Recovering fair compensation for car accident injuries is often challenging, as negligent drivers may attempt to deny their fault, and insurance companies may seek to keep payouts to a minimum. Hit-and-run accidents add another layer to these challenges, making it difficult to know whom you can even file a claim against. However, with the help of a personal injury attorney, you can better understand your options and determine the course of action that is most likely to lead to a favorable result.

Identify the At-Fault Driver

One option for recovering compensation after a hit-and-run accident is to work with law enforcement and your attorney to investigate, identify, and locate the driver who fled the scene. You should be sure to call the police as soon as possible after the crash and give them any information you can that may help them find the driver, including a description of the vehicle or the driver’s appearance, the direction in which you saw them leave, and anything you can remember of a license plate number. Your attorney can also help you collect statements from witnesses and determine whether the driver may have been caught on camera.

Leaving the scene of an accident, especially one resulting in injury, without stopping to assist and identify oneself is a criminal offense in Wisconsin, so law enforcement is often motivated to find the offender and make an arrest. Once the driver is identified, your attorney can help you file a personal injury claim for economic and non-economic damages. In some cases, a hit-and-run offense could also justify punitive damages.

Tailgating, or following another vehicle at an unsafe distance, has been an unfortunately common occurrence on the road for decades. Whether it is due to a driver’s inexperience, carelessness, or aggressive behavior, the results can be dangerous, especially when it is coupled with other risky actions. If you have been injured in a car accident involving tailgating, an attorney can help you recover full compensation for your injuries and damages.

The Dangers of Following Too Closely

Perhaps the most obvious risk of following another vehicle too closely is the potential for causing a rear-end collision. Cars traveling at high speeds can take several seconds and hundreds of feet to come to a complete stop even in ideal conditions, and tailgating reduces the time that a driver has to stop before a collision becomes likely. Following too closely becomes even more dangerous when combined with certain other factors, including:

• Distracted driving - Checking a phone, adjusting vehicle controls, or attending to people and objects inside and outside of the vehicle can significantly delay a driver’s reaction time when it is necessary to slow down or stop. When a distracted driver is already tailgating, they will have even less time to adjust to avoid a crash.
• Inclement weather - Weather conditions like rain, snow, and fog that decrease visibility and traction on the road’s surface typically require drivers to leave even more space between vehicles, because safely reacting and braking can take longer. What may be a safe distance in normal weather could essentially become tailgating in adverse conditions.
• Heavy traffic - Tailgating tends to become more common when roads become more congested. In heavy traffic conditions, a tailgating driver not only risks colliding with and injuring the driver in front of them, but also causing a chain reaction accident that affects a number of other people on the road.

Tailgating and Aggressive Driving

According to research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, and other sources, tailgating often goes hand in hand with other aggressive driving behaviors, such as speeding, illegal and unsafe lane changes, or attempting to block other drivers from changing lanes. In some cases, a tailgating driver may engage in acts of road rage, which creates an additional risk of harm for other drivers.

During the winter in Wisconsin, snow and ice can make driving more difficult and dangerous on any roadway. However, bridges and overpasses are often some of the most dangerous locations. Milwaukee has recently seen a clear example of this in the form of an accident in which a driver lost control on a snowy overpass and fell more than 70 feet to the road below. Fortunately, the driver survived, and no other people were injured, but if you are injured in a car accident on an icy bridge, it is important for you to understand whether you can obtain compensation.

Why Are Bridges Dangerous in Winter?

Ice tends to accumulate quickly on bridges, overpasses, and other elevated roadways whenever there is winter precipitation, including snow, sleet, and even rain. This happens for a couple of reasons. First, these surfaces are raised away from the ground, removing them from sources of heat that can help to melt ice on roadways at ground level. Second, cold air travels across both the top and bottom of a bridge or overpass, and this can cool any moisture and cause it to freeze.

Many bridges have clear signage warning drivers of the possibility of ice, but even so, the stark difference in driving conditions between ground-level roads and bridges still catches many drivers unawares. This may be especially true when black ice has formed, as drivers may have trouble seeing this hazard. Unfortunately, this often results in serious accidents.

Each year, winter weather conditions such as snow and ice are responsible for around 50,000 car accidents, 5,000 injuries, and 45 fatalities statewide, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Many of these are single-vehicle accidents related to the increased difficulty of keeping a car under control. However, a good number of these crashes involve multiple vehicles, and when this is the case, driver negligence can still be a factor. If you are injured in a crash with another driver during dangerous weather conditions, an attorney can help you understand your options regarding a personal injury claim.

The Importance of Driving Safely in the Winter

In Wisconsin, drivers have a duty to operate their vehicles with reasonable care and consideration for the safety of others on the road. This applies even when winter weather conditions make driving inherently more dangerous, which means that anyone who drives in these hazardous conditions needs to take extra precautions.

The Wisconsin Emergency Management agency offers several suggestions related to winter driving that can help drivers stay safe and avoid putting other drivers and pedestrians at risk. These suggestions include:

In addition to being a criminal offense in Wisconsin, driving under the influence of alcohol is one of the clearest examples of negligence that can justify compensation in a civil personal injury lawsuit. Drunk driving can happen especially often during the holidays. If you or a loved one has been in a car accident with a drunk driver, your injuries may be severe, and an attorney can help you take the necessary steps to recover compensation for your losses.

What Makes Drunk Driving Dangerous?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), alcohol impairs a driver’s physical and mental abilities in many ways, and the effects increase as more drinks are consumed. Among other things, alcohol affects:

• Judgment
• Alertness
• Focus and concentration
• Visual functions
• Balance
• Coordination and control
• Reaction time
• Memory and information processing

Clearly, getting behind the wheel while your mind and body are in this impaired state demonstrates a disregard for the safety of others on the road. When this breach of a driver’s duty of care causes a car accident and injuries resulting in economic and non-economic damages, the driver can be considered negligent, and therefore liable.