Speeding in Residential Areas: How It Impacts Personal Injury Claims in Kansas
By Pyle Law, August 19 2022 7:10 pmIf you’re like most drivers, you probably don’t think twice about going a few miles over the speed limit when driving through a residential area. However, speeding in residential areas can have serious consequences if you’re involved in an accident. Here’s what you need to know about how speeding impacts personal injury claims in Kansas.
Whether you’re driving on the highway or in a residential area, it simply is not worth it to go over the speed limit. Not only do drivers open themselves to liability, but they also really do not get to where they’re going any faster.
The maximum residential speed in Kansas is 30 miles per hour. It’s important to maintain this speed, as residential areas in Kansas usually have more speed-based collisions. Enforcement policies are therefore stricter in residential areas.
Drivers who speed can cause accidents and injuries, and if you suffered injuries due to a speeding driver in Kansas, contact a car accident lawyer right away.
The first thing you need to know is that speeding is one of the leading causes of accidents in the state. In fact, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation, speed was a contributing factor in nearly 30 percent of all traffic accidents in the state in 2017.
When it comes to personal injury claims, speeding can have a major impact. If you’re found to be at fault for an accident, your insurance company is likely to place a large portion of the blame on your speeding. This can result in a significant increase in your premium, or even the denial of your claim.
Furthermore, if you’re found to be speeding at the time of an accident, you may be held personally liable for any injuries or damage that results. This means that you could be sued by the other driver and be required to pay damages out of your own pocket.
According to the Kansas Department of Transportation (KSDOT), speed itself is not the real cause of accidents. Rather, accidents result when there is a great variation in the stream of traffic.
For instance, the primary idea behind speed zoning is to determine a safe and reasonable speed for a given stretch of road. Most experts set the limit at 85% in relation to how the traffic is moving. Research shows that an 85th percentile speed represents the safest speed overall. Therefore, reducing the speed limit below this percent can lead to a mishap.
Therefore, you don’t want to drive over the posted speed limit. However, you must be careful about going too slow as well. The saying, “go with the flow,” is applicable here.
To recover the compensation for injuries from a Kansas car accident, you must first turn to your no-fault PIP insurance. You may be able to seek compensation from another liable party as well, especially if your losses exceed your coverage and you have:
General compensatory damages are designed to repay the victim for the intangible losses suffered in an accident, whether they’re physical or psychological in nature. The three main types of damages are medical expenses, economic loss, and noneconomic loss (e.g. pain, suffering, disabilities, disfigurement, mental anguish).
If the driver’s actions were particularly egregious – such as drag racing down a residential street – the court might award punitive damages to punish the party further. You will not receive punitive damages directly from an insurance company – instead, these are awarded by a court against the reckless and wanton driver.
In wrongful death claims, you can recover expenses for the care of the deceased caused by the injury, pecuniary damages (e.g. all kinds of economic losses), and non-pecuniary damages (e.g. mental anguish, suffering, bereavement, loss of society, loss of comfort, and loss of companionship. The death of a family member is one of the most difficult things a person can go through, and this type of claim, settlement, verdict, or judgment can help to ease the financial burden.
If you think your injuries make you eligible to file a lawsuit with a personal injury attorney, get in touch with a Kansas Personal Injury Attorney at PYLE LAW right away. After looking into your claim and assessing who was at fault, your lawyer can take the necessary steps from there.
You can call (620) 241-9000 or contact us online to arrange a free consultation that will really let us sit down with you and go over everything you are now dealing with, so we can have a better understanding of the seriousness of your case and begin formulating a professional legal strategy.
