Driving at night can put you at a higher risk for accidents than driving in the daytime. Should you or a loved one fall victim to an accident when visibility is low, Pintas & Mullins Law Firm can walk you through your legal options for compensation.
For a case consultation, call (800) 223-5115.
Why Do Accidents Happen at Night?
Driving at night is more dangerous than driving during the day for several reasons. Your decreased visibility, however, is the primary contributor to those increased dangers. Even with streetlights, accidents due to a general lack of visibility often happen at night.
Additionally, conditions that can contribute to an accident in the daytime can grow even more dangerous without your normal visibility. Some of the causes of accidents late at night include:
Night Accidents and Distracted Driving
The rise of the cellphone has made it easier than ever for drivers to take to the road while facing unwanted distractions. After all, cell phones now serve not only as communicative devices between drivers but also as GPS devices, music players, and instructional guides.
The Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) §12-610.2 prohibits the use of hand-held devices while behind the wheel of a car. This includes cell phones, portable GPS devices, and other such equipment. However, drivers are allowed to use BlueTooth technology as well as hands-free devices so long as they are over 19 years of age and in possession of a full license.
However, it is not just cellphones that contribute to a driver’s distraction while on the road. Other causes of distractions that can make night driving even more complicated can include:
- The presence of friends in the car
- Radio noise
- Eating or drinking
- Opening or closing windows
- Responding to a technical malfunction
Of course, even if you avoid distractions on the road at night, that does not mean that other drivers will. Distracted driving, coupled with decreased visibility, can make for disastrous collisions on the road.
Night Accidents and Drunk Driving
Driving under the influence of either alcohol or drugs is considered a criminal offense in the state of Illinois. No driver should be behind the wheel of a car if they have a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more.
However, when you take to the road late in the evening, you may have a higher probability of encountering a driver who is intoxicated while at the wheel. After all, many drivers may be trying to get home after a night out at a bar. Alternatively, they may be caring for friends who are tipsy or drunk.
When a driver gets drunk behind the wheel of a car, their reaction time slows since alcohol works as a depressant. As such, if you find yourself on the road with a drunk driver, you may have to compensate for their inability to respond to roadway stimuli by taking more care on the road.
That said, a driver who takes to the road drunk and who gets into a car accident can face legal action both due to their intoxication and due to distraction while on the road. You can discuss the matter with an attending Aurora night driving accident lawyer to determine how you can bring a civil suit against a negligent driver.
Other Causes of Late-Night Accidents
Of course, late-night accidents can occur for other reasons. As mentioned, your lack of visibility on the road late at night makes it more difficult to respond to abrupt or unexpected stimuli. As such, some causes of late-night accidents not involving alcohol or distraction can include but are not limited to:
- Running lights or stop signs
- Speeding
- Poor weather
- Unsafe or unmarked road conditions
- Improper lane usage
- Tailgating
How Can You Respond to a Night Driving Accident?
If you find yourself involved in an accident on the road late at night, you have several legal options available to you. You can, should you wish to avoid going to court, file a demand letter with the party you believe to be liable for your losses. Filing such a letter can be simpler if an insurance provider, either yours or that supporting the party you believe to be liable for your losses, declares said party at-fault for your losses.
In your demand letter, you can outline your losses in more detail and discuss the reasons that explain why you believe that the receiving party should compensate you beyond that settlement provided to you by attending insurance providers. So long as that receiving party is willing to accept responsibility for your loss, you can then go through the motions of negotiating your compensation.
Should negotiations fail, however, or should you not receive a response to your demand letter, you can file a complaint with your local court. Complaints can help make the circumstances of your accident clear to a judge and attending legal professionals, as they can contain much of the same information you would use to draft a demand letter. However, should a court choose to take on a case as submitted by complaint, then those legal professionals take responsibility for summoning the potentially-liable party forward.
For a free legal consultation with a Night Driving Lawyer serving Aurora, call (800) 223-5115
You Can Work with an Aurora Night Driving Accident Lawyer
We do not charge up-front fees for the legal services you seek out after a night driving accident in Aurora, Illinois. You will only receive a bill from Pintas & Mullins Law Firm if you receive compensation for your losses.
To speak with someone about your case, call (800) 223-5115.
Call or text (800) 223-5115 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
