Winter Weather Means Heightened Risk of Certain Types of Collisions
Although many car crashes are caused exclusively by the lack of care or attention by a driver, the number of collisions tend to increase during periods with poor weather. When fog, rain and strong wind can be a factor in contributing to a car accident, these extraneous factors do not necessarily absolve a driver of financial responsibility. All motorists have a duty of reasonable care to drive in such a way that they do not cause car accidents which includes failing to modify one's driving behavior during poor weather. When a driver does not adapt his or her driving to road conditions, the failure to stop, swerve, yield or otherwise engage in appropriate evasive action to avoid colliding with another vehicle may constitute negligence.
Recent weather related collisions that have been widely reported by media sources serve as a reminder that motorists need to slow down and focus all of their attention on the roadway when traveling the roads of Georgia. We have provided some examples of collisions that often occur during harsh weather conditions.
Multi-Car Pileups: When the roads are covered with puddles of accumulated water from rain or melted ice, vehicles often require substantially longer stopping distances. When drivers do not reduce their speed and/or allow more space between vehicles, the need to suddenly apply the brakes for an unanticipated interruption in the flow of traffic or other hazard can lead to a traffic accident. Fog can also contribute to multi-car pileups because they obstruct vision which reduces the reaction time available to engage in evasive driving maneuvers to prevent a collision.
Rear-End Collisions: Anyone who has seen cars race by at sixty mph in heavy rain or foggy conditions probably recognizes that drivers who fail to adjust their speed in such situations are prone to collide with the rear of stopped vehicles. Again, impaired visibility and difficulty slowing or maintaining control of a vehicle when a road is wet or icy can result in a rear-end crash.
Road Departure Accidents: Sometimes passengers in single car accidents suffer serious injury when drivers lose control of a vehicle on a slick road because the vehicle hydroplanes on the road surface. Most road departure accidents are the result of a driver losing control of the vehicle sometimes when engaging in sudden evasive maneuvers or traveling too fast given road conditions. This type of collision can involve the vehicle rolling over when departing the roadway. Rollover collisions pose a higher risk of causing severe debilitating injuries and fatalities to vehicle occupants especially when they are not secured inside the vehicle with a seatbelt.
Put Our Law Firm's Over 39 Years Experience to Work For You
While winter weather serves as a welcome reminder of family gatherings during school breaks and the holidays, it also can make the roads treacherous. We urge drivers to exercise extreme caution and avoid driving unless necessary in poor weather conditions during this period when accidents are especially common. If you are involved in a collision during bad weather, the insurance company for the other driver may argue that its insured was driving appropriately given the weather and that the collision was unavoidable. Our Atlanta car accident lawyers anticipate such strategies on behalf of our clients so that we can analyze the evidence to determine if the other driver was negligent.
Our Atlanta car accident lawyers at Montlick and Associates have been representing injury victims for over thirty years throughout all of Georgia and the Southeast, including but not limited to Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Valdosta, Warner Robins and all smaller cities and rural areas in the state. No matter where you are located our attorneys are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you. Call us 24 hours a day/7 days a week for your Free Consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333). You can also visit us online at www.montlick.com and use our Free Case Evaluation Form or 24-hour Live Online Chat.