Rear End Collision Accidents - St. Louis Car Accident Attorney
by
Christopher Hoffmann on Oct. 12, 2016
Accident & Injury Accident & Injury Car Accident Accident & Injury Personal Injury
Summary: Rear end collisions often lead to more serious injuries than we think, the most common of them being the whiplash.
Imagine you are going down the roadway, and the car in front of you comes to an abrupt stop without a sign or warning. There is a loud collision. In most cases, we assume that the fault is that of the trailing driver. However, this may not always be the case. There are several questions that should be answered before a conclusion is reached. In this post, we will discuss some of the scenarios in which the trailing driver is may not be at fault for a rear end collision.
In many cases, if you collide with a vehicle in front of you when it suddenly changes lanes without any indication, you will be held responsible for the crash. This means, you will have to pay for the damages caused by another driver’s negligence.
Many times when there is a rear end collision, the trailing driver is blamed for causing the crash. The reason behind this is the assured clear distance ahead (ACDA) rule. This rule states that the trailing driver should always maintain a one car length distance between his/her car and the one in the front. So, whenever there is a rear end collision, people assume that the trailing driver failed to maintain adequate distance. However, rear end accidents do not always occur due to the violation of ADCA rule. Here are some accident scenarios in which the trailing driver may not be at fault.
- If a vehicles suddenly comes out of a street and cuts out in front of a car without leaving adequate room for the driver to stop.
- If a vehicle changes lane and lands up in front of a car without maintaining sufficient speed.
- When the leading driver either accidentally puts his/her car in reverse, or forgets to switch gears after backing out of the intersection because of a stop signal. When the signal turns green, and the leading driver accelerates, the car may end up hitting the trailing car
- Some victims also become victims of ‘swoop and squat’ cons. It is a term used to describe orchestrated crashes in which two vehicles work together to make a third vehicle appear to cause a collision. One driver suddenly cuts into the lane of the target vehicle and stops at a close distance. The second driver working in tandem pulls up alongside the target car to prevent them from swerving to avoid collision. While the trailing driver is not at fault, it often becomes difficult to prove otherwise.
Have you been involved in a rear end collision?
If you have been involved in a rear end accident and you think you were not at fault, you should get in touch with a competent St. Louis auto accident attorney to discuss your case. Call The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. today at (314) 361-4242 to schedule a free consultation.
