When you are first learning to drive, your driving instructor will be adamant about checking your blind spots. What are blind spots? Blind spots are areas found on either side of your vehicle that are difficult to see without physically turning your head and checking for them. However, by adjusting your mirrors correctly before driving, you should be able to eliminate most (if not all) blind spots. Accident injury lawyers are familiar with accidents happening because of drivers neglecting to check their blind spots in a vehicle, so it’s important to follow these tips and avoid unnecessary consequences.
Before beginning any trip, always adjust your mirrors correctly:
- When you step into your vehicle, it’s important to adjust your rear-view mirror so that you have a clear view of the road, while the side mirrors will take care of the rest.
- Make sure that you adjust your side view mirrors so that you only see a small slice of your car, focusing on your view of the road.
- To check for blind spots, glance behind your right or left shoulder every time you are making a lane change or a turn. It’s important to get to know your vehicle’s blind spots before you begin driving, and you can do this by having someone walk around your car while checking your mirrors in the process.
These are a few tips to follow to check your blind spots and ensure that you are always aware of other vehicles around you so that a motor vehicle accident does not occur.
Though the Ontario automobile insurance system is technically “no-fault”, this term can be misleading. A no-fault auto insurance program refers to the way in which benefits are allotted between the insurers covering the vehicles in the collision. A no-fault system prevents the drivers from suing one another for damages, instead guaranteeing that insurers cover each of the drivers’ damages. However, establishing each drivers' degree of fault is important, since fault can dictate many circumstances later on in the claims process. An accident claim lawyer can help you to establish fault in your motor vehicle accident, saving you money in the future.
After a Car Accident
If you are involved in an accident in which the total damage to all vehicles and/or property costs more than $1,500, you are required by law to call the police (and in this case, you should consider calling an accident claims lawyer as well). The police will examine the scene and decide whether to press any criminal charges. However, if the police elect not to press any charges, this does not mean that your insurer will find you faultless. Insurance companies conduct independent investigations of car accidents involving their clients in order to establish fault.
Fault Attribution
Insurers do not simply assess fault based on their own internal standards, since this could lead to insurers unfairly forcing higher premiums. Rather, the Ontario Insurance Act includes a regulation called the Fault Determination Rules, which outlines various scenarios in which a car accident might occur. There are more than 40 scenarios in the Fault Determination Rules, and these are each specifically described and accompanied by illustrations.
The Rules assign fault on a percentage basis, with each driver involved in the accident receiving between 0% and 100%. Beware that the percentage of fault applies regardless of road or weather conditions, visibility, point of impact on the vehicle, or the actions of pedestrians.
Premiums
Establishing fault is crucial for insurers, but it is also important for drivers, because an at-fault collision will increase premiums. As an accident claim lawyer knows, at-fault accidents increase premiums in tiers:
- First At-Fault Accident
- Insurers will adjust your driving record to reflect the collision and will raise your premium (usually by only a small amount for the first at-fault accident).
- On average, you will need six years of accident-free driving in order to reestablish a clean record.
- Second At-Fault Accident
- If you have a second at-fault collision within six years, you should expect your premiums to rise significantly.
- Further at-fault accidents may result in a conviction and may prompt your insurer to transfer you to another company that specializes in high-risk clients.
Keep in mind that these are estimates based on the typical course of action for large insurers. Some insurance companies may adjust premiums according to different factors.
If you have been deemed at-fault in an accident and believe your insurer has given you short shrift, contact Sokoloff Lawyers for a free consultation. They can make sure that you are treated fairly during your automobile accident claim.
Hiring an Accident Injury Lawyer
An accident injury lawyer will make sure that you are compensated after a motor vehicle accident occurs. It can be a strenuous process to file your claims. Sokoloff Lawyers will deal with your insurance company directly, while helping you through the process step-by-step. Book a free consultation with a Toronto personal injury lawyer at Sokoloff today!
Sources:
http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~gdguo/driving/BlindSpot.htm
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/safe-driving-practices.shtml#blind-spots
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/handbook/section2.1.6.shtml
http://www.ibc.ca/on/auto/no-fault/fault-assessment
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/900668