Georgia car accident laws follow the rule of modified comparative negligence. This means that, as long as you bear less than 50% of the fault for the accident, you can seek compensation for accident-related financial losses such as medical bills and property damage from other parties that contributed to the accident. If you are partially at fault for the accident, you can only get compensation for the percentage of the accident-related financial losses that were not your fault.
For example, if you suffered $10,000 in financial losses, but you are 30% at fault for the accident, you can only get $7,000 from the other driver’s insurance company. Therefore, your chances of getting enough money to cover your accident-related medical bills and vehicle repairs are greater if you can demonstrate to the insurance companies or to the court if you file a lawsuit related to your accident that you did everything possible to avoid the accident. For help avoiding the tricks that insurance companies use to justify paying you less or to find out whether it is worthwhile to file a lawsuit related to your accident, contact a Riverdale car accident lawyer.
Distracted Driving
Smartphones go with us everywhere these days, including in the car. In some ways, they make us safer, enabling us to call for help if we get stranded and to navigate to unfamiliar places. Having your phone hooked up to your car, a capability present in most of the new vehicles on the road, brings the distractions right to the same screen that you use to follow the map or to ask the car to read your text messages out loud to you so that you do not have to look at your phone.
Technologies that connect your phone to your car are meant to prevent distractions, but while your phone is perched next to your steering wheel, the temptation to engage in distractions is palpable. It takes willpower not to scroll through news headlines or social media posts while you are stopped at a red light. There is little to stop you from scrolling through hundreds of songs in your music library or thousands of songs in Apple Music before you find the perfect song for the moment.
From a legal perspective, the more you keep your eyes on the road, the less liability you have for an accident. Maybe you were stopped at a red light when the car behind you rear-ended you, but if you had not been scrolling through your music collection, you could have honked your horn in time for the driver behind you to brake.
Excessive Speed
The faster you are traveling at the time of a collision, the more severe your injuries are likely to be. If you were speeding at the time of the accident, this counts against you, even if the other driver made a bigger mistake, such as an illegal turn or running a stop sign. If you stay within the speed limit, then you reduce the risk of the insurance companies attributing fault to you for the accident. You also reduce the risk of suffering a serious injury and of colliding with another car in the first place.
Unsafe Road Conditions
The condition of the road plays a role in the risk of a collision. You can feel the difference between driving on a newly paved road and one that is full of cracks and potholes, but the state of repair of the pavement is only one factor that affects how safe it is to drive on a certain stretch of road. Areas of road construction carry a higher risk of accidents, even during times when the roads are open and the construction crews are not working. Loose gravel on the road can cause you to lose control of the car, and you might have to swerve to avoid hitting debris.
Inclement weather also poses a hazard when you are driving. The winters are usually mild in Atlanta, but sometimes, we get snow, and drivers are not used to dealing with it. Driving in the falling snow is difficult enough, but the roads are even more dangerous when yesterday’s snow melted during the day and then froze again. It is hard to see a thin coating of ice on the road, especially in the dark. Likewise, you might think that the weather is not cold enough for the roads to freeze, but the ground is colder than the air, and bridges are colder than ordinary roads.
Fall leaves are a lovely sight, but they can also present a driving hazard. Those crisp leaves that have freshly fallen quickly turn into a slimy mess once they come into contact with the next morning’s dew. Especially on rural roads where trees are abundant, and traffic is light, there is a considerable risk of your car sliding on the detritus of fall leaves.
Medications That Impair Your Driving Ability
Even if you cautiously avoid driving after drinking alcohol, lingering for more than an hour after a meal where you drank only one glass of wine, things that you ingest might interfere with your ability to drive safely. Some medications come with warnings about driving. If you take one of these medications, even if a doctor has prescribed it to you, it is as dangerous to drive as if you were driving under the influence of illegal drugs.
Drowsy Driving
You can usually tell if you are about to fall asleep at the wheel. The smartest cars can tell, too, and they make noises and motions to wake you up if they sense that you are dozing off. Even if you are just slightly drowsy, though, it can interfere with your reaction time and make it more difficult for you to react in time to prevent a collision.
Contact 770 Good Law About Car Accident Cases
If you need help getting money to compensate for accident-related medical expenses and lost income, even if the accident was partially your fault. You need a car accident lawyer. Contact 770 Good Law, the Law Office of H. Q. Alex Nguyen and Associates, LLC, in Riverdale, Georgia, to discuss your case.
