Auto Accidents and Backing Out of Driveways
Not all car accidents occur on busy freeways, congested city streets, or long stretches of rural highway. Many auto accidents occur in suburban and other residential areas, areas in which many people think that they are least likely to suffer an accident, let alone a serious one. Yet, there is truth to the old adage, “Most auto accidents occur within just a few miles of home.”
Some of the most serious auto accident injuries occur due to accidents caused by drivers backing out of driveways into public streets without properly looking for traffic and yielding the right of way. These drivers owe a duty of care to the operators of the cars, trucks, motorcycles, pedestrians, and bicyclists who are using the streets onto which they are trying to back out. When they fail to exercise this duty of care and an accident occurs, these drivers can be held liable for any injuries that result.
At the law firm of Chanfrau & Chanfrau, our personal injury attorneys handle the full range of auto accident cases, including those involving accidents and backing out of driveways. Our Daytona Beach, FL lawyers can provide you with the aggressive, skilled legal representation you need if you or a member of your family has been injured in an accident caused by a negligent driver backing out of a driveway, or if you have tragically lost a family member in such an accident.
Please don’t hesitate to contact our personal injury law firm for an evaluation of your auto accident case.
Negligence and Backing Out of Driveways
Every person who uses our nation’s roadways owes what is called a “duty of care” to every other person who uses our nation’s roadways. As a driver, you owe a duty of care to your fellow drivers, as well as the occupants of your vehicle, their vehicles, and the bicyclists and pedestrians with whom you share the road. According to this duty of care, you are obligated to maintain a reasonable level of vigilance and operate your vehicle with regard to their safety, as well as in accordance with the rules of the road. In turn, drivers of other vehicles owe the same duty of care to you.
When a driver fails to exercise this duty of care, and an accident results, that driver can be said to have acted with negligence. He or she may be held financially liable for any injuries that were caused in the accident if the victims take legal action, if adequate evidence of his or her negligence is presented.
In certain scenarios, the duty of care rests more heavily on some drivers than on others. For instance, in most cases in which drivers are backing out of their driveways, the burden is on them to look out for oncoming traffic and yield the right of way. This does not mean that drivers on the road do not owe drivers backing out of driveways a duty of care - they do - however, in most cases, the responsibility to ensure that it is safe to enter the road rests squarely on the latter. Therefore, in most cases involving accidents and backing out of driveways, it is the driver backing out of the driveway who has failed to exercise the expected duty of care and who is negligent.
Arrange for an Evaluation of Your Auto Accident Case
To arrange for an evaluation of your auto accident case, please contact Chanfrau & Chanfrau today.