Use of High Beams May Constitute Negligence
Every driver has more than likely turned a corner or crested a hill while driving at night only to be momentarily blinded by the high beams of a driver approaching from the opposite direction. The use of high beams at night is completely acceptable and understandable, especially in Tennessee where a lot of the roads are winding and dark and could present unseen obstacles. However, both the driver using high beams at night and the driver who encounters another driver using high beams risk being found liable for negligence if they do not respond to such use in the manner a reasonably driver would.
Tennessee law holds that a driver can be found negligent for failing to obey customary “rules of the road,” which are not established by statute but commonly known to all drivers. Failure to dim high beams when approaching another vehicle qualifies as one of these customary rules and drivers who are using their high beams have a duty to dim their headlights when approaching another vehicle if a reasonably prudent person would. If a driver fails to dim his or her high beams and the headlights so impair another driver as to lead to an accident, the driver who failed to dim his or her lights can be found liable for resulting damages to the extent that the presence of the high beams was a cause of the accident.
Likewise, the driver whose vision is impaired by high beams from an approaching vehicle also has a duty to behave as a reasonable driver would under the circumstances. Clearly a reasonable driver would not continue to drive in the same manner while blinded by another vehicle’s headlights as they would if the driver’s vision was perfectly clear. Such a driver may have a duty to slow their vehicle considerably or even pull to the side of the road and stop until the impediment has passed and his or her vision has cleared.
This rule is a great illustration of how both the affecting and the affected party can have a duty in certain situations. While the use of high beams can certainly lead to car accidents in East Tennessee, so too can the failure to drive in a reasonable manner while an obstacle is affecting the ability to see the road. Drivers should be familiar with such customs as the one discussed above and know that they have a duty to behave in a reasonable manner in any and all situations to avoid the risk of being involved in a personal injury lawsuit.
Source: Davis v. Farris, 1 Tenn. App. 144 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1925).
