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

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.