Waco Car Accident Lawyers

The Duty of Care of Drivers

As mentioned, every driver owes everyone else on the road a considerable duty of care, so it will be difficult for the motorist in question to deny this element of your claim. Driving is an immense responsibility, and everyone who gets behind the wheel accepts this fact—and shoulders the duty of care owed.

The Breached Duty of Care

The driver in question must have engaged in negligent actions that breached their duty of care or failed to live up to their responsibility to the safety of others. Unfortunately, such negligence can come in a wide range of forms.

Failure to Follow the Rules of the Road

The most basic form of negligence involves simply failing to follow the rules of the road, which can include:

• Failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign.
• Jumping a green light or pushing a red light
• Driving over the speed limit
• Failing to yield the right-of-way

Any number of other driving infractions will also do the trick.

Excessive Speed

Driving at excessive speeds is one of the most dangerous forms of driver negligence. The National Safety Council reports that excess speed played a pivotal role in a full 29 percent of all fatal traffic accidents recently. When a motorist chooses to drive far too fast:

• The driver reduces their ability to stop in time to avoid danger.
• They increase the distance needed for them to come to a safe stop.
• They increase the severity of any accident they might cause (as well as the chance that the accident will prove fatal).
• The driver's speed decreases the effectiveness of their car's safety features and the effectiveness of safety features on the roadway (such as guardrails).

Excess speed is about more than just the speed limit. Drivers must adjust their speed to safely accommodate the road’s condition (whatever it may be).

Distraction

When a driver's thoughts are anywhere other than on navigating the road ahead safely, it's known as distracted driving, and it's a dangerous but common practice. While distractions come in every shape and size, the most dangerous form of distraction is texting, which melds every category of distraction—including one's thoughts, hands, and sight—into one. Last year, 3,142 people lost their lives to fatal distracted driving accidents (according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration—NHTSA).

Exhaustion

Drowsy driving doesn’t get the attention it deserves in terms of how dangerous it is. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that drowsy driving causes about 91,000 traffic accidents yearly—leaving 50,000 people injured and another 800 dead—the numbers are considered underestimations. Falling asleep behind the wheel is exceptionally dangerous, but the issue doesn’t have to become this dramatic for drowsy driving to cause accidents.

• Exhaustion can impair a driver’s ability to concentrate on driving safely.
• Fatigue can slow a driver’s reaction times.
• Exhaustion can cloud a driver’s reasonable judgment.

Exhaustion is another form of impairment behind the wheel.

Impairment

Drinking and driving are a deadly combination, but while there isn't a driver out there who doesn't know this, far too many continue to get behind the wheel after having too many drinks. According to NHTSA:

• Over two recent years, drunk driving fatalities increased by 14 percent.
• In the United States, drunk driving kills someone every 45 minutes.

And the CDC reports two critical Texas-based drunk driving statistics:

• 13,592 lost their lives in accidents caused by drunk drivers in one decade in Texas.
• The national average for self-reporting driving under the influence is 1.7 percent, but the average in Texas is 2.2 percent.

Drunk driving is both a statewide and nationwide concern.

Aggression

Taking out one’s aggression behind the wheel is a terrible idea that can lead to life-threatening accidents. Too many motorists allow the perceived anonymity of driving to bolster their aggressions, and it tends to come out in surprisingly dangerous ways. While excessive speeding is considered a hallmark of aggressive driving, these speed demons tend to group their unsafe driving practices with others, including:

• Tailgating (and refusing to let up)
• Zipping in and out of lanes without concern for others
• Lashing out at other drivers
• Passing by whatever means possible
• Refusing to yield the right-of-way
• Ignoring traffic lights, signs, and signals

Never engage with an aggressive driver—the risk is far too significant.