In the intricate dance of traffic signals, each color and pattern carries its own message, guiding drivers safely through intersections and roadways.

Among these signals, the blinking yellow light stands out as a symbol of caution, urging drivers to proceed with care. But what exactly does it signify, especially in the context of Maryland’s traffic regulations?

Let’s delve into the nuances of the flashing yellow light and its implications for drivers navigating the roads of the Old Line State, Maryland.

When you’re driving home from a long day at work or on your way out to meet family or friends for dinner, the last thing on your mind is being in a car accident. Unfortunately, accidents are far too common, and accidents caused by impaired drivers claim the lives of more than 10,000 people in the United States every year. If you’ve been injured by an impaired driver in Maryland, our team of experienced Baltimore car accident lawyers is here to fight for the compensation you deserve.

Getting into a car accident is a stressful, frustrating experience, and the legal aftermath can be just as overwhelming. An accident may take just a few seconds, but what follows can take much, much longer. If it happens to you, one of the first steps you’ll need to take in seeking legal assistance is to schedule a meeting with an experienced Maryland car accident lawyer.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through some essential steps to prepare for your first meeting with a car accident attorney. We’ll cover everything from what documents to bring, questions to ask, and what to expect during the meeting.

By following these five accident lawyer meeting tips to prepare, you can help to ensure a productive and efficient session. One that puts you on the path to receiving the best legal guidance possible without missing any vital information!

We’ve all been there – navigating the twists and turns of the road when, suddenly, a fender-bender or collision occurs. Once the dust settles and heartbeats return to normal, the first thing that might come to mind for many of us is, “Do I need to get a police report for this?” 

To obtain a vehicular accident police report, you can typically request it from the local law enforcement agency that responded to the scene or, in some cases, access it online through official government websites. 

Back to our question: “Can you file a car accident claim without a police report?”  

You know the drill: Your teenager missed the school bus this morning, or maybe your neighbor’s car won’t start, and they’re late for work, or Aunt Helen is in town for the weekend and wants to visit some old friends. You hand over the keys to your car and get back to your day, happy in the knowledge that you were able to help a friend or family member.

Then, you get the dreaded phone call. There was black ice, or someone ran the light, or the car in front of them on the freeway just stopped without warning. Now you start to worry, asking yourself, “What happens if someone who’s not on my insurance crashes my car?” Do you know what to say when your panicked borrower is on the line, sitting in the middle of an intersection, peppering you with questions?

Someone struck you here in Baltimore, and they either stopped and you discovered they were uninsured, or they didn’t pull over at all and instead fled the crash scene. If you have uninsured motorist coverage, that’s a good thing in a situation like this. However, if you’re wondering, “Do I need a lawyer for an uninsured motorist claim?” our skilled attorneys will hash that question out (and more) below.

What To Know About Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Maryland

Much like other states, Maryland has mandatory minimum insurance requirements. One of those requirements is uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. This means that your insurer should step in and pay any accident-related expenses you incur if the driver who strikes you either does not have insurance or has inadequate coverage to pay for the damages they caused. UM coverage would also cover you if a hit-and-run driver struck you.

Data published by the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) shows some pretty alarming trends, one of which is that 16.2% of all serious auto accident injuries for 2020 occurred here in Baltimore despite the fact that only 9.8% of our state’s population resides within city limits. Considering how other MDOT data from 2022 shows that there were nearly 18,000 traffic accidents reported for our city alone in 2021, that means there are likely many situations in which motorists had to make on-the-spot decisions about what to do at their crash scenes.

Individuals involved in crashes often find themselves stressed and disoriented right after a crash occurs, which can make it challenging to know what steps to take to ensure the best outcome should they ultimately decide to file a claim to recover compensation for their injuries, lost earnings, and other costs they incur due to their involvement in it. Below, we’ll address which information to exchange in a car accident, so you’ll have a resource to reference if you have the misfortune of becoming involved in a crash in Baltimore or elsewhere in Maryland.

Whether you call it a pile-up accident, a chain-reaction crash, or a multi-car collision, these names refer to a similar type of wreck involving multiple vehicles. While sorting out liability might seem fairly intuitive when two vehicles are involved in a crash, determining fault in a pile-up accident may seem far less straightforward.

Given the heavy congestion on Baltimore’s roadways, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that our Belsky & Horowitz, LLC legal team handles our fair share of these complex car accident cases every year. Below, we’ll share why these collisions occur, how liability is sorted out, and how that impacts your rights in hopes that this insight can be helpful to you if you’ve had the misfortune of becoming involved in such a crash.

Roadway deaths in Maryland have dropped by 48 percent since 2011. At the same time, distracted driving is responsible for 45 percent of all Maryland vehicle crashes. Eighty-five percent of crashes in Washington and Baltimore now involve distracted drivers.

Researchers believe that over 30 percent of roadway wrecks result from driver error. These collisions could be avoided if people focused on driving instead of distractions and kept their emotions in check on the road.

Over the past five years, the state of Maryland has averaged over 4,000 crashes caused by driver aggression each year. This equates to over 2,000 injuries and nearly 50 deaths every year. Each and every one of these injuries and fatalities could have been prevented if a driver had not lost control of their anger and used their vehicle as a weapon.

Tailgating is a serious and violent form of aggressive driving. “Tailgating,” “following too closely,” or “riding someone’s bumper” describes when a driver leaves little room between their vehicle and the vehicle in front of them. While the three-second rule is recommended to measure a safe following distance, tailgating usually leaves drivers with less than one second of reaction time.