Underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage protects drivers when the other driver either doesn’t have enough auto insurance or none at all. These are important coverages to have. according to Michael Seelie, a board certified trial attorney in Jacksonville Florida who specializes in auto accident cases.
“I have had to tell people, that have had severe injuries, that there was no coverage for their injuries. You can buy bodily injury insurance which will cover you if you hurt somebody else, but what happens to you if the person who hits you doesn’t have any bodily injury insurance and is fairly poor and can’t pay a judgment? Especially if you think you can’t afford it, don’t opt out of uninsured and underinsured insurance.
It is required of all vehicles to yield to the right of way when confronted with an intersection. This means obeying traffic signals and other official regulations when present. Pedestrians always have the right of way in crosswalks at intersections.
Emergency vehicles always have the right of way when their sirens are turned on.
If there are traffic lights present, the intersection is considered a “controlled intersection” where the right of way is determined by the traffic light. If the traffic lights become inoperative, the intersection becomes an uncontrolled four-way stop. This means every vehicle must come to a complete stop before crossing the intersection.
When dealing with conflicting paths without a controlled intersection, certain vehicles have priority over others in certain situations. Vehicles already in the intersection have the right of way. If two cars reach an intersection at the same time, the one on the left yields to the one on the right. When faced with oncoming traffic, yield before making a left hand turn or in any way obstruct the flow of traffic.
In Florida, all state roads have the right of way when the intersection with other roads is unmarked. Paved roads always have right of way over unpaved ones.
When approaching a sidewalk to enter a state road, whether it is from an alley, private road, driveway, or building, always yield the right of way to approaching traffic and pedestrians. A violation of any the above stated usually costs $60 and 3 points on your license.
We understand that if you have been in a car accident, or are the family member of a victim, you may be overwhelmed by all that has happened – perhaps suffering from emotional, physical and financial injury and loss. While monetary compensation cannot change what happened, it can help with medical bills, employment, rehabilitation and your financially stability in your future.
If you have had an auto accident in Florida, contact a personal injury attorney.
The personal injury attorneys Michael E. Seelie, PA are committed to helping automobile accident victims in Florida receive all of the compensation they deserve under the law. We are dedicated to providing outstanding legal service to our clients. Client satisfaction is our number one goal.
We understand that if you have been in a car accident, or are the family member of a victim, you may be overwhelmed by all that has happened – perhaps suffering from emotional, physical and financial injury and loss. While monetary compensation cannot change what happened, it can help with medical bills, employment, rehabilitation and your financially stability in your future.
Underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage protects drivers when the other driver either doesn’t have enough auto insurance or none at all. These are important coverages to have. according to Michael Seelie, a board certified trial attorney in Jacksonville Florida who specializes in auto accident cases.
“I have had to tell people, that have had severe injuries, that there was no coverage for their injuries. You can buy bodily injury insurance which will cover you if you hurt somebody else, but what happens to you if the person who hits you doesn’t have any bodily injury insurance and is fairly poor and can’t pay a judgment? Especially if you think you can’t afford it, don’t opt out of uninsured and underinsured insurance.
USA Today (2/8, Carty, 2.11M) reports as Toyota “grappled Sunday with reports that it was recalling its Prius hybrids in Japan and may do so in the United States, evidence continued to beg whether the automaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration responded quickly enough to reports of sudden acceleration in some of its other models.” The Prius concerns “center over braking delays, but insurer State Farm told USA TODAY that it notified NHTSA in late 2007 that it was seeing an increase in sudden acceleration trends with other Toyota and Lexus models.” Congress is “also studying Toyota’s and NHTSA’s reactions,” and the House Oversight and Energy committees will hold hearings on the issue in the coming weeks.
The data available from the Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that 2008 was a record low year for fatal accidents. Nationally, the numbers haven’t been this low since 1961. The first three months of 2009 are continuing this downward trend. 2008 is a 9.7 percent drop from 2007, though motorcycle fatalities continue to rise and now account for 14 percent of all highway traffic fatalities.
This news is encouraging, but Florida and the rest of the nation have a long way to go to bring the waste, pain, and fatalities of our highways to a minimum. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Center for Statistics and Analysis, if the seat belt use had been 90% in 2007, which is over 10 percent of the actual number, another 184 people would have survived their automobile accident. The number of non-fatal injuries that would have been prevented is 4,511. Out of all fifty states, Florida stands to save the most money due to the associated cost of accidents, an estimated $605,472,000.
This means that 2009 and 2010 are going to be very interesting for safety experts and policy-makers. As of July 30th, Florida’s Primary Seat Belt Law has gone into effect. Previously, not wearing a seat belt was worthy of a traffic citation if a driver was pulled over for another moving violation. Now, law enforcers may pull over drivers specifically for not wearing their seat belts. For adults, the fine is $93. If a child is not properly restrained in its seat, the fine is $143. It is expected that Florida’s seat belt rates will rise approximately 13%, as studies have shown in other states that have enacted primary seat belt laws.
You have been in an auto accident and you are not sure if you are covered. Lets review the types of automobile insurance plans and what they are for.
First of all the most basic is Liability Insurance
Liability insurance, required by Florida law, will pay for the property damage and personal injury expenses of others when you are at fault for an accident, up to the limits specified in your own particular policy. This coverage includes your legal bills. The bodily injury portion of the coverage includes medical expenses and lost wages. The property damage portion covers repair or replacement of items damaged as a result of the accident, your car not included.
Next post we will discuss collision insurance.
