Nashville Auto Accident Lawyer Talks About Intersection Accidents And Strategies To Prevent Them
In my work as a Nashville automobile accident attorney I spoke with a young man from Clarksville Tennessee who was injured in a three-car collision caused by a young woman who made a turn directly in front of him. He had very little, if any, time to brake before he t-boned her Honda. He slammed into her and her car hit another vehicle. Through the grace of God no one was killed.
More crashes happen at intersections than at any other place. Intersections constitute a very small part of rural and urban street/highway systems, yet they are implicated in 31.9 percent of all motor vehicle crashes and 15.5 percent of all fatal crashes (2004 NHTSA data). Be very careful when approaching any intersection or driveway. Never assume another driver will yield the right-of-way to you. Always be prepared to stop.
“Traffic checks” is the process of looking frequently and carefully for vehicle traffic approaching from each direction. “Traffic checks” is especially important when merging or changing lanes AND when approaching and crossing intersections. Look both ways as you near an intersection. Before you enter an intersection, continue checking traffic from both the left and right for approaching vehicles and/or crossing pedestrians.
The Left-Right-Left Rule: Look first to the left to make sure cross traffic is yielding the right-of-way. Then look for traffic from the right. If stopped, look both left and right just before you start moving. Look across the intersection before you start to move to make sure the path is clear through the intersection.
As you enter an intersection, check again for unusual or unexpected actions to the left and right. It is also important to watch for vehicle traffic from the front (oncoming traffic) and rear (approaching/overtaking traffic) of your vehicle at intersections. Be especially aware of vehicles behind you. If the light changes and/or you encounter a vehicle violating the right-of-way that causes you to stop suddenly, will the vehicle behind be able to stop? It is not uncommon for drivers to run red lights or stop signs resulting in a head-on or rear-end collision.
If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile intersection accident contact the experienced Nashville car crash lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates for a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.
Phillip Miller is a Tennessee Accident Attorney specializing in
Phillip has an AVVO rating of 10.0 (Superb), has been designated as a “Superlawyer”, and is the President Elect of the Tennessee Association for Justice.
Click Here to Contact Phillip
