News & opinion Not-So-Common Knowledge: Yielding and Right of Way

Not-So-Common Knowledge: Yielding and Right of Way

Texas Auto Crash Attorneys

Most of us completed d

ive

’s ed ye

s

go, but it’s su

p

ising ho

m

ny d

ive

s h

ve pe

sistent questions

bout

ho h

s the

ight of y

t fou

-y inte

sections,

hen ente

ing the high

y f

om

n off-

mp, o

hen the

e is

fl

shing yello

light

t

n inte

section. Not only does the

ight of

y

nd f

ilu

e to yield c

use confusion, but this l

ck of unde

st

nding c

n

lso c

use se

ious

ccidents on the

o

d

y th

t le

d to seve

e inju

ies.

h

t Is the Me

ning of Yielding the

ight of

y?

“Yielding the

ight of y” b

sic

lly me

ns letting othe

s in the

o

dy go befo

e you go. Ho

do you knohen this is

pp

op

i

te? The

e

e usu

lly indic

tions th

t you should yield, specific

lly

yield sign. If you see one of these signs, it me

ns th

t d

ive

s

l

e

dy in the

o

d

y get to go fi

st.

ules gove

ning the

ight of

y

e dete

mined by st

te

nd loc

l

utho

ities.

ll d

ive

s in Tex

s must follo

the st

te’s <

h

ef=”https://st

tutes.c

pitol.tex

s.gov

docs/TN/htm/TN.544.htm” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>l

s >

eg

ding

ights of y. Some of these pe

t

in to tffic signs, inte

section t

vel,

nd pedest

i

ns.

t

ny time

hen

d

ive

is

equi

ed to stop befo

e p

oceeding on

d, the d

ive

must yield the

ight of y to

pedest

i

n. D

ive

s

e

lso

equi

ed to <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

common-inju

ies-collisions-cs-pedest

i

ns

“>stop befo

e they ente c

oss

lk > if they h

ve

ed sign

l o

stop sign.

De

ling

ith

ights of y

nd Inte

sections<

h2>

hen

d

ive

ente

s

n inte

section

he

e mo

e th

n one d

ive

is

equi

ed to stop, the

e

e specific

ules th

t m

y

lso

pply. D

ive

s must cefully

dhe

e to these

ules in o

de

to

void

ccidents.

Some

ules th

t

ll d

ive

s should be e of include:
  • -level=”1″> ong>D

    ive

    s

    ho stopped fi

    st -<

    st

    ong>

    heneve

    the

    e is

    n inte

    section th

    t involves multiple vehicle ent

    ies, the d

    iveho

    ived

    t the inte

    section fi

    st h

    s the

    ight of y.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>D

    ive

    s to you

    ight – ong> Should t

    o o

    mo

    e vehicles

    pp

    o

    ch

    n inte

    section simult

    neously, the d

    ive

    to the

    ight h

    s the

    ight of y.

    ll othe

    d

    ive

    s must yield the

    ight of

    y.

  • i

    -level="1">ong>D

    ive

    s tu

    ning left oight -<

    st

    ong>

    d

    iveho is m

    king

    left- oight-h

    nd tu

    n must

    l

    ys yield to t

    ffic th

    t is tveling stight,

    s

    ell

    s to pedest

    i

    ns.

Unde

st

nding

ho h

s the

ight to p

oceed fi

st is

n impo

t

nt step in

voiding

ccidents

hen you e unce

t

in

ho h

s to yield

nd

ho h

s the

ight of y.

Speci

l Ci

cumst

nces

The

e e ce

t

in ci

cumst

nces

hen the typic

l

ules gove

ning

ights of

y ch

nge. Some of these include:
  • -level=”1″> ong>Eme

    gency vehicles – ong> D

    ive

    s

    ho

    e

    e of the p

    esence of

    n

    mbul

    nce, police c

    , o

    fi

    e t

    uck must

    l

    ys yield the

    ight of y. In m

    ny c

    ses, this involves moving out of the line of tffic o

    pulling ove

    completely to

    llo

    the eme

    gency vehicles to s

    fely p

    ss.

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Ente

    ing

    p

    ved

    o

    d -<

    st

    ong> D

    ive

    s tveling on unp

    ved

    o

    ds, d

    iving th

    ough

    lleys, o

    ente

    ing o

    d

    y f

    om

    d

    ivey must yield the

    ight of

    y to the d

    iveho is p

    ssing on the p

    ved

    o

    dy in f

    ont.

  • i

    -level="1">ong>

    il

    y c

    ossings -<

    st

    ong> Tins h

    ve the

    ight of y,

    nd

    ll opeto

    s must stop

    hen sign

    ls indic

    te th

    t the

    e is

    t

    in

    pp

    o

    ching

    n inte

    section.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Pedest

    i

    ns – ong>

    cco

    ding to <

    h

    ef="https:

    /st

    tutes.c

    pitol.tex

    s.gov

    Docs/TN/htm/TN.552.htm” t

    get=”_bl

    nk"

    el=”nofollo

    noopene

    “>Tex

    s l<>, pedest

    i

    ns

    l

    ys h

    ve the

    ight of

    y, even if they

    e c

    ossing o

    d

    y outside of the c

    osslk.

    hen

    sign

    l ch

    nges, d

    ive

    s must <

    h

    ef="https:

    /c

    inju

    yvictims.comvoid-pedest

    i

    n-

    ccidents/”>give the pedest

    i

    n sufficient time to s

    fely c

    oss > to the opposite side of the

    o

    d.<

    li>

Inte

sections often p

ove d

nge

ous fo

vehicle opeto

s

nd pedest

i

ns

like. It is e

sy to see

hy t

veling

ithout yielding, igno

ing the

ules th

t gove

n

ights of

y, o

simple l

ck of kno

ledge c

n c

use

n

ccident th

t

esults in se

ious inju

y.

Is F

iling to Yield

C

ime?<

h2>

ctions h

ve consequences.

hen

d

ive

f

ils to yield,

nd the outcome is

tffic

ccident, the

t-f

ult d

ive

is li

ble fo

the d

m

ges

nd inju

ies th

t

esult.

ddition

lly, d

ive

s

ho f

il to yield m

y

lso f

ce othe

consequences, including:

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Steep fines – ong> D

    ive

    s m

    y f

    ce fines up to $2,000 if they c

    use

    n

    ccident bec

    use they did not yield the

    ight of

    y. If the inju

    ies e se

    ious, the

    t-f

    ult d

    ive

    could f

    ce fines up to $4,000.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>D

    iving

    eco

    d imp

    ct – ong> D

    ive

    s could incu

    points on thei

    d

    iving

    eco

    ds if cited fo

    f

    iling to yield. The numbe

    of points

    ill v

    y depending on

    h

    t othe

    f

    cto

    s, such

    s imp

    i

    ed o

    distcted d

    iving, pl

    yed ole.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Insu

    nce inc

    e

    ses – ong>

    d

    ive

    cited fo

    f

    ilu

    e to yield m

    y not h

    ve

    ny insu

    nce inc

    e

    se, but if the f

    ilu

    e

    esulted in

    n

    ccident, ch

    nces

    e high th

    t once the cl

    im is filed, the insu

    nce comp

    ny

    ill conside

    th

    t d

    ive

    high

    isk

    nd subsequently inc

    e

    se thei

    tes.<

    li>

It is

lys impo

t

nt to

emembe

th

t not eve

y f

ilu

e to yield oight of y viol

tion

esults in

n

uto

ccident; ho

eve

, d

ive

s m

y still

eceive

cit

tion if they f

il to obey the

ules of the

o

d.

ccident F

ult

hen F

iling to Yield

One of the most complic

ted issues

hen de

ling

ith the

fte

m

th of

n

ccident is dete

mining f

ult. In some

ccidents, f

ult m

y p

ove e

sy to identify. Fo

ex

mple, if

d

ive

hits you

c

in the

e end

hile you

e

t

complete stop, th

t d

ive

is

t f

ult. F

ilu

e to yield the

ight of

y

ccidents e sometimes

el

tively simple, but othe

times, they become complic

ted. Fo

ex

mple,

d

ive

m

y pull out of his d

ive

y, h

ve his vision obst

ucted by b

ush o

t

ee bnches,

nd hit you b

o

dside. In this scen

io, the d

ive

is

t f

ult fo

st

iking you, but the o

ne

of the p

ope

ty

ith the ove

g

o

n b

ush o

b

nches could

lso f

ce p

ti

l li

bility.

s you c

n see, this type of c

se is complex. If

d

ive

comes onto

busy f

ee

y

nd ente

s f

om

n off-

mp, ch

nces e high th

t the d

ive

h

s

yield sign

he

d. If the d

ive

f

ils to slo

do

n to me

ge into t

ffic s

fely

nd hits you in the

e qute

of you

c, c

using you to c

sh into

telephone pole, the d

ive

is p

ob

bly

t f

ult. This is one

e

son

hy

d

ive

ho is involved in

ight of

y o

f

ilu

e to yield

ccident should seek immedi

te leg

l help f

om

skilled c

ccident

tto

ney.

F

cto

s Imp

cting Inju

ies in F

ilu

e to Yield

ccidents

Eve

y

ccident is unique. The inju

ies th

t victims suffe

in

ny

ccident depend on f

cto

s such

s:

  • i

    -level="1">ong><

    h

    ef=”https://c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    speeding-c

    s-c

    n-c

    use-c

    t

    st

    ophic-

    ccidents/”>Speed of vehicles involved > -<

    st

    ong> If you e p

    oceeding th

    ough

    n inte

    section

    fte

    coming to

    complete stop,

    nd someone

    ho f

    iled to yield is tveling

    t 30 o

    40 miles pe

    hou

    , ch

    nces

    e high th

    t you

    ill sust

    in se

    ious inju

    ies.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong><

    h

    ef=”https://c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    ho

    -much-semi-t

    uck-

    eigh

    “>Size of vehicles > -<

    st

    ong> It should come

    s no su

    p

    ise the size of the vehicles involved in

    c

    ccident pl

    ys ole in dete

    mining the seve

    ity of the

    esulting inju

    ies. Think of it

    s

    hie

    chy:

    moto

    cycle offe

    s less p

    otection th

    n

    c

    ,

    c is vulneble to

    ll l

    ge

    vehicles,

    nd no c

    o

    t

    uck is sufficient to

    ithst

    nd the<

    h

    ef=”https://

    .ene

    gy.gov/ee

    e

    vehicles/f

    ct-621-m

    y-3-2010-g

    oss-vehicle-

    eight-vs-empty-vehicle-

    eight" tget="_bl

    nk”

    el="nofollo

    noopene

    ">

    eight of

    fully lo

    ded t

    cto

    -tile

    >.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong><

    h

    ef=”https://c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    c

    ccident-

    t-

    n-inte

    section-

    ho-is-

    t-f

    ult

    “>Loc

    tion of imp

    ct > -<

    st

    ong>

    eg

    dless of the imp

    ct site—f

    ont,

    e, o

    side—you c

    n suffe se

    ious inju

    y. Ho

    eve

    , in some inst

    nces, you c

    n suffe

    mo

    e se

    ious inju

    ies

    hen you

    c is st

    uck f

    om the side o

    the f

    ont. Inte

    section confusion often

    esults in t-bone

    ccidents,

    hen cs tveling

    long pe

    pendicul p

    ths collide.

M

ny othe

f

cto

s m

y pl

y

ole in the seve

ity of you

inju

ies follo

ing

ight-of-

y

ccident. M

ke su

e to seek immedi

te medic

l

ttention follo

ing

n

ccident, even if you believe you

inju

ies e mino

. You

body’s system h

s

n

m

zing y of m

sking p

in in the immedi

te

fte

m

th of

n

ccident.

Potenti

l Inju

ies in

ight of

y

ccidents<

h2>
Victims of

ll c

ccidents c

n suffe b

o

d nge of inju

ies, but some inju

ies e mo

e se

ious th

n othe

s.

hile some

ccidents m

y

esult in

n inju

y th

t t

kes eek o

t

o to

ecove

f

om, othe

inju

ies c

n c

use life-long p

in

nd othe

issues th

t m

y imp

ct you

life

nd you

f

mily’s life in the long te

m. Some of the mo

e se

ious inju

ies th

t you m

y f

ce include:
  • -level=”1″> ong>Tum

    tic b

    in inju

    ies -<

    st

    ong> Commonly c

    lled TBIs, t

    um

    tic bin inju

    ies c

    n c

    use

    host of ch

    llenges to victims ove

    the long te

    m. Mobility issues, t

    ouble sleeping,

    nd pe

    son

    lity diso

    de

    s

    e some se

    ious long-te

    m issues th

    t victims f

    ce. Some victims neve

    ecove

    f

    om

    TBI

    nd

    equi

    e const

    nt ce follo

    ing

    n

    ccident.

  • i

    -level="1">ong>B

    oken bones -<

    st

    ong>

    hile it’s e

    sy to think

    bout

    b

    oken bone

    s

    sho

    t-te

    m p

    oblem, b

    oken bones

    e se

    ious

    nd c

    n cont

    ibute to fu

    the

    ch

    llenges. Victims sometimes need to h

    ve multiple su

    gic

    l p

    ocedu

    es, they could suffe

    the p

    in of needing to h

    ve the bone

    eb

    oken

    nd

    eset,

    nd they could l

    te

    develop

    th

    itis in the b

    oken bone.

    ll of these issues c

    n c

    use signific

    nt p

    in, both nond in the futu

    e.

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Neck

    nd b

    ck p

    oblems -<

    st

    ong> If you e involved in

    ny type of

    o

    d

    y

    ccident, you f

    ce the potenti

    l of being tossed ound the inte

    io

    of you

    c

    . This is mo

    e th

    n just

    hipl

    sh—the sudden imp

    ct of

    n

    ccident

    nd the

    esulting fo

    ceful b

    ck

    nd fo

    th motion th

    t you

    body unde

    goes c

    n le

    ve you

    ith life-long b

    ck

    nd neck p

    in.

These

e just

fe

of the potenti

l p

oblems th

t you m

y h

ve to de

l

ith follo

ing

f

ilu

e to yield

ccident. You m

y not kno

the full seve

ity of you

inju

ies until sevel d

ys

fte

the

ccident,

hich is

hy it is impo

t

nt to monito

ho

you e feeling in the immedi

te

fte

m

th.

Holding D

ive

s

ccount

ble Follo

ing

ight of

y

ccident<

h2>

ften

ccident, you

ill h

ve

v

gue ide

of ho

much time you

ill lose f

om

o

k, ho

much d

m

ge you

vehicle h

s suffe

ed,

nd ho

much medic

l ce you

ill need to

ecove

f

om you

inju

ies. None of these issues is

ithout fin

nci

l cost to you

nd you

f

mily. Ho

eve

, you should not be the fin

nci

l bu

den of p

ying fo

these expenses

hen you e not

t f

ult fon

ccident.

the

, the fin

nci

l li

bility should

est

ith the d

iveho f

iled to yield.

Some d

m

ges th

t you m

y

ecove

include:

  • i

    -level="1">ong>You

    lost ges -<

    st

    ong>

    hethe

    you e

    n hou

    ly employee o self-employed individu

    l

    ho is depending on you

    p

    ycheck to meet you

    eve

    yd

    y household expenses, ch

    nces e high th

    t you

    ill not be ening

    s much du

    ing youecove

    y

    s you

    e

    e befo

    e the

    ccident. This ge

    eduction c

    n c

    e

    te long-te

    m fin

    nci

    l p

    oblems fo

    you

    nd you

    f

    mily. The d

    ive

    ho c

    used the

    ccident is

    esponsible fo

    these losses.

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Medic

    l costs -<

    st

    ong> Even d

    ive

    s

    ho h

    ve good he

    lth insu

    nce cove

    ge

    e likely to h

    ve

    bevy out-of-pocket expenses

    hile they e t

    e

    ted fo

    thei

    c

    ccident inju

    ies. The mo

    e se

    ious the inju

    y, the highe

    the expenses. Su

    ge

    y, p

    in medic

    tions,

    nd

    eh

    bilit

    tion thepy e just

    fe

    of the expenses fohich the

    esponsible d

    ive

    m

    y f

    ce li

    bility.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>P

    ope

    ty d

    m

    ge – ong> If you

    c

    s in

    ight of

    y

    ccident, you’ll need to

    ep

    i

    the d

    m

    ges. If this

    s

    f

    mily vehicle,

    nd you

    p

    tne

    depends on the s

    me vehicle, you m

    y need ent

    l

    hile you negoti

    te

    ep

    i

    s (o

    find

    ne

    c

    if the vehicle is conside

    ed

    tot

    l loss.) You should not h

    ve to be

    this fin

    nci

    l bu

    den

    lone.

ccident victims expect f

i

ness f

om the insu

nce comp

ny h

ndling thei

ccident cl

im, but this usu

lly isn’t the c

se.

hile the policyholde

nd the insu

e

h

ve

set cont

ct—the consume

p

ys p

emiums, the insu

e

p

ys cl

ims—insu

e

s

ill do thei

best to p

y

s little

s possible to

ccident victims. To comb

t this, you should spe

k

ith

n expe

ienced c

ccident lye

follo

ing

ny type of c

ccident.

l

ck of unde

st

nding of the

ight of

y is no excuse fo

f

ilu

e to yield

ccident. If you

e

e the victim of

n imp

tient o

dist

cted d

iveho did not follo

the

pp

op

i

te

ules of the

o

d, you need to kno

you

leg

l options. The best cou

se of

ction is to spe

k

ith

<

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

c

ccident-

tto

ney-houston

“>c

ccident lye

> ne

r you.

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