In 2022, ignoring traffic signs and signals led to numerous car accidents in Texas. However, running traffic signs and signals may lead to fewer collisions than diverted driving and speeding could do.
Nevertheless, these accidents harm thousands of Texas drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists annually. Understanding what drivers must do at a yellow light tells you whether anybody is responsible for the losses resulting from these accidents.
Texas Laws On Red and Yellow Lights
Texas traffic laws treat red and yellow lights differently. Mainly, when drivers approach a solid red light, they should stop at a stop line or a crosswalk if no such line exists. If neither a crosswalk nor a stop line is there, the driver must come to a complete stop before entering the intersection. A driver facing a solid yellow light has different prerequisites. Texas law does not expect them to stop. Instead, a yellow light only demonstrates that the movement permitted by a green light is being terminated and that a red signal is impending.
Continuing through a yellow light would only legitimize a traffic ticket with someone else. Running a yellow light is lawful in Texas since you are not expected to stop. Be that as it may, a cop could give a ticket if specific contributing elements accompanied the yellow light. Some factors include:
- Speeding the car so that the light becomes yellow.
- Entering the intersection so late that the light turns red
- Unintentionally running a yellow light due to interruptions.
These conditions might provide grounds for a traffic ticket. An officer may even arrest you for driving recklessly.
Running Yellow Lights may lead to accidents.
There can be worse outcomes for running a red light than being issued a traffic ticket. For example, a driver who runs a yellow light can cause an auto collision, especially if the light becomes red before the driver clears the crossing point. Likewise, running a yellow light during a left turn can bring about a crash with an approaching vehicle or even a person on foot or cyclist going across the street.
Drivers bear the obligation for crashes that outcome from carelessness. Carelessness implies the driver neglected to practice sensible consideration and harmed one more street client. Sensible consideration is an objective norm. To show carelessness, you don’t have to demonstrate the driver realized they acted carelessly. To show negligence, you do not need to prove the driver knew they acted negligently. Instead, you only need to show that the driver should have known better.
Negligence and Yellow Light Running
Even though running a yellow light disregards no transit regulations, it can, in any case, comprise carelessness. The conditions will decide if a driver’s activities are sensible. If, for instance, the light was green when the driver entered the crossing point and became yellow before they left, the driver could have acted sensibly.
Interestingly, assume the light becomes yellow before the driver enters the intersection. Assuming they had the opportunity and willpower to stop, their decision to join the crossing point might have demonstrated carelessness. Thus, they could bear the responsibility for any subsequent accident.
The contention for carelessness turns out to be much more grounded on the off chance that the driver joined their running of the yellow light with another perilous driving way of behaving, for example,
- Tailgating
- Speeding
- Failing to yield to pedestrians
In this case, your attorney would argue that a reasonable driver would know not to join these dangerous behaviours by running a yellow light. As a result, that driver’s choice to do so could be considered negligent because it exposed other road users to an unreasonable risk.
Learn More About the Legal Risks of Running Yellow Lights
Although drivers do not usually get a ticket for running a yellow light in Texas, doing so can cause crashes. Disobeying a yellow light might support a negligence claim against them, making them liable for any resulting injuries or deaths. Speak with an attorney to learn more about the legal risks of running yellow lights. Contact a Houston Personal Injury Attorney, Karan Joshi, by calling 888 362-9008 and initiate your journey towards success today!
Attorney Karan Joshi – Houston, Texas
6100 Corporate Dr, Suite 515, Houston, TX 77036
Attorney Karan Joshi – Irving, Texas
4324 N. Belt Line Rd., Bldg C, Suite 110, Irving, TX 75038