Tailgating is dangerous because when you're too close to another vehicle, you don't have enough time to stop if you need to do so quickly. When traveling 55 mph, you should leave 16 car lengths (which is about 243 feet) between your vehicle and the car in front of you. Some tailgating is aggressive, but sometimes it happens because someone isn't paying attention or simply doesn't see the practice as dangerous. Tailgating is when a driver follows too closely behind the driver in front of them. Statistically, younger male drivers are most likely to make risky driving decisions. And, some teenagers are more likely to take risks than an older driver would. That lack of experience could cause even the most careful driver to misjudge the speed of an oncoming car, poorly execute a turn, or make another mistake that results in an accident. Your teenager might be the most responsible kid around, and they might care a lot about following road rules, driving at the correct speed, heeding stop lights and signs, and doing everything "right." But younger drivers are inexperienced. ![]() It might be speeding, weaving, dodging other cars, failure to stop at lights or stop signs, or any other number of reckless driving practices that break road rules or are unsafe. Similar to aggressive driving, reckless driving is any kind of action behind the wheel that's unsafe. And when you speed, you have less time to react to a traffic situation in front of you and less time to stop if necessary. Speeding doesn't get you to your destination any faster if you crash or get a ticket. You might speed because you're in a hurry or running late, but you shouldn't. Sometimes speeding is aggressive, and sometimes it is just carelessness. Some drivers might be impatient and speed or swerve around cyclists or cars they think are going too slowly, make unsafe lane changes, or behave recklessly in some other way that could result in an accident. But there are other kinds of aggressive driving that don't necessarily involve anger at a specific individual. You've likely heard of "road rage," which is when a person becomes so angry at another person that they might bully or physically harm someone on purpose because they're annoyed. Being under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or some medications can severely affect your driving and raises your risk of causing an accident. You're not allowed to drive if your blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08% or higher. Also, distraction can include eating, passenger behavior, personal grooming, or any other behavior that takes your mind, eyes or hands off driving. But you should never, ever handle your phone or any electronic device while driving. As people become increasingly dependent on cell phones for maps, podcasts, music, traffic reports, and other functions, there is a stronger pull to check their phones. Economic damages are the value you can claim for objective expenses, and non-economic losses could be for subjective claims and are based on the severity of your injuries. As discussed above, damages are the money you can recover for your losses. You can't claim damages unless you suffered an actual injury, financial costs or property loss. If you were in a minor accident like a slow-speed rear-ender, you might be annoyed but otherwise unharmed. In order to have a valid claim, you must have suffered an injury. Once it's proven that the defendant acted negligently, did that negligence cause the accident? A driver might have rolled through a stop sign, but if that wasn't the cause of the accident, then they might not be legally negligent in a way that resulted in your injuries. They might have been following road rules and driving cautiously, but still made an error (like misjudging speed, for example) that was negligent. In a car accident situation, this means the driver was negligent through action or inaction. The second element to a personal injury claim is proving that the defendant breached their duty. Therefore, the fact that the other person was sharing the road with you can be enough to establish a duty. ![]() Every driver has a duty not to cause harm to any other road user, whether it's other motorists, pedestrians, or bicyclists. You don't have to know someone or have a relationship with them in order to owe them a duty. We all have a duty to someone, and that changes based on circumstances. You must show that the defendant owed you a duty. If you need to file a lawsuit, there are 5 elements that must exist in order to make a valid claim: How to establish negligence for a car accident claim
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