All vehicles have blind spots – areas surrounding the vehicle that can’t be seen by the driver when they’re looking forward or into side-view or rear-view mirrors. The bigger the vehicle, the bigger the blind spots. In fact, some commercial vehicles have blind spots of up to 200 feet.
Blind spots can be dangerous, especially when a driver doesn’t physically turn to search their blind spots before changing lanes, turning, or merging into traffic. If another vehicle, a pedestrian, or a bicyclist is in a vehicle’s blind spot, they can become seriously injured when the two collide.
As the victim of a blind spot accident, it’s important to weigh your legal options by contacting an accident attorney in Round Rock, TX, for help right away.
What Causes Most Round Rock Blind Spot Accidents?
Two things have to happen for a blind-spot car accident in Round Rock to occur. First, someone has to be traveling in a vehicle’s blind spot. Generally speaking, it’s important to know where a vehicle’s blind spots are so that you can avoid driving there, obscured from the driver’s point of view.
Typical blind spots are on the sides of a vehicle close to the rear. Taller vehicles like tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers, and buses also have front and rear blind spots. As a result, commercial drivers are often unable to see the area immediately in front of and behind their vehicles.
Second, the driver of a vehicle must fail to check their blind spots before maneuvering. It’s not enough to only check your mirrors. It’s important to physically turn your head so put eyes on the spots where other cars or motorcycles could be traveling.
Vehicles all have different blind spots, so it’s good practice to know where your car’s blind spots are and check them regularly to avoid accidents. A Round Rock car accident lawyer can help determine whether a driver’s failure to check blind spots contributed to your crash.
When a driver doesn’t thoroughly check their blind spots, and there’s someone there, accidents are often inevitable if that driver changes lanes, attempts to merge into traffic, makes a right-hand or left-hand turn, or passes another vehicle.
Often, we see that blind spot accidents are caused by:
- Distracted drivers
- Drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Drowsy drivers
- Aggressive drivers
- Careless drivers
Other factors, like driving at night, bad weather conditions, or broken mirrors and lights, can also contribute to blind spot accidents in Round Rock, TX, too.
Who’s Liable For a Blind Spot Accident?
It depends. A driver can be considered negligent if they hit another car because they failed to check their blind spots. Blind spot accidents can still happen even when a driver checks their “no-view” zones. In these situations, accidents tend to occur when another driver suddenly and without warning moves into a blind spot.
For example, let’s say driver A has their turn signal, checks their blind spots to confirm the adjacent lane is unoccupied, and attempts to change lanes but hits the car of driver B in the blind spot they just checked. If driver B sped up to prevent driver A from changing lanes, driver B would likely be liable for the crash.
Other times, multiple parties can be liable for a blind spot accident. In Texas, liability is shared by everyone who directly or indirectly contributes to a crash. If there’s evidence that both parties were negligent in some way, they’d share responsibility for resulting damages.
An experienced car accident attorney in Round Rock can investigate the circumstances of your blind spot accident to determine all liable parties and build a strong case for compensation.
Call A Round Rock Accident Lawyer From Dow Law Firm After a Blind Spot Accident
Blind spot car and truck accidents in Round Rock can be catastrophic, leaving victims to struggle with debilitating physical injuries or the wrongful deaths of their loved ones. When your world has been turned upside down because another driver failed to check their blind spots before changing lanes, it’s important to hold them accountable for the consequences.
Dow Law Firm’s Round Rock car accident attorneys can help. We offer free initial consultations. Call our car accident lawyers at (512) 240-9951 or complete our online contact form today.