What Ohio’s right-of-way laws might mean for car accident claims
A notice from Friedman, Domiano & Smith Co., L.P.A.
An important part of many car crashes is when one driver does not give way to another. People can get hurt badly in these kinds of accidents, especially if one or both of the cars involved were going fast.
There are times when people disagree about who had the right of way before a crash. This can make it harder to figure out who is responsible for the damage the crash caused.
Our Cleveland car accident lawyers will talk about Ohio right-of-way rules that may come up in car accident claims below.
Give us a call right now if you are not sure if you can get money for an accident that happened because someone broke the law about right-of-way. We can talk about your case in a free meeting.
Crashes Involving Right-of-Way Infractions
There are many cases of car accidents that happened because one driver did not give way to another. One example of this is when one driver has a stop sign and another driver does not, and the driver with the stop sign runs the stop sign.
A pedestrian has the right of way when there is a red light ahead of them and they are in a crossing. When a driver has a red light and hits a person in a crosswalk, the driver is likely to be held responsible for the crash.
When there are four-way stops, drivers must also give way to the car on the right.
Right-of-way rules also tell drivers what to do when they want to turn. If you are at a red light, you can turn right if traffic is clear and you will not be putting other drivers in danger. This means that if you want to turn right on a red light, you must let the cars going the other way go first.
We might be able to help you if you were hurt in an accident caused by a driver who did not give you the right of way. Get in touch with us to find out more about why hiring an attorney is a good idea.
Ohio Right-of-Way Rules
Ohio Revised Code 4511.41(A) says the driver on the left must yield to the driver on the right if both cars reach an intersection at about the same time. Failing to do this is a minor misdemeanor.
Ohio Revised Code 4511.43(A) covers right-of-way rules at through highways, stop signs and yield signs.
The law says, after stopping at a stop sign, drivers must yield the right-of-way to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching from another road in a way that constitutes an immediate hazard.
Ohio Revised Code 4511.43(B) says you must slow down to a speed that is reasonable for existing conditions when approaching a yield sign. If you need to stop for safety reasons you should do so.
Make sure to stop at the clearly marked stop line, before entering the crosswalk or the point that is nearest to the intersecting road where you have a view of approaching traffic.
Once you slow down or stop, you should treat the situation as if you have a stop sign. Yield to any approaching vehicles that are in the intersection or so close that they are an immediate hazard.
If a driver goes past a yield sign without coming to a stop, and a crash happens, that driver would likely be at fault for failure to yield the right of way.
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