Bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers have so many questions about car accidents that no one article could address all of them. This article highlights a few questions, and gives the answers, as well.

Can a driver be held liable, when the driver’s vehicle was rear-ended?

The insurance company examines the location and nature of the damage done to the impacted automobile. When several cars have been involved in a chain reaction, the driver that felt the initial impact should be held responsible for all the damage to the other vehicles.

True, that one driver did not actually hit all the other vehicles, but the driver’s actions did cause the chain reaction. If any other driver in that chain gets asked to pay for damages, then he or she should consider filing a lawsuit with the help of a personal injury lawyer in Pittsburg.

Is a vehicle taking a left-hand turn responsible for an accident at an intersection?

That car is almost always at fault. There are a limited number of exceptions. For instance, the car approaching the intersection might be traveling at too great a speed, or it might pass through a stop sign or a red light. On the other hand, the driver that has chosen to make the left-hand turn might have to slow down, for some unexpected reason.

Who is to blame for a bike-car collision?

Did the bicycle rider follow the rules of the road, as those rules applied to the location where the accident took place? If a bicycle rider were to ignore those rules and then get hit by a motorist, it would be the bike rider’s fault. The fact that the motorist had a larger and heavier vehicle would not give the cyclist a reason for placing the blame on the innocent motorist.

In fact, those authorities that seek to limit the number of bike-car collisions encourage bike riders to become familiar with the measures that help to increase the cyclist’s visibility, when he or she must share the road with motorists. Some of those measures are listed in the next paragraph.

The person that is riding down the street on a bicycle should wear clothing that can be easily spotted by a motorist. By the same token, that rider with the bold-colored clothing should pay special attention to the road’s condition. That means watching for possible hazards.

At the same time, the watchful rider on the bicycle must give thought to what a motorist might do. When approaching an intersection, the rider on a bike should not assume that a given motorist will be going straight, just because there is no blinking light. That motorist might have forgotten to turn on the blinker, in order to signal plans for turning right.