A blind spot is the road area that is not visible by merely looking through your windscreen or by using your rear and side mirrors. A blind spot can be sizable enough to obstruct the view of another motorist, cyclist or pedestrian and has the potential to cause an accident.
Generally, large vehicles have bigger blind spots compared to smaller ones. In addition, small compact cars or motorcycles are less likely to be visible in these blindspots due to their size.
How a blind spot can cause an accident
A blind spot is akin to driving blind, and a lot could go wrong. It is almost impossible to react to situations you cannot see. Lacking visual awareness of other road users is a recipe for a crash, and a blind spot can lead to an accident in the following instances.
- Accidents that arise when reversing. Blindspots can prevent you from seeing people or objects behind you and lead to a collision.
- Merge accidents that arise when joining a highway with no visibility of other road users.
- Accidents that occur when changing lanes and having a blindspot obstruct your view of oncoming motorists.
Where does liability lie?
Determining the driver at fault in a blind spot accident is not so straightforward. It all depends on the circumstances surrounding your accident. For example, who had the right of way? Was anyone breaking any traffic laws at the time of the accident? All these and several other factors may come into play when it comes to assigning liability.
It is in your best interests to safeguard your legal rights if you have been a victim of such an accident. Blindspot accidents are not blameless, and someone ought to be held liable if their negligence was the cause of the crash. Knowing what the law says will put you in a better place.