Who Is Liable for a Brake Check Accident?

Brake check accidents occur when a driver in front suddenly applies their brakes, either to scare the person behind them or to cause a collision. Anyone who engages in a brake check accident is liable for the losses they cause others.

That means that, if you try to brake check the driver behind you, and they prove that you did so, you pay for their losses and they do not pay for yours. Talk to a Lexington car accident lawyer about your case today.

The Complexities of Brake-Checking Accidents

Brake checking occurs when drivers are engaged in repeated braking and accelerating on roadways. For example, the driver behind you on the freeway may be traveling at a very high speed and very close to your bumper. That is intimidating, and you want to warn them to back off. Brake checking them seems like one way to do that.

However, brake checking is never safe, and it can be found to be a form of negligence on your part. There are some limitations to this, though.

In situations where brake checking happens, you may be able to show that the other party was partially to blame or even fully to blame for the incident. In most situations, a person is responsible for the actions of their vehicle.

They are responsible for maintaining a safe distance from other drivers in front of them. If you stop suddenly, for any reason, the driver behind you should have plenty of room to stop if they are following at a safe distance.

In these situations, if you can show the driver was following too closely, you can show they are at fault as well.

What Evidence to Use to Build Your Case

Whether you were brake-checking someone or they did it to you, proving what happened can be a challenge.

There are several ways that you may be able to demonstrate what occurred:

• Vehicle dash cameras can provide insight into what was happening at the time of the accident, if available
• Witness statements could offer insight to the police
• Traffic cameras and nearby surveillance cameras along the route traveled could show what happened or what led up to the incident

Your car accident lawyer will work with you to seek out this type of evidence to prove your case. It may come down to your word against theirs, and having an attorney can be essential.

Kentucky’s Comparative Negligence Law

In the end, your ability to recover damages comes down to Kentucky’s pure comparative fault law. That means that if you are hurt in an accident and you have some level of fault in it, you can still seek compensation for your losses. Your losses will be reduced, though, by the percentage of fault you have.

For example, if the police or insurance company find that you were 20% to blame for brake-checking the driver behind you, but they were 80% to blame for tailgating and aggressive actions, you can still recover damages. Your recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you.

A Legal Team Can Be Critical

Contact us at Gary C. Johnson P.S.C. to set up a free consultation with a car accident lawyer in Kentucky to better understand your rights in these situations. You never want to admit fault in an accident.