You are driving through a heavy South Florida downpour when another vehicle suddenly loses traction, slides across a lane, and hits you.
The other driver says there was nothing they could do. The road was wet. Their car hydroplaned.
But does bad weather automatically excuse a driver from responsibility for a crash?
No. Hydroplaning does not automatically relieve a driver of potential fault for a crash. The key question is what caused the loss of control and whether the vehicle was being operated appropriately for the conditions.
After a rain-related crash, fault can depend on what the driver was doing before the vehicle began to slide, the condition of the vehicle, the roadway, and what the evidence shows about the moments leading up to impact.
Does Hydroplaning Mean the Other Driver Is Not at Fault?
Hydroplaning occurs when tires lose sufficient contact with the roadway because of water between the tires and pavement. Once that happens, steering and braking can become much more difficult.
That explains how a vehicle can lose control. It does not necessarily establish why the crash occurred.
Under Florida law, motorists must choose a reasonable and prudent speed based on the conditions and potential hazards around them. Florida law also calls for lower speeds when weather or roadway circumstances present special hazards.
During a severe downpour, staying within the posted limit is not necessarily enough to establish that a driver's speed was appropriate for the conditions.
Someone driving 55 mph in a 55-mph zone could still face questions about whether that speed was appropriate if visibility had dropped, water was collecting on the roadway, or nearby traffic had slowed considerably.
The central issue is usually not simply whether the vehicle hydroplaned. It is what circumstances contributed to the loss of control.
What Determines Fault After a Hydroplaning Accident?
Heavy rain can affect several drivers at the same time, but they do not necessarily respond to those conditions in the same way.
Suppose traffic on I-95 in Broward County slows as rain becomes heavier. Most drivers increase their following distance and reduce their speed, but one vehicle continues traveling quickly, hits standing water, spins, and strikes another car.
The weather affected everyone. Efforts to slow down, increase following distance, or otherwise respond to deteriorating conditions can become important when fault is being evaluated.
Investigators and insurers may look at factors such as:
- How fast each vehicle was traveling
- Any reduction in speed as conditions worsened
- Following distance
- Lane changes or sudden steering movements
- The depth of standing water
- Visibility at the time of the crash
- Tire condition and tread
- Any evidence of driver distraction
- Where each vehicle was located before the collision
A hydroplaning crash can also involve more than one contributing cause. Water on the roadway may contribute to one driver's loss of control, while the conduct of one or more drivers affects whether a collision occurs and how it unfolds.
Determining fault, therefore, requires looking at the sequence of events leading up to the impact and the role each contributing factor played.
What Will the Insurance Company Look At After a Hydroplaning Crash?
When weather is involved, an insurance company may examine how the driver's explanation fits with the circumstances surrounding the crash.
An adjuster could compare what the drivers say happened with information showing how the collision developed. For example, the location and severity of vehicle damage, witness accounts, dashcam footage, available traffic-camera footage, and roadway conditions may help show when the vehicle lost control and what occurred immediately before impact.
The insurer may also examine whether a driver's actions contributed to the crash even if no traffic citation was issued. A driver does not have to receive a speeding ticket for speed to matter in an injury claim. How the motorist responded to the conditions can remain relevant when fault is disputed.
At Feingold, Posner & Draizin, our attorneys' prior insurance-side and insurance-defense experience gives us insight into the questions insurers examine when evaluating fault after a crash. In a hydroplaning case, that means testing the explanation for the loss of control against the available evidence rather than treating hydroplaning itself as the end of the liability analysis.
What if You Were Also Driving in the Rain?
Being involved in the same dangerous weather does not automatically make you responsible for the accident.
However, an insurer may examine your driving as well.
Florida uses a modified comparative-fault system. When an injured person bears some responsibility for an accident, that allocation of fault can reduce the damages awarded. For negligence claims governed by the statute, an injured person who is found more than 50% at fault for their own harm cannot recover damages.
That is why fault may need to be evaluated for each driver's conduct rather than attributed solely to the vehicle that hydroplaned.
For example, suppose another vehicle hydroplanes into your lane, but the insurer argues you were following too closely or traveling too fast to avoid the collision. Whether that argument has merit depends on the evidence, not simply on the fact that both vehicles were traveling through heavy rain.
What Evidence Can Help After a Hydroplaning Accident?
Rain can disappear from a crash scene almost as quickly as it arrived. Standing water can drain, traffic conditions change, and vehicles are moved.
When it is safe to capture them, photographs or video showing the roadway can preserve details that may be difficult to establish later.
Useful evidence can include:
- Photographs of standing water and roadway conditions
- Pictures of the vehicle damage and final resting positions
- Dashcam footage
- Contact information for witnesses
- The crash report
- Nearby traffic or surveillance video
- Information concerning the vehicles and drivers involved
If you are injured, getting appropriate medical care should come before gathering evidence. Timing can also affect Florida PIP coverage. To qualify for medical benefits under the state's PIP statute, an injured person generally must obtain the type of initial medical care recognized by the law no later than 14 days after the crash.
The type of evidence that becomes important will depend on how the collision occurred and which aspects of the crash are disputed.
What if Standing Water or the Road Itself Contributed to the Crash?
Some hydroplaning accidents raise additional questions when an unusually dangerous roadway condition appears to have played a role.
Large areas of accumulated water, drainage problems, construction conditions, or other roadway hazards could require investigation beyond the actions of the drivers involved.
That does not mean a public agency or contractor responsible for a roadway is automatically liable whenever water collects on it.
A claim involving a roadway condition can raise separate questions about who controlled or maintained the area, how the condition developed, what information was available about it, and what legal requirements apply to the entity involved.
Injured in a Hydroplaning Crash in South Florida?
South Florida drivers know how quickly a clear roadway can turn into a wall of rain. On I-95, I-595, Florida's Turnpike, US-1, and local Broward County roads, traffic speed, visibility, standing water, and driver reactions can change within minutes.
If you were injured in a rain-related crash in Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Broward County, or elsewhere in South Florida, Feingold, Posner & Draizin can review how the collision occurred, evaluate the available insurance coverage and evidence, and explain your legal options.
Contact our office to discuss your accident and learn what steps may be appropriate for your situation.
Disclaimer: The articles on this blog are for informational purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.