Operating a motor vehicle is a safety-critical activity. People either need to prioritize making safe choices or run the risk of severe injury or worse. Negligence, which often involves failure to employ adequate caution while driving, is a common contributing factor that causes many California wrecks.
Not only can negligence be the reason that a crash occurs, but it can also have a major impact on what happens after a collision. Negligence involves either doing something that a reasonable party would agree is unsafe or failing to do what a reasonable party would recognize as necessary for safety in a specific situation.
Negligence may lead to license consequences
California will assess points against the licenses of motorists who make unsafe choices in traffic that result in collisions. Depending on the circumstances, the state can add up to three negligent operator points to someone’s driving record if they cause a crash. Speeding or driving an unsafe vehicle are infractions that might lead to one point. Hit-and-runs and drunk driving crashes could add two points, while commercial crashes could result in three points. Those points can affect someone’s eligibility for a driver’s license and also what they pay for insurance.
Negligence leads to financial liability
If the police officer responding to the scene of a crash determines that one of the drivers was negligent because of what they did or failed to do, their determination can influence the consequences a motorist faces. The negligent driver will usually have a responsibility to provide insurance coverage that will compensate the other party involved in the crash.
If they don’t have adequate coverage, which is common due to California’s relatively low requirements, then that liability might lead to the other driver taking them to civil court. A personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit may be the logical response to a crash caused by someone who is unsafe at the wheel and did not have enough insurance to properly compensate the other people involved.
Understanding the role that negligence can play in a crash and its aftermath may help people better handle the aftermath of a collision and to exercise their rights in the wake of sustaining harm due to another’s conduct.