A car accident in St. Joseph led to a child suffering a personal injury when someone else misused the center turn lane on Belt Highway.
Child Injured in Car Accident
The incident happened late on Thursday, January 26, 2017 on Belt Highway, near the intersection with Faraon Street. This busy segment of the Belt Highway has multiple lanes going both northbound and southbound, with stores packed together on both sides of the street. To make traffic move smoothly, a center lane is designated for left turns only.
Nevertheless, a vehicle pulling out of Fazoli’s parking lot used this center lane to get up to speed. Unfortunately, another vehicle, a Kia Soul, was pulling out of the McDonald’s directly across the street at the same time. The cars collided, with a child in the Kia suffering minor injuries that required a trip to the hospital.
The Purpose of Center Turn Lanes
Center turn lanes have become a common part of many busy streets. The purpose of a center turn lane is to move people who want to turn left on a busy road out of the flow of traffic. Without a center turn lane, anyone who wants to turn left can clog traffic behind them until there’s an opening in the traffic on the other side of the street.
Misuse of Center Turn Lanes
Unfortunately, many people abuse center turn lanes. One popular to abuse the center turn lane is by driving in it after turning left out of a parking lot: This allows you to make a left turn even if there’s no opening in the traffic coming from the right. Instead of waiting for an opening, drivers use the center turn lane to get up to speed, and then merge into flowing traffic.
This practice, however, is a violation of Missouri Traffic Code 300.215.4.
Traffic Code Violations and Negligence Per Se
When someone else causes an accident because they were in violation of the law, including traffic codes, this violation can be used to show that they were being negligent. This is called negligence per se, and is a powerful tool to show that they were the one responsible for the crash that hurt you or your loved one.
St. Joseph Car Accident Attorneys at the Smith Law Office
Getting into a car accident is frustrating. However, it can be even more maddening if the accident was caused by someone else doing something they’re not supposed to do. Luckily, if they caused the accident while doing something that is against the law or is a traffic violation, it could be per se negligent. This could be used as the basis for a personal injury lawsuit against them for their part in the car accident.
The car accident and personal injury attorneys at the Smith Law Office in St. Joseph often use negligence per se in court to show that you are entitled to compensation for the injuries you’ve suffered. Contact us online or at (816) 875-9373.