Wet Weather and Failing to Maintain Safe Speeds

Every year, thousands of drivers around the country are injured in car wrecks where weather played a role in the accident. Dallas-Fort Worth is not an exception to this trend. Especially with the amount of rain we have received over the last two years. Now, after a fairly dry summer, the wet weather has returned and our forecast calls for rain straight through the end of next week.

For local farmers this is exciting news. For most everyone else it means cooler weather. For personal injury attorneys, it means lots of phone calls. Why? Lots of car wrecks occur on North Texas roads when they become wet from the rain.

Under Texas law, “An operator may not drive at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances then existing.” This means that our State requires drivers to maintain a speed that is safe under the conditions. If you get into an accident in Texas, whoever the police officer believes is at fault will usually receive a ticket for “Failing to Maintain Speed”. If you get into an accident and receive one of these tickets, it is vital to your case against liability to have this ticket dismissed. Your personal injury attorney will usually get you in contact with a ticket attorney to defend the ticket.

Failing to Maintain Speed and the Circumstances That Will Get You A Ticket:

Driving Too Fast
Driving Too Close to the Car in Front of You
Swerving in and out of Traffic (Which will also lead to a reckless driving ticket as well, which is also not good)
Spinning out in the roadway or otherwise losing control of your vehicle, i.e. hydroplaning, driving off the roadway.

So, how can North Texas Drivers “Maintain Their Speed” and avoid traffic accidents in bad weather conditions?

Know Your Vehicles Limitations! It is very important to know and understand how your vehicle handles in wet weather conditions. There are several questions you can ask yourself in order to gain a better understanding of your cars ability to handle the wet roads:
- Does the car tend to spin out at stop signs or stop lights when you first take off at the intersection?
- How does the car feel at the speed other cars are travelling on the wet road? Do lane changes “feel” uncomfortable to complete? Does your car pull hard when you hit a bump or any amount of standing water in the roadway?

Based on your answers to those and other questions, you should be able to gauge your cars ability to handle the road conditions. Regardless of how good of a driver you believe you are, your car has limitations and not knowing what they are can put you and other motorists in danger.

About Our Firm:

Guest and Gray, P.C. is an experienced litigation team serving all North Texas counties. We are the largest and highest rated law firm in Rockwall and Kaufman County. We regularly pursue and defend various civil litigation claims, including personal injury claims. Our practice is quickly growing, and we have multiple offices in the area to provide maximum convenience to our clients. We are longtime faces in our community and we love what we do. We seek to provide an air of calm and confidence for our clients during a difficult time. We believe that makes us a little bit different from everybody else, and we like it that way.

For more information, or if you are seeking legal advice, give us a call at (972) 564-4644.