Over the course of a year, Amarillo drivers can face the full gamut of hazardous travel conditions, from the scorching heat that can cause tire blowouts, to severe snowstorms like last December’s storm that resulted in nearly 150 crashes in an 18-hour period. In between, we have thunderstorms, hail, flooding, and tornadoes. Ideally, you’ll stay off the roads during dangerous weather. Realistically, that’s not always an option. Even the most careful, highly skilled drivers can find themselves in trouble, and the biggest danger is often other drivers on the road who don’t know how to handle the conditions or just don’t care.
Driver Negligence and Dangerous Weather Are a Deadly Mix
If you have been injured in an accident that occurred during adverse weather conditions, you may be under the impression that no one will be found at fault and that you cannot recover compensation for your injuries. But bad weather accidents are often the result of driver negligence. Drivers have a duty to use extra caution when weather and road conditions call for it.
Examples of driver negligence that can lead to an accident in dangerous weather conditions include:
- The driver too fast for the conditions, even within the speed limit
- Following too closely
- Failure to use headlights
- Bald, aged, or improperly inflated tires
- Inadequate windshield wipers
- Failure to signal
- Distracted driving
- Intoxication
- Drowsy driving
Don’t assume that the weather makes it “just an accident”. If you have been injured in an adverse weather traffic collision in or near Amarillo, you may be able to recover substantial compensation to pay for your medical bills, lost income, the life-long costs of your injuries and your pain and suffering. To learn more about how Wood Law Firm, LLP, can help, call (806) 304-0447 or email us today.