Poor weather and darkness can affect visibility and lead to car accidents in Tifton, Georgia, and elsewhere. However, scientists have conducted numerous studies to determine whether there’s a link between car color and crash risk. If so, a careless driver might have a reason to blame an accident on the victim’s car color.
When an at-fault driver successfully shifts some or all of the fault for an accident, the victim could lose their right to compensation. The Tifton car accident attorneys at The King Firm Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers stand up to at-fault drivers and their insurers and challenge their attempts to deflect the blame for their negligence.
Call our law office at (229) 386-1376 to schedule a free consultation.
How The King Firm Can Help After A Car Accident In Tifton, GA
If you’ve been injured in a car accident caused by another driver’s risky behaviors, our Tifton personal injury lawyers can assist you in the following ways:
- Discussing your accident and the injuries you suffered
- Developing a legal strategy tailored to your situation
- Filing an insurance claim on your behalf
- Negotiating with the at-fault driver’s insurer to settle your case
- Filing a lawsuit if we’re unable to work out a fair settlement
The King Firm was founded over a decade ago to represent people in Tifton, Georgia, who have suffered life-changing injuries. Our Tifton car accident attorneys have successfully recovered millions of dollars in financial compensation for our clients in the intervening years. Members of our legal team have been recognized by Super Lawyers, Justia, and Avvo.
Proving liability for your accident may involve complicated factual and legal matters. Contact our law office in Tifton, Georgia, to schedule a free consultation.
When Does Visibility Play A Role In Crashes?
Most car accidents result from risky driving behaviors like speeding, running stop signs, and tailgating. In some situations, driver mistakes may be amplified by environmental factors, such as darkness, glare, or precipitation. Under these conditions, the driver’s vision might be obscured, reducing the time they have to spot and react to hazards.
A driver may have more difficulty picking up vehicles of certain colors when their visibility is reduced. For example, white or silver cars may be somewhat difficult to see in bright conditions. Similarly, gray cars might not stand out in rainstorms, and black or other dark-colored cars might be overlooked in low-light conditions.
Liability For Car Accidents
Even when environmental factors play a role, a negligent driver may still be liable for a crash they cause. When visibility is poor, the driver should slow down or even park their vehicle until they can continue driving safely. In other words, poor visibility might be a contributing circumstance, but the driver’s behavior would still be the primary cause of the accident.
Liability for any car crash is determined using the principles of negligence. Your lawyer will work to prove negligence by establishing the following four elements:
- Duty or care
- Breach of duty
- Direct causal link
- Compensable losses
All road users are obligated to exercise reasonable care. Drivers must avoid unreasonably dangerous acts that endanger motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists. They breach that duty when they fail to exercise the caution expected of an ordinary driver in the same circumstances.
A breach of duty depends on the situation. For instance, driving 55 miles per hour on a state highway during daylight may be reasonable. However, driving that fast on the same road at night during a rainstorm may be objectively unreasonable.
This is true regardless of the color of your car. A reasonable driver would reduce their speed precisely because some cars may be less visible in poor conditions.
What Happens If The At-Fault Driver Blames Your Car Color?
Suppose that a speeding driver rear-ends you and tries to blame you for driving the wrong color car. Your lawyer could raise several possible counterarguments.
First and foremost, they would argue that the speeding was the cause of the crash, not your car’s color.
Additionally, they might present evidence showing that crash risk isn’t dependent on car color. A study conducted at the University of Dayton looked at thousands of crash reports and controlled for factors like lighting and weather. The researchers found that car color has no statistical relationship to crash risk. In other words, no color is more dangerous in all conditions.
Based on findings like these, your lawyer could challenge the admissibility of any studies or expert testimony supposedly showing that your car’s color was the primary cause of your accident.
Contact Our Tifton Car Accident Lawyers For A Free Consultation
Georgia law entitles you to pursue compensation when a negligent driver hits you, regardless of the color of your vehicle. Contact The King Firm for a free consultation with a Tifton car accident lawyer to discuss your accident and the remedies you can seek.
