View from the passenger seat rear view mirror of getting pulled over by a police car
Traffic laws are meant to ensure that everyone can share the roads safely. When drivers ignore these rules, they may cause car accidents. Many crashes occur because drivers fail to follow basic safety requirements, such as obeying speed limits or paying attention to the road. When traffic violations cause accidents, drivers may face legal consequences that include fines, criminal charges, and civil liability for the injuries and damages they have caused.
Speeding
Speed limits are put in place to ensure that people can drive safely, slow down and stop when necessary, and ensure that other drivers and pedestrians will remain safe. When drivers violate these limits, their ability to react to sudden hazards may be affected.
Speeding can be a factor in rear-end collisions, because when a driver is traveling too fast, they may not have enough time to stop when other vehicles slow down or stop suddenly. When speeding, a driver may lose control of their vehicle as they negotiate curves or make sudden maneuvers. At higher speeds, the force of a collision will increase, and this will often lead to more serious injuries.
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Distracted Driving
When drivers take their attention away from the road, they will be more likely to miss important details and cause accidents. Common distractions include texting, using a handheld phone to make calls, adjusting navigation systems or other vehicle controls, eating, or turning around to check on children or reach for objects in the back seat. Texting while driving is a traffic violation in many states, but other types of distractions can also be dangerous. Even a brief moment of distraction can prevent a driver from noticing important details or changes in traffic.
Distracted driving may lead to a rear-end collision when a driver who is looking at their phone does not notice that traffic ahead of them has stopped. A distraction may cause a driver to drift into another lane and collide with another vehicle. Distracted driving can also lead to collisions with pedestrians or cyclists because a person did not notice someone who was crossing the street.
Running Red Lights and Stop Signs
Many car accidents take place at intersections. Drivers who do not stop at stop signs or who speed through red lights can collide with vehicles traveling in other directions. Running a red light or stop sign may result in a T-bone collision where the front of one vehicle strikes the side of another vehicle. Pedestrian accidents can also occur when drivers fail to stop for people who are crossing the road. In some cases, multi-vehicle crashes can occur when multiple lanes of traffic are blocked by vehicles that have been involved in a collision.
Failure to Yield
Drivers are required to yield the right of way when merging, turning left across traffic, entering a road from a side street, or in multiple other situations. When a driver does not yield when turning left at an intersection, they may collide with oncoming vehicles. Failure to yield when merging can lead to sideswipe accidents on highways or busy roads. Pedestrian accidents may occur when drivers do not yield to people in crosswalks.
Reckless or Aggressive Driving
While there are multiple forms of reckless driving, it generally involves operating a vehicle while failing to take the appropriate measures to protect the safety of others. Aggressive behaviors such as tailgating, weaving across lanes of traffic without signaling, excessive speeding, or cutting off other vehicles can increase the risks of car accidents.
Reckless driving can lead to high-speed collisions when drivers act dangerously while driving on highways, such as by changing lanes quickly without making sure the road is clear. Some accidents may occur due to road rage, and drivers may purposely strike other vehicles out of anger.
Driving Under the Influence
One of the most serious violations of the law that a driver can commit is to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Intoxicating substances can affect a driver’s judgment, vision, reaction time, coordination, and ability to focus. Impaired drivers may cause head-on collisions when they drift into oncoming lanes of traffic. They may lose control and crash into other vehicles from behind or in intersections, or they may not notice pedestrians in the road and cause serious injuries when striking people on foot.
Legal Consequences After Causing an Accident
When a driver violates traffic laws and causes a collision, they may face several types of legal consequences, including:
Traffic Citations and Fines
Many violations result in citations that require drivers to pay fines. Points will usually be assigned to a person’s driver’s license, and a person may face a license suspension if they accumulate too many points. Traffic tickets can also lead to increased insurance costs.
Criminal Charges
In certain situations, drivers may be charged with traffic crimes. Reckless driving is treated as a criminal offense with the potential for a jail sentence, especially if someone was seriously injured or killed in an accident. Driving under the influence is also a serious offense that carries multiple types of penalties, including large fines, the loss of a driver’s license, restrictions on driving in the future, and the possibility of jail time.
Civil Liability
Drivers who cause accidents through negligent behavior may also face civil lawsuits. Victims injured in accidents may take steps to obtain compensation for the damages they have suffered in a crash. These damages may include medical expenses, lost income, property damage, and pain and suffering.
Legal Help With Matters Related to Car Accidents
People who are accused of causing car accidents may need to respond to traffic violations or criminal charges. An attorney can provide guidance on how to defend against these charges and resolve cases successfully. People who are injured in accidents may also need to address legal concerns, and with the help of a lawyer, they can determine their options for obtaining financial compensation.
