentially recover damages for your injuries, but they may be reduced based on your percentage of fault for the accident. Even if you think you were partially at fault or the insurance company has tried to put all the blame on you, speak with an experienced attorney in a free consultation to learn what options you may have.

Tire Manufacture or Design May Be Responsible

The tread of a tire, particularly the tread depth helps a tire gain traction on the road and avoid aquaplaning. If a tire comes off the factory line with an inadequate tread depth, that could point to a manufacturing defect that caused or contributed to the accident. It may also be the case that a tire’s design was flawed in such a way that leads to higher than usual rates of aquaplaning.

There could also be liability for the store that sold the tires, depending on the circumstances. For instance, if you request tires that perform well in the rain and they sell you tires that are not rated for wet weather driving, you may have a claim. Similarly, if the tire shop sells you less than four new tires and places the oldest tires on the rear of your vehicle, you may have a claim as tire shops are typically required to place the newest tires on the rear of your vehicle to increase traction.

Government Neglect May Be To Blame

Another source of liability in a hydroplane car accident could be a government agency. Similar to a tire manufacturer, there’s an expectation that the engineers designing the roads account for the impact rain could have on them. If the road was designed poorly and increases the risk of standing water, this could be a source of liability.

Similarly, a government agency responsible for maintaining the roads could be held responsible for hydroplaning car accidents. Potholes and blocked drains provide areas for water to pool, increasing the risk of hydroplaning. This isn’t a remote concern in Georgia—the state received a C+ for their roads in a recent report. Additionally, 26% of roads are in a poor or fair condition. These roads could become hotspots for hydroplaning if left unrepaired.

How To Prove Fault in Hydroplane Car Accidents

Proving fault in a hydroplane car accident requires ample evidence because there could be multiple potential sources of liability. A seasoned car accident lawyer will sort through various sources of evidence to determine who bears responsibility and to what extent. Some potential sources of evidence include:

• Eyewitness Reports: If other drivers, pedestrians, or passengers saw what happened, this can help explain why it happened and who or what may have caused the car to hydroplane. These eyewitnesses may be able to recall what road conditions were like, how much water was on the road, and how fast the car in question was moving.
• Weather Documentation: Information about the weather on the day the accident occurred may help to establish whether a driver was reasonable or not. It may also show whether the tires or road were defective in any way. If the rainfall should have been able to drain from the road but didn’t, government agencies may be to blame.
• Dashcam Footage: Similar to eyewitness reports, dashcam footage—if available—can show what the road and weather conditions were at the time the aquaplaning occurred. It may also help show whether the driver was acting reasonably or not.
• Road Maintenance Logs: Getting access to the road maintenance logs can show whether or not the road where the aquaplaning occurred was properly maintained. Given the fact that Georgia roads are at an increased risk of hydroplaning, the demand for active and frequent maintenance may be greater. If that demand isn’t met, it could become a source of liability.

The statute of limitations to bring a claim for personal injury is generally two years in Georgia, but many of the above sources of information can fade or disappear long before that. However, if your claim involves a governmental entity, the time period to provide notice of your claim, also known as an ante litem notice, is much shorter than the statute of limitations. In Georgia, claims made against a city or county governments must typically be made within six months while claims against a county or the State of Georgia generally must be made within one year. Missing these deadlines can bar you from recovering compensation. Acting early can give an experienced attorney the best chance of gathering critical evidence. In some cases they may bring in an accident reconstruction expert who can use the evidence to better understand what happened and why.

Don’t Become a Hydroplane Accident Victim

While there are numerous factors that can lead to a hydroplane car accident, there are still things drivers can do to avoid aquaplaning in the first place. While choosing not to drive in the rain is a great option, it isn’t realistic. Instead, try these steps to avoid hydroplaning accidents.

• Upgrade & Service Tires: Seek out tires made to withstand the rainy conditions in Georgia. These may have names like all-weather, touring, or performance tires. Be sure to check these tires and service them when you notice the tread starting to wear down.
• Adjust Your Speed: While speed limits are designed with the road and surroundings in mind, they don’t account for the weather. Decrease your driving speed when it’s raining or after significant rainfall, as there may still be water on the road.
• Avoid Hazards: You may already know of roads in your area that are prone to poor drainage or even flooding. Avoid these roads to reduce your risk of hydroplaning. It’s also a good idea to increase your distance from the car ahead of you. With a greater distance between cars, hydroplaning may not result in a collision.

What Compensation Exists For Hydroplaning Car Accidents

If you’re a victim of a hydroplane car accident, there may be compensation for the injuries and property damage that result from the accident. If an insurance company or negligent driver’s offer to settle is too low, you can pursue a personal injury claim for your medical bills, lost wages, and repair costs. If you’re unsure of what to do after an accident, call Montlick. Our dedicated attorneys help their clients understand the path ahead while fighting aggressively for every cent they’re owed.