Lots of car accidents will be connected to whether or not one of the drivers used a turn signal at the right time. If you are about to make a turn on the road, you absolutely have to use your turn signals before any maneuvers. If you fail to do this, it will affect the outcome of your case. A car accident attorney will likely note asked early on whether or not the other driver involved in the accident used a turn signal at the right time.
Some of these situations are fairly straightforward. One of the drivers involved in the accident will simply fail to signal and that driver will often be liable. However, these cases might be more complicated than that, especially when you take into account the written and unwritten rules of the road.
As a driver, you might be in a situation where the driver in front of you is about to turn right, at least based on the signal that the driver is using. However, the driver still might not actually turn right in spite of their signal. This might make you feel impatient, and you might want to go around them. If you do this and it causes an accident, you will probably be liable. It’s true that you might both be found liable, and a skilled car accident attorney might find evidence in your defense, but you should still be cautious in such a situation.
If there is a stop sign involved, that can change everything. When you’re in front of a stop sign, you must yield to the vehicles that aren’t in front of stop signs, even if they are using their signals incorrectly or failing to move their cars when they have signaled that they would. In most situations like these, you will just have to wait for the car to move.
Your car accident attorney will be familiar with all of the different traffic laws that will influence these cases. Robert J. DeBry and associates are particularly familiar with car accident cases, so if you find yourself in an accident you feel is not entirely your fault, call in for a free consultation today!