Tuscaloosa Auto Injury Lawyer Advises Drivers to Review Safety Laws

Apr 22, 2016 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

In a perfect world, all drivers would review the Alabama Driver Manual from cover to cover every year without waiting for the need to study for a written test. In this busy world, however, few individuals have the time to commit to an annual review of 88 pages.

All rules of the road are important because they work together to help motorists know how get from Point A to Point B without excessive accidents. Still, in the interest of public safety, our attorneys want to present five important laws that we believe can save many lives.

Five Laws That Make a Major Difference in the Safety of Motorists and Their Passengers

A review of automotive history indicates that automobiles became relative fixtures in larger U.S. cities early in the 1900s. In fact, 7.5 million cars were registered in the country as early as 1919. Even before that time, however, some municipalities started developing speed limits, as well as other laws. The laws continue to change as needs arise, and these days, the following Alabama laws may be the ones that directly affect the safety of nearly four million motorists in our state:

• Seatbelt use: All front-seat passengers must wear a seatbelt or face potential fines and points against driving records. Only children under 15 years old are required to wear seatbelts in the back seat.
• Child car seats: Children younger than one year old or weighing 20 pounds or less must be in rear-facing child restraint seats, with requirements changing as children grow. Again, fines and points are assessed for violation.
• Cell phones: Alabama encourages the use of hands-free phones, as well as any technology that limits overuse of the hands for dialing or other purposes. The law expressly prohibits any form of text messaging while driving and imposes points and graduated fines for repeat offenses.
• Alcohol and drug use: No individuals may operate motor vehicles when their blood alcohol content registers at .08 percent or higher (.02 percent for school and daycare drivers, as well as anyone under age 21). The law also prohibits driving when either drugs or alcohol use renders them incapable of safe driving. Even first-time violators can face substantial fines, possible jail time and license suspension.
• Headlights: Cars must be equipped with two headlights that meet certain specifications, and lights must be illuminated from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise, as well as any time that windshield wipers are in use due to weather conditions. Motorcyclists must use their headlights at all times.

Not All Motorists Follow the Law

Unfortunately, no law can fully ensure the safety of anyone riding in a vehicle. It takes just one distracted or intoxicated driver in another car to cause severe injuries to motorists who unfailingly follow every rule of the road.

Car accidents can happen in an instant and victims often cannot pinpoint exactly what happened, much less identify what happened inside of the at-fault vehicle during a collision. Alabama’s pure contributory negligence doctrine basically requires victims to prove that they did not share any liability for a crash. This is one reason why it is so important to seek advice from an auto accident attorney who has extensive experience developing evidence for these often-challenging legal cases.

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