How Did the Pandemic Impact Driving Behaviors and Car Crash Cases?

With the exception of New Mexico’s sporadic lockdown, California had the longest statewide stay-at-home order in the country. The long lockdown means that the bad pandemic-induced driver habits, which are discussed below, are more entrenched in the Golden State. Typically, good habits are hard to form and easy to break, while bad habits are easy to form and hard to break.

In California, two of the three pandemic-related bad driver habits could affect both liability (legal responsibility for injury) and damages (amount of compensation). In most cases, the third area is only relevant to damages.

Tortfeasors (negligent drivers), not government actions, are legally responsible for car crash injuries, at least in most cases. A catastrophic (life-threatening) injury could cost more than $150,000 in economic losses, such as medical bills, alone. A California Car Accident Lawyer ensures that victims get maximum compensation for these losses, as well as for their noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Speeding

When roads suddenly emptied, many drivers were tempted to test the limits of their vehicles. Very few police officers were on the street, increasing the temptation. Many drivers simply couldn’t resist. As the lockdown wore one, speeding became the new normal, and old habits die hard.

Excessive velocity is probably the most dangerous form of aggressive driving. Speed increases the risk of a wreck and the amount of force in a collision.

Speed multiplies stopping distance. Stopping distance is the distance a vehicle travels from when a driver notices a hazard and applies the brakes until the car comes to a complete stop. It’s made up of two parts:

• Thinking distance (the time it takes to see a hazard and place a foot on the brake pedal) and
• Braking Distance (the time it takes to safely stop the vehicle).

At 30mph, the stopping distance is usually six car lengths. At 50mph, stopping distance multiples to eighteen car lengths. Environmental, vehicle weight, road surface, and other conditions increase stopping distance even more.

Furthermore, velocity multiplies the force in a collision, according to Newton’s Second Law of Motion. In practical terms, speed transforms non-injury fender-benders into catastrophic injuries or fatal wrecks.

Drunk Driving

Little traffic enforcement and primarily empty roads also encouraged drinking and driving. Roads are crowded again in SoCal, but DUI traffic enforcement remains light.

Many people believe that alcohol impairment and alcohol intoxication are one and the same. However, there’s a significant difference between these two I-words.

• Impairment, which begins with the first sip of alcohol, is the partial loss of mental or physical faculties. Evidence of impairment includes physical symptoms, like bloodshot eyes, and physical evidence, like erratic driving.
• Intoxication is the complete loss of normal mental or physical faculties. Usually, a breath or blood test establishes intoxication as a matter of law. Circumstantial evidence, like poor performance on field sobriety tests, could establish intoxication as well.

To a Los Angeles personal injury attorney, these two I- words are also legally different. In alcohol impairment cases, attorneys must establish impairment by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). If the tortfeasor was arrested for DUI, the tortfeasor may be liable for damages as a matter of law, thanks to the negligence per se rule.

Seat Belt Use

Seat belt use dropped off during the pandemic, probably due to the perceived lower risk. People who buckled up without thinking about it now buckle up only if they think about it.

In California, seat belt use doesn’t affect liability for damages. A seat belt doesn’t make a negligent driver a good driver, or vice versa. However, seat belt non-use is relevant as to the amount of compensation. The insurance company must prove the failure to use a seat belt, as opposed to the tortfeasor’s negligence, substantially caused the victim’s injuries.

This burden is challenging to meet. Head injuries are a good example. Contrary to popular myth, blunt force trauma usually doesn’t cause head injuries. Instead, the violent motion of a wreck causes them. This motion causes the brain to slam against the inside of the skull. This impact usually causes brain bleeding and swelling.

The motion of a victim’s head banging into an airbag and then violently snapping back is more than enough to cause a motion-related head injury. This motion could also cause other injuries, mostly whiplash, a soft tissue injury that could lead to paralysis.

Contact Our Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers Today!

Car crashes cause serious injuries. Contact the Law Offices of Eslamboly Hakim for a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in California. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.