You’re driving home after a long day, keeping a safe distance from the car ahead, when its brake lights flash without warning. You slam your brakes, but there is no time—the collision is unavoidable. Now you are sitting on the shoulder of the road with a damaged vehicle and one pressing question: Who is actually at fault? Contact our Bakersfield car accident lawyers for a free consultation.
What Is Brake Checking?
Brake checking occurs when a driver deliberately and abruptly hits their brakes in front of another vehicle, often as an act of road rage or aggression. Sometimes, this act is done to intimidate a tailgater; other times, it is an intentional attempt to cause a rear-end collision for insurance fraud purposes.
Regardless of the motivation, brake checking is extremely dangerous. The sudden deceleration leaves the trailing driver with almost no time to react and avoid a collision. If there are additional vehicles behind them, a multi-car pileup can result.
Common Injuries from Brake Check Accidents in Bakersfield
Because brake check collisions often happen at moderate to high speeds with little warning, these accidents can cause severe harm. Victims of these crashes frequently report the following injuries:
- Whiplash
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Herniated or bulging discs
- Fractured vertebrae
- Broken ribs
- Facial lacerations
- Knee and leg injuries
- Shoulder tears or dislocations
- Wrist and hand fractures
- Internal organ damage
- Seat belt injuries
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Chronic back pain
- Spinal cord injuries
How Is Fault Determined in a Brake Check Collision in Bakersfield?
In most rear-end collisions, there is a presumption that the trailing driver is at fault. You are expected to maintain enough following distance to stop safely if the car ahead of you brakes. However, that presumption can be challenged when brake checking is involved.
If you can demonstrate that the lead driver braked suddenly and deliberately with no legitimate traffic reason to do so, liability may shift to them. Every driver on the road has a legal duty of care to operate their vehicle in a reasonably safe manner. When a driver intentionally slams their brakes to provoke a collision, they violate that duty.
Multiple parties may be at fault in these cases, invoking California’s pure comparative negligence statute. If you were following too closely when the brake check occurred, you may be assigned a portion of the blame. Your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you are awarded $100,000 in damages but found to be 20% at fault, your final recovery would be $80,000.
Important Pieces of Evidence After a Bakersfield Brake Check Accident
Proving that someone intentionally brake-checked you requires solid evidence. The more you can gather, the stronger your case will be. Key evidence that can help establish brake checking includes:
- Dashcam footage from your vehicle or nearby cars
- Traffic or surveillance camera recordings
- Eyewitness statements from other drivers or passengers
- The police report and the responding officer’s observations
- Damage patterns on both cars
- Skid mark analysis from the scene
- Expert accident reconstruction testimony
- The other driver’s prior history of road rage
Talk to an Bakersfield Attorney About Your Brake Check Accident
California allows you to pursue financial compensation from the at-fault driver in a motor vehicle collision. After a brake check accident, Rodriguez & Associates can help you hold the responsible driver accountable, leveraging decades of personal injury experience to fight for the full and fair compensation you deserve. Contact our office today to request a free consultation with a Bakersfield car accident attorney.