Guide to Alaska Car Accident Injury Laws

Alaska car injury fault laws

10 most common causes of car accidents

1. Distracted driving. Distracted driving is a serious problem. As people become more and more reliant on cell phones for maps, podcasts, music, traffic reports, and other functions, there is more and more reason why they feel that they “need” to check their phone. But you should never, ever handle your phone or any electronic device while driving. Also, distraction can include eating, passenger behavior, personal grooming, or any other behavior that takes your mind, eyes or hands off driving.
2. Drunk driving. You’re not allowed to drive if your blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08% or higher. If you’re under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or some medications, it can severely affect your driving and raises your risk of causing an accident.
3. Aggressive driving. You’ve likely heard of “road rage,” which is when a person becomes so angry at another driver that they might bully or even physically harm someone on purpose because they’re annoyed at something about their driving. But there are other kinds of aggressive driving that don’t necessarily involve anger at a specific individual. Some drivers might be impatient and speed or swerve around cars they think are driving too slowly, make unsafe lane changes, or behave recklessly in some other way that could result in an accident.
4. Speeding. Some speeding is aggressive, and some is just carelessness. You might speed because you’re in a hurry or running late, but you shouldn’t. Speeding doesn’t get you to your destination any faster if you crash. And when you speed, you have less time to react to a traffic situation in front of you and less time to stop if necessary.
5. Reckless driving. Similar to aggressive driving, reckless driving is any kind of action behind the wheel that’s unsafe. It might be speeding, weaving, dodging other cars, failure to stop at lights or stop signs, or any other number of aggressive driving practices that break road rules or are unsafe.
6. Inexperienced drivers. Your teenager might be the most responsible kid around, and they might care a lot about following road rules, driving at the correct speed, heeding stop lights and signs, and doing everything “right.” But younger drivers are inexperienced. That lack of experience could cause even the most careful driver to misjudge the speed of an oncoming car, poorly execute a turn, or make other mistakes that result in an accident. And, some teenagers are more likely to take risks than an older driver would. Statistically, younger male drivers are most likely to make risky driving decisions.
7. Tailgating. Tailgating is when a driver follows too closely behind the driver in front of them. Some tailating is aggressive, but sometimes it happens because someone isn’t paying attention or simply doesn’t see the practice as dangerous. When traveling 55 mph, you should leave 16 car lengths (which is about 243 feet) between your vehicle and the car in front of you. Tailgating is dangerous because when you’re too close to another vehicle, you don’t have enough time to stop if you need to do so quickly.
8. Weather conditions. Alaska is no stranger to severe weather — ice, snow, wind, and other conditions are a regular part of our life. When the weather is extreme, it’s best to stay off the roads when you can. But when that’s not practical or realistic, exercise caution and drive slowly.
9. Failure to obey traffic laws. Traffic laws are more than just stopping at red lights. Following the speed limit, staying in your lane, passing bicyclists safely, and yielding to pedestrians are just some necessary aspects to driving responsibly. Be familiar with the traffic laws in your local area and state, and obey them to reduce your risk of a collision.
10. Failure to stop at a red light or stop sign. Although stopping for stop signs and traffic lights are part of following traffic rules, they’re also among the ones drivers break most often. Even if you think you’re driving through a “quiet” intersection, you must stop completely at stop signs and lights.

Alaska pure comparative negligence rule

Each state follows one of four fault systems, which determine how (and whether) a plaintiff can be awarded damages if they share liability.

Even if the accident wasn’t your fault, the court might find that you might have acted differently—even at the spur of the moment—to avoid an accident. It could be something like braking at the last second, swerving out of the way, etc.

If so, the court determines that there was shared fault. Then, it decides what percentage of fault each party has for the accident. For example, if the defendant caused the accident because he was driving on the wrong side of the road but the plaintiff could have swerved out of the way and didn’t react in time, the court might find that the defendant is 90% at fault and the plaintiff is 10% at fault.

In Alaska, the pure comparative negligence rule says that damages are reduced by the plaintiff’s percentage of fault. In the example above, the plaintiff’s damage award would be 10% less than if there was no shared fault.