Together with roundabouts and junctions, traffic light controlled areas are up there with the most common scenes of a road traffic accident. So here are a few examples of classic crashes and a little advice about who may be at fault.
Rear End Shunt
Keep it simple to start with – when traffic slows or is stationary, rear end collisions are fairly common. If the lights change and traffic suddenly slows, it only takes one driver who isn’t concentrating as much as they should to not notice the traffic has slowed or stopped. In the vast majority of cases, the person who collided with the rear of another vehicle is at fault. The excuse that traffic slowed too suddenly isn’t normally a good enough defence!
Amber Lights
In theory there shouldn’t be a problem as traffic lights shouldn’t be on amber for different lights at the same time. With these types of claims, it is often more the case as to whether a driver has an ‘amber gamble’ and goes through on a partial red, whilst a pedestrian sees the amber lights and chances it at the same time. The amber light is there to warn that caution needs to be taken before lights change, and really any person approaching an amber light should take care and slow down – not try and speed through! Liability could be split between both parties involved.
Jumping a Red
This is pretty clear when it comes to who is at fault. The law is clear – red light means stop! If someone jumps the light and hits your correctly proceeding vehicle, they are at fault.
Proving Fault
Proving fault may not always be so easy. If an accident occurs, you may want to get some details of any witnesses or call the police if you are unsure. Make sure it’s safe to do so though. You will probably end up with a whiplash injury and this can be fairly painful and fairly debilitating.
If you’re looking to claim for a road traffic accident and you think you are not to blame, give us a call on 0800 634 75 75 and we will see if we can help you out.
