You may just think that the winter season lends a hand to certain risks on the Toronto roads. However, the autumn season additionally holds its fair share of hazardous conditions. Ultimately, regardless of what season it may be, you must practice an abundance of caution while behind the wheel. Continue reading to learn common safety hazards to avoid this autumn and how an experienced Ontario personal injury lawyer at Merricks Law Group, P.A. can help in the event of an accident.
What are common autumn safety hazards seen in Toronto?
Winter snow and ice may pose less-than-ideal driving conditions, but autumn leaves may be just as dangerous. Examples of this are as follows:
- Leaves may hide large potholes or uneven surfaces on the road, ultimately causing flat tires or otherwise car damage.
- Leave may become wet and slippery, ultimately causing driving conditions to be similar to driving on ice.
- Leaves may get stuck under windshield wipers, ultimately causing blind spots when in use.
- Large leaf piles may block the roadway, ultimately causing large blind spots and collisions when maneuvering around them.
Besides leaves, below are other autumn safety hazards that you should mind:
- With nights longer than the days, driving in the darkness may be more hazardous.
- With nights getting cold, black ice can cover the roads overnight.
- With more deer roaming about, they may sporadically cross the major roadways.
- With heavy rain more common, cars are more susceptible to hydroplaning.
- With fog more common, drivers are more susceptible to being blinded by high-beam headlights.
- With more prominent sunrises and sunsets, drivers are more susceptible to being blinded by glare.
What should I do if I am involved in an accident?
If you were sadly involved in an auto accident during the autumn season, you may need to recover financial compensation for your personal injuries and damages. This may be made possible with a personal injury claim. With this, you must identify the correct party to place your legal action against.
Unfortunately, sometimes the autumn conditions that caused your accident are due to no fault of any party involved. This is relevant if you, for instance, hit a deer that randomly entered the road.
But other times, there may be a negligent party to blame. For example, a city-owned entity might be at fault if it failed to sweep leaves from the road promptly. Or, another driver may have been negligent if they swerved onto your side of the road to avoid a leaf pile, instead of waiting for through traffic to pass.
This is all to say that you must take your personal injury claim seriously. This starts with retaining the services of a skilled Ontario personal injury lawyer. Contact Merricks Law Group, P.A. today.
