Proper Vehicle Maintenance Can Help Avoid Negligence
If you are like most Americans, the amount of time you spend traveling in your car increases substantially around the holidays. It follows, then, that it would be even more important around this time of year to make sure everything on your vehicle is in proper working order before traveling. This includes taking care of basic maintenance on a vehicle that may be the difference in causing or avoiding an auto accident, such as making sure your vehicle’s tires are not worn out, that the headlights are in good working order, and that the brake pads are in good shape.
The duty that is placed upon every driver in Tennessee to drive like a reasonably prudent person would include doing reasonable maintenance. For example, it is not reasonable for a driver to keep their vehicle in such a state of disrepair that one cannot come to a stop within a reasonable distance upon braking or be drive safely on a slick or winding road. As roadways get more congested around the holidays, the likelihood of accidents goes up, and failing to perform reasonable maintenance on a vehicle just increases the risk all the more.
Drivers who do not keep their vehicles in a reasonable state of repair run the risk of ending up as the defendant in a personal injury suit. If the injured party can prove that they suffered injury as a result of an accident caused by the negligent defendant’s failure to perform reasonable maintenance on his or her vehicle, that defendant could potentially be liable for a large amount of damages, including, but not limited to, medical expenses. This is, of course, a greater concern for older vehicles than newer ones, but drivers of all vehicles share the duty.
Maintenance of vehicles is not often discussed in a negligence context, but it is something that, if ignored, can cause an accident. Likewise, anything that a driver does or fails to do that causes an accident can lead to a Sevierville personal injury suit arising from that accident. Drivers should thus make sure to keep their vehicles maintained properly if they are going to be operating those vehicles on the roadways.
Source: http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/72918707.html
