South Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Disregarding a stop sign can lead to serious, even deadly accidents. If you’ve been injured or lost a loved one in a crash caused by a driver’s stop sign violation, please contact us as soon as you can. At the Law Offices of Robert Dixon, our Miami car accident attorneys will investigate the facts of your case; figure out the best way to establish fault, and help you get the compensation you deserve in your case.
Last week, a Tesla driver blew through a stop sign at a Florida Keys intersection causing a deadly accident. The Tesla ran the stop sign, hit the side of a parked pickup truck causing the truck to spin out of control. When the truck lost control, it ended up striking a man and woman who were standing beside it. The impact of the collision threw the woman about 20 feet into the woods, ultimately killing her, according to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP). The Tesla finally came to a stop after rolling into some branches, the FHP noted in their report.
Stop signs are put on roads to control the flow of traffic and minimize the risk of accidents. All drivers behind the wheel have a duty to follow traffic laws and make sure they are operating their motor vehicle in a reasonably safe manner. Under Florida law, you must bring your vehicle to a full stop at an intersection with a stop sign. The driver must stop at the designated stop line or crosswalk. If there is no designated line, the driver is required stop as soon as the driver can see crossing traffic. Once the vehicle is stopped, the driver should look both ways and then proceed forward when it is safe to do so.
Sadly, stop sign accidents are more common than you may think. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that approximately 35 to 40 percent of all motor vehicle accidents take place at intersections. Drivers committing stop sign violations is a major cause of these intersection accidents.
If you have been injured in an accident caused by a driver’s stop sign violation, you can likely recover damages through a negligence claim. Negligence occurs when a driver fails to drive in the way that a reasonably prudent driver would have driven under the same or similar circumstances. Consider the following. Stop sign accidents generally happen when two vehicles collide because one driver disregards a stop sign and enters the intersection when he or she was not supposed to. A reasonably prudent driver, however, would not disregard a stop sign or be careless at a stop sign understanding the potential risk of accident associated with such behavior. As such, a driver who violates a stop sign would most likely be deemed negligent and be on the hook for an accident and any resulting harm.
If you have been injured in an accident caused by someone running a stop sign, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At the Law Offices of Robert Dixon, our Miami stop sign violation attorneys are committed to getting our South Florida clients the justice and damages they are rightfully owed in their case. We know how stressful it is to deal with an unexpected accident, which is why we will zealously advocate for your rights every step of the way. For more information about your rights, call us at 1-877-499-HURT (4878) or reach us online.