If you drive regularly, you probably know to stay cautious when you approach intersections. They are one of the spots where many traffic accidents happen. Some drivers like speeding up to try to get through yellow lights, or even red ones, making intersections a likely crash spot.
The Federal Highway Association says that ¼ of traffic fatalities happen at intersections, and that number stays pretty steady as years pass. This means you must watch out for red and yellow light accidents if you are approaching a spot where roads converge.
Let us take a moment to talk about red and yellow light accidents. They have some similarities but also notable differences.
Yellow Light Accidents
First, let’s discuss yellow light accidents. Yellow light crashes often happen when a driver goes through a yellow light. At the same time, another driver trying to cross the intersection to the first driver’s right or left goes forward, thinking that the light has changed. If they have mistimed it and the light is still red, the second driver can T-bone the first driver’s vehicle.
If this happens, then it is the second driver’s fault. The first driver did nothing wrong since they went through the light while it was still yellow. The second driver wasn’t paying close enough attention and tried to get through the intersection before the light changed in their favor. If someone is late for work or they’re drunk or high, that might cause this behavior.
Other Yellow Light Accident Varieties
Yellow light accidents can also happen if someone sees a blinking yellow light, which indicates they have the right of way, and they should proceed cautiously. A second driver approaching the intersection from the first driver’s left or right will probably have a blinking red signal. This indicates they should come to a complete stop and make sure the coast is clear before proceeding.
Someone unfamiliar with the blinking red light and how they should approach it might run through the red light and hit the driver’s vehicle who went through the yellow light. This is another situation where the first driver did nothing wrong, and the court system will blame the second driver. The second driver smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol, or something similar also makes it more likely they’ll act inappropriately when they see a blinking yellow light.
Red Light Accidents
Red light accidents often happen if someone tries to speed up to go through a yellow light, but the light turns red before they clear the intersection. In some cases, such a driver might get a cacophony of honking, but they may escape unharmed.
If they’re not so lucky, a driver coming from their left or right might T-bone them in the middle of the intersection. In these cases, the driver that ran the red light often gets the worst end of it. Such accidents can easily kill or severely injure one or both drivers. Passengers can also sustain serious damage in such collisions.
Other Red Light Accident Varieties
Someone with poor vision who is not wearing glasses or contacts might run a red light and cause an accident. They also sometimes happen if someone can’t see very well during a rain storm, snow storm, or foggy conditions.
Red light accidents can also happen occasionally if one or both of the traffic lights malfunctions. These incidents happen more rarely, but they’re not impossible.
How Do Red and Yellow Light Accidents Differ?
If you have an accident in an intersection as a driver, you might point to the red or yellow light as causing it. If so, yellow light accidents are seldom as egregious. If you go through a yellow light and make it through the intersection without the light ever turning red, you know you have gone through in plenty of time.
If you’re in a red light accident at an intersection that another driver caused, the courts will probably chastise the other driver more harshly. If they ran through a red light, and there was no viable reason for it, that kind of reckless behavior will likely elicit a fine or even jail time. If the driver who caused the accident ran a red light and they let alcohol, marijuana, or some other drug influence their behavior, they will almost certainly spend time behind bars.
How Are Red and Yellow Light Accidents the Same?
These two accident types are the same in the sense that if you didn’t cause one, but another driver hit your vehicle anyway, you’ll need to prove they were at fault. You can do this easily if you can find some witnesses who saw the whole thing. If other drivers surrounded you when this occurred, you can probably find several people who saw the accident from start to finish.
If the other driver admits they caused the accident, you should have no problem getting their insurance to pay for it. Of course, if the other motorist had no insurance, or if they hit your vehicle and then drove off, thinking they could get away, that will complicate matters.
What Can You Do After a Red or Yellow Light Accident?
After a red or yellow light car accident, you may need to contact a professional car wreck attorney. Finding a lawyer who deals with these types of cases will likely benefit you. If the other driver won’t admit wrongdoing, or they drove off and the police only caught them later, you should certainly get a lawyer, as you’re likely in for a long, drawn-out courtroom battle.
Installing a dashboard camera is also a good idea. If you can do this before you ever have a car accident, you can use the footage if one of these wrecks ever occurs.
Remember to stay careful around intersections and never run red lights. If you approach an intersection when a light turns yellow, only go if you have time. If you don’t, stop and wait for the green.