New Accident Law In Practice
A new ruling came down from the New York Court of Appeals last month regarding particular driving activities and the liabilities surrounding them. In the past, if a motorist participated in reckless driving that caused an accident behind them, they were not responsible for any subsequent damages that may have occurred. The New York Daily News reported on the new law and how the reckless driver who causes any accidents behind them can now be held responsible.
Until Friday, the first driver - the reckless one who seemingly causes such accidents - couldn’t be held liable if he or she was not involved in the actual collision.
But the state’s top court, in a ruling against Suffolk County and a county cop, has done away with such absolution.
According to the court case that was cause for the new law, a Suffolk County police officer suddenly changed lanes on the Long Island Expressway and then slowed down to a speed that forced the driver behind him to quickly slow down behind him, setting off a chain reaction that left a third vehicle damaged and the driver of the second vehicle injured. The Court of Appeals came to the following conclusion and has since changed the law to include the driver who is the cause of any further accidents:
The Court of Appeals held that it is "irrelevant" whether Tutrani managed to avoid hitting the officer’s car.
"Clearly, Officer Weidl’s actions created a foreseeable danger that vehicles would have to brake aggressively … thereby increasing the risk of rear-end collisions," the seven judges unanimously concluded.
The new law will assist law enforcement in assigning proper cause to the accident and keeping those who are not at fault from being assigned blame to an incident they did not cause.
