Tom McCutcheon – Attorney at Law
Q: I was injured in an automobile accident when a driver of a car waved another driver through traffic that was stopped and that car hit me. The accident report stated the person that hit me was at fault but that person blames the driver who waved them through. Do I have to sue them both?
Confused
Tuscumbia, Alabama
A: No, people are responsible for making sure their own right of way is clear. It is each driver’s responsibility to keep a proper look out for other drivers lawfully using the roadway.
A driver should never signal another’s driver’s intention. In other words, if the car in front of you is stopping with its left turn signal on, you should just stop. If you are not going to turn, don’t put your turn signal on.
Nonetheless, the law is “a signaling motorist cannot be held liable for negligence when the signaled driver proceeds across an intersection without independently ensuring that it is safe to do so. In so holding, the Court of Civil Appeals said as follows: In other words, the signaling motorist’s conduct constitutes a courtesy to the signaled motorist, but it does not relieve the signaled motorist of his or her own duty to ensure that it is safe to proceed.” See Pell v. Tidwell.
Therefore, you do not have to sue and really don’t have the right to sue the person who, as a courtesy, waved another driver into a wreck.
Buckle up and drive safely
McCutcheon & Hamner, P.C.
2210 Helton Drive
Florence, Alabama 35630
Telephone: 256-764-0112
Facsimile: 256-764-1124
