Auto insurers can reduce their liability for car accidents by shifting blame away from their covered driver. They can accomplish this by claiming the other driver was at fault. However, some insurers try to blame a link between car color and crash risk in Austin, TX. Essentially, they argue that your car’s color is at least partly to blame for their customer hitting you.
Your attorney can fight these attempts to impose blame on your vehicle with evidence disproving the legal and factual claims. Specifically, an Austin car accident lawyer from Anderson Injury Lawyers can keep the focus on the other driver’s negligence as you pursue injury compensation. Contact us at (512) 399-5000 to schedule a free consultation.
How Can Anderson Injury Lawyers Help After a Car Accident in Austin?
Anderson Injury Lawyers has earned over 1,800 five-star reviews from clients across the state, including Austin, Texas. For over 17 years, our firm has stood up for injured people against at-fault parties and their insurers. Our founding attorney is board-certified in personal injury trial law, a certification held by less than 2% of Texas lawyers.
When you suffer an injury in a car accident caused by a negligent driver, our Austin personal injury lawyers can assist you in several ways, including:
- Reviewing your crash and its causes
- Identifying potential legal claims and gathering evidence
- Preparing a claim for the at-fault driver’s insurer and negotiating to resolve it
- Filing a lawsuit against the driver if their insurer denies the claim
Insurers often deny claims to avoid paying your medical bills and property losses. Contact us to schedule a free case evaluation with an Austin car accident attorney to learn about the strategies we can use to overcome claim denials and pursue fair compensation for your injuries.
Are Some Car Colors Always Riskier?
Scientific studies have shown that there is likely no statistically significant relationship between car color and overall crash risk. This might seem counterintuitive since it seems like dark colors should be more dangerous at night, metallic colors should create more glare, and light colors might be more difficult to see in rainy or foggy conditions.
However, overall crash risk accounts for all conditions, and no single color is more dangerous at night, in bright light, or during rainstorms. Instead, these effects likely tend to offset each other. For example, a dark blue car might be harder to see at night but easier to see in daylight.
Additionally, adverse conditions only occur in a small percentage of the time, and drivers frequently crash when visibility plays no role. In fact, most collisions in Texas occur during daylight in relatively clear weather.
The relationship between car color and crash risk was studied at the University of Dayton. Researchers examined nearly 950,000 crash records to determine whether the color of the car struck by the at-fault driver was statistically significant. The researchers found no connection between car color and the likelihood of being hit.
When Can Car Color Play a Role in Austin Car Accidents?
Even though no color is always riskier, color can play a role in certain car accidents. For example, a driver might argue that they T-boned you at an intersection because they could not see your black car at night.
Thus, adverse visibility conditions contribute to accidents in which the other driver may blame your car’s color. However, in many cases, at least one additional contributing factor is typically also present.
Who Is Liable for Austin Auto Collisions in Poor Visibility?
Negligent drivers are liable for the car accidents they cause. Negligence happens when drivers fail to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. The phrase “under the circumstances” is critical. In poor visibility, the level of care changes.
If the driver has difficulty seeing other vehicles due to fog, rain, darkness, or other environmental conditions, the reasonable response is to slow down and leave additional space between themselves and other vehicles. In extremely poor conditions, a reasonably cautious driver might even pull over and wait for the conditions to improve.
Thus, the other driver’s actions, such as going too fast for the conditions or tailgating, are usually more relevant when determining liability than the color of the car they hit. When a crash occurs, the crash victim’s lawyer can respond to any attempt to shift blame to the victim’s car color by gathering evidence of the other driver’s actions preceding the crash.
Contact Our Austin Car Accident Lawyers for a Free Consultation
Insurers often blame crashes on car color to deflect attention from their customer’s negligence. Contact Anderson Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss how your crash happened and the compensation you may be entitled to seek under Texas law.
Our Austin car accident attorneys also work on a contingency fee basis, so you won’t pay up front for our services, and we only collect a fee if we recover compensation on your behalf.