Fog-related car accidents

On behalf of Aiken and Aiken P.C. Personal Injury Attorneys posted in Car Accidents, on Friday, September 25, 2015

Fog is often a major factor in multi-car crashes in Massachusetts. In November 2014, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety issued a report on accidents resulting from this type of weather condition, and used as its basis cases where visibility was limited to less than 5/8 of a mile. Fog changes a driver’s ability to react to road conditions in several ways. It obscures details and has an impact on a driver’s depth perception. High beams may actually make it more difficult to see because the light reflects off suspended water droplets. Foggy conditions may also make drivers follow the vehicle in front of them more closely because they perceive the vehicle to be farther away than it actually is. The AAA report indicated that fog-related crashes are more likely to occur during winter months in early morning hours and in rural areas. Crashes related to fog or smoke were also found to involve more vehicles and to cause serious injuries than crashes that occurred when road and weather conditions were clear. A fog-related car accident may result in serious injuries, and sometimes weather conditions make accidents unavoidable. However, motorists still have a duty of care to others who are sharing the road with them. Fog can often result in multi-vehicle collisions, and injured victims will often face high medical expenses and might be unable to return to work for prolonged periods. A personal injury attorney can provide assistance to a person who has been injured in such a crash by reviewing the police investigation report and other evidence. By so doing, the attorney can then determine whether a driver who crashed into the vehicle in which the victim was a driver or passenger was going too fast for the weather conditions and should thus be held responsible for the losses that have been incurred.