If you have been hit by a speeding car, that alone is not necessarily enough to make the other side negligent – but if, on the other hand, they were speeding when doing something else which they should not have been doing, this may result in negligence. This may seem unclear but below will outline the ways in which this could happen.
Why isn’t speeding negligent behaviour?
High speed alone may not be enough evidence to establish that it was the cause of the accident, although it is likely to be a contributing factor.
Speeding can contribute to an accident and a case can be reduced accordingly.
For example, Driver A turned his car to the right when the traffic light was red. As he did so, Driver B drove into the side of his car causing injury and damage. Driver B was driving at 45mph in a 30mph zone. It is likely that, although he was speeding, he will have the amount he will have to pay reduced by contributory negligence because Driver A was performing an illegal manoeuvre.
Contributory negligence usually means that, using the instance above, the damages owed to Driver A would be reduced by a percentage. So if Driver A was awarded £5,000 in damages but this was reduced by 50% for contributory negligence, Driver B (or his insurer) would only pay £2,500 in total.
What is likely to constitute full negligence?
There are many instances when a speeding driver can be wholly responsible for negligence. Outlined below are examples of when this could potentially happen.
Examples:
(1) A driver is speeding and pulls out of a side road. He crashes into another car causing injury and damage. This is an instance when he may be fully negligent as not only is he speeding, but he is driving without due care and attention and has crashed into the other correctly proceeding vehicle.
(2) A driver is speeding on the outside lane of a motorway. He suddenly and without warning proceeds to change lanes into the first lane of the motorway but in doing so collides with another vehicle. The combination of speed and careless driving would likely make the negligent in causing the accident. He would therefore be liable to pay all of the Claimant’s damages and not have it reduced by contributory negligence.
(3) A driver is speeding and fails to stop in time and hits the back of another driver.
If you’d like more advice and help on any type of traffic accident claims then call our free claims helpline 0800 634 7575 to speak to one of our expert claims team.
