Understanding Car + Truck Accident Laws in Spring Hill, FL

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 102 people died in a car accident per day in the United States in 2016, and an estimated 6,693 people were injured per day during the same time period. Some of these accidents were caused by circumstances beyond a driver’s control such as inclement weather or unsafe roadways, but many are caused by the negligent, or in some cases criminal, actions of another driver. For example, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there were 119,100 people killed nationwide in drunk driving accidents from 2003-2012. 

In Florida specifically, 1,350 people sustained incapacitating injuries such as broken bones, severed limbs, etc. in 2017 due to car accidents involving at least one driver that was speeding or driving aggressively at the time of the accident, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. As these statistics demonstrate, being involved in a car accident is an almost inevitable event, but different laws in Florida apply to different types of car accidents.

As such, the car accident attorneys at Peck Law have compiled a list of laws and facts that anyone that has been involved in a car accident in Spring Hill, Brooksville, or Withlacoochee, FL should be aware of. 

Car Accident Laws in Spring Hill, FL

You may hear car accident attorneys use the term negligence quite often. The reason for this is most, if not all, car accident claims are centered around an act of negligence in one form or another. Normally, an individual who causes a car accident is said to have committed an act of vehicular negligence, but that is simply the most common form of negligence in car accident case. An individual can also commit gross negligence, negligence per se, or culpable negligence, and the type of negligence a person commits has a large impact on how your personal injury attorney approaches your case. 

As such, it’s important for you to gather as much evidence as you can at the scene of the accident. This includes taking photos of both vehicles, exchanging insurance information with the other driver, and contacting the police, so they can complete a crash report. Moreover, you should always contact a car accident attorney who can begin working on your case and use the evidence you have gathered to strengthen your claim against the other diver. In addition, you should always get evaluated by a doctor after being involved in a car accident, because many of the injuries car accident victims typically sustain have delayed symptoms. Meaning, you may not immediately realize the severity of your injuries immediately after the accident occurs. 

Truck Accidents in Spring Hill, FL

As car accident attorneys in Spring Hill, FL, we have seen the serious impact a car accident can have on the life of an accident victim, but certain types of car accidents are generally more severe than others. Accidents involving commercial vehicles like semi trucks certainly fall into this category. Of the 2,312 car crashes that occurred in Hernando County in 2017, 200 of them involved a commercial vehicle, and almost 50% of these accidents resulted in a person sustaining one or more injuries, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

The factors that make truck accidents unique include the size of the vehicle(s) involved and the characteristics of the driver. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines a large truck as a commercial vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of over 10,000 pounds, which is the same standard that is applied by the Federal Government in the regulation of commercial vehicles engaged in “interstate” commerce. The state of Florida on the other hand begins to impose specific insurance and vehicle requirements on commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,000 pounds or more, and the state standards are only imposed on commercial vehicles engaged in “intrastate” commerce, which means that the driver only delivers goods within the state of Florida. Besides the overall weight of a commercial truck, truck drivers can often cause a car accident to occur due to some of the common factors associated with their profession that affect their ability to drive safely such as:

Drunk Driving

• • According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 3% of the fatal accidents involving a large truck in 2017 involved a drunk driver operating a commercial vehicle.

Reckless Driving

• • According to the NHTSA, large truck drivers involved in a fatal car accident in 2017 had a higher percentage of previously recorded crashes than drivers of other vehicles. 

Drowsy Driving

• • According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), drowsy driving was responsible for 72,000 car crashes in 2013, and commercial truck drivers are more likely to drive while they are drowsy or fatigued due to the long hours they spend on the road.     

Consequently, you should always contact a car accident attorney if you have been involved in an accident involving a commercial vehicle, because many trucking companies will try to challenge your claim due to the large amount of insurance they are required to carry under state or federal law. Moreover, car accident claims involving large trucks often require the expertise of an attorney who understands the laws that govern car accidents involving a commercial vehicle. 

Drunk Driving Accidents in Florida

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there were 44 car accidents involving a driver with alcohol in their system at the time of the accident in Hernando County in 2017, and despite Florida’s harsh DUI laws, drunk driving is still a major problem in Florida and the United States as a whole. In fact, according to the NHTSA, 29% of car accident-related fatalities involved a drunk driver in 2017. Drunk drivers that cause a car accident to occur have indeed committed a form of negligence through their own criminal actions.

However, due to the fact that DUI laws are designed to protect the general public, a drunk driver can be found to have been negligent merely by demonstrating that the driver was drunk at the time of the accident, and was, therefore, negligent under the doctrine of “Negligence Per Se.”

According to the Florida Supreme Court's holding in deJesus v. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Co., 281 So.2d 198 (Fla. 1973), “It is “negligence per se” to violate a penal statute or ordinance, not regulating traffic, which was enacted to protect a particular class of persons from a particular injury or type of injury.” By using this legal doctrine, your attorney can save time and money that would normally be spent gathering evidence to demonstrate an at-fault driver’s negligence, which will ultimately allow you to keep a larger portion of any award or settlement.

However, these types of legal techniques can only be effectively implemented by a car accident attorney with a thorough understanding of Florida’s personal injury laws. As such, you should always contact an experienced car accident attorney if you have been involved in a drunk driving accident.        

Car + Truck Accident Attorneys in Hernando County, FL

If you have been involved in a car accident, contact the car accident attorneys at Peck Law today. Our attorneys will guide you through the claims process, negotiate with the at-fault driver’s insurance company, and if needed, prepare your case for trial. Our car accident attorneys have experience in handling all types of car accident claims, and they are ready to start working on your claim immediately.

Don't hesitate to contact Peck Law today for a complimentary consultation and discover how our car accident lawyers can support you.