Your car insurance rate in California can go up by over 70% after an at-fault accident. The average increase translates to an extra $800 to $1,200 in annual insurance costs, and elevated rates typically stay on your insurance record for three to five years. Many drivers see their bills spike when they lose their [...]
The three-second rule is the practical standard for safe following distance while driving in California. To follow it, pick a fixed reference point on the road ahead (a sign, a tree, a lane marking). When the vehicle in front of you passes that point, start counting: "one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, [...]
In California, drivers must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. This rule comes from California Vehicle Code section 21950. An unmarked crosswalk legally exists at nearly every intersection where sidewalks meet, whether or not [...]
In California, the driver who strikes another vehicle from behind is presumed to be at fault for a rear-end collision. This presumption comes from California Vehicle Code section 21703, which requires every driver to maintain a following distance that is reasonable and prudent for the speed, traffic, and road [...]
Yes, lane splitting is legal in California. California is the only U.S. state where motorcyclists can lawfully ride between rows of moving vehicles at any speed. The law is set by California Vehicle Code section 21658.1, which took effect January 1, 2017 after Assembly Bill 51 was signed the year before. The statute [...]
The CHP 555 Traffic Collision Report is the official accident report created by California Highway Patrol officers when they respond to a traffic collision. It documents the parties involved, the vehicles, the scene, witness statements, a diagram of what happened, and the officer's determination of the primary [...]
Under California law, a hit and run is any accident where a driver fails to stop at the scene, exchange information, and (in cases involving injury) provide reasonable assistance. It is a criminal offense governed by California Vehicle Code section 20001 when someone is injured or killed, and Vehicle Code section [...]
Most California car accident settlements fall between $15,000 and $75,000 for cases involving moderate injuries and clear liability. Minor cases with soft tissue injuries typically settle in the low five figures. Cases involving surgery, permanent injury, or wrongful death regularly reach six or seven figures. There [...]
The SR-1, officially titled Report of Traffic Accident Occurring in California, is a DMV form that California law requires most drivers to file within 10 days of an accident. It is separate from the police report and separate from your insurance claim, and neither of those satisfies the requirement. Many drivers have [...]
When dealing with a personal injury claim, it is easy to make costly mistakes. Most of them happen in the first days and weeks, before you fully understand what your claim is worth, and they are difficult or impossible to undo later. Below are the eight mistakes we see most often in California personal injury [...]
