Car Accident Attorney: 3 Things Skid Marks Can Prove About Your Case
Proving car accident cases can be so difficult, especially when there are no witnesses involved. At times, it can feel like you're arguing with the other party in regards to how the accident happened, despite the fact that you already know since you were involved in it. To prevent your case from becoming a 'he-said, she-said' type of situation, collect as much evidence of the road conditions as possible. In particular, you want to look for skid marks, as they can be just the evidence you need to crack a case. Skid marks can give your attorney a lot of insight as to how the accident happened, so take as many photographs of them as possible. This article will take a look at 3 of the things that you can determine just from skid marks.
Speed of the Vehicles Involved
Did you know that the primary use of the skid marks is to determine the speed of the vehicles involved in the accident? Your car accident attorney will recommend that you hire an accident reconstruction professional to determine just how fast the other cars were travelling at and whether they might be automatically at-fault due to excessive speeding. The speed of the vehicles can be determined from the distance of the skid marks and the coefficient of friction, so try to take photographs that will provide some information as to the length of the skid marks present.
If you can prove that the other driver was speeding, your attorney could argue contributory negligence, or they can even argue that the other driver is completely at-fault. It all depends on your case.
Direction the Other Vehicles Were Coming From
Accidents happen so quickly that it can often be difficult to determine how the accident started in the first place. You might not actually know where the other vehicles involved came from, and there might not be any witnesses that can testify on the behalf of any of the parties involved. In these situations, one of the best things you can do is to look for the presence of any skid marks. The skid marks can help you and your car accident attorney determine whether the other parties involved are truthful about where they were when the accident happened.
By using the skid marks on the road, an accident reconstruction professional can help your attorney determine how the accident happened. For example, they can determine whether a vehicle was turning left or whether a vehicle was going straight. They can also use the skid marks to determine whether a vehicle had changed its course prior to the collision in an attempt to avoid another car.
Final Resting Place of All of the Vehicles Involved
After getting into a car accident, there's a good chance that you and the other vehicles involved pulled over onto the side of the road in order to safely exchange insurance information. Keeping your cars on the road is dangerous and also blocks traffic. Once the cars have been moved, it can be difficult to determine where the cars were originally and how the accident happened. Your attorney will only have the damages present on each car to work with, and the insurance companies will have to match the damages on all of the cars to determine which cars are responsible for which damages.
You can make your car accident attorney's job a lot easier if you're able to take photographs of any skid marks on the road to provide some insight as to where the final resting place of all of the vehicles involved was. If there are multiple skid marks, you'll want to specify which skid marks belonged to which car when handing the photographs over to your car accident attorney. The skid marks might be the final evidence that your attorney needs to strengthen your case.
Conclusion
Once you get out of the car and exchange insurance information with the other parties involved, take some photographs of the damages that were sustained by each car, as well as the road conditions that led to the car accident. Look for skid marks and take photographs from various angles if they're present. These photographs just might be the key to winning your case. For more information, contact a car accident attorney at a law firm such as Gelman Gelman Wiskow & McCarthy LLC.
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