Hit from behind just after changing lanes in Alabama

Attorney Answer

Whether the driver behind is at fault depends on how much room you left. Alabama requires the driver behind not to follow more closely than is reasonable and prudent. It also requires you to change lanes only after making sure the move can be made safely, and with a signal. If you completed the change with room to spare, the following driver's duty is the main question. If you cut in close or without signaling, the other side will argue your lane change was contributory negligence, which in Alabama bars recovery entirely, unless the other driver's conduct was wanton.

The driver behind. Ala. Code § 32-5A-89(a):

(a) The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway. Except when overtaking and passing another vehicle, the driver of a vehicle shall leave a distance of at least 20 feet for each 10 miles per hour of speed between the vehicle that he or she is driving and the vehicle that he or she is following.

Twenty feet for every ten miles per hour is 120 feet at 60 mph. Being hit from behind does not by itself decide fault, though.

Your lane change. Ala. Code § 32-5A-88:

Whenever any roadway has been divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for traffic the following rules in addition to all others consistent herewith shall apply:

(1) A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from such lane until the driver has first ascertained that such movement can be made with safety.

And Ala. Code § 32-5A-133(a):

(a) No person shall turn a vehicle or move right or left upon a roadway unless and until such movement can be made with reasonable safety nor without giving an appropriate signal in the manner hereinafter provided.

Alabama's contributory-negligence rule. If the other side proves that your own carelessness helped cause the crash, you recover nothing: not a reduced amount, nothing (Knight v. Alabama Power Co., 580 So. 2d 576 (Ala. 1991)). The same case holds that it is no defense to wanton conduct. And it is a high bar for the defense: the Supreme Court of Alabama has held that simple heedlessness is not enough to decide it as a matter of law, and that it is ordinarily a question for the jury (Lafarge North America, Inc. v. Nord, 86 So. 3d 326 (Ala. 2011)). Where a vehicle may have changed lanes just ahead of the driver who hit it, the Court of Civil Appeals held that whether each driver kept a proper lookout, and whether the following driver was contributorily negligent, were questions for the jury: Hinkle v. Burgreen Contracting Co., 678 So. 2d 797 (Ala. Civ. App. 1996).

What you can do

1. Get the crash report and read what it says about the lane change and the following distance.

2. Photograph the damage to both cars; where the impact landed shows how far into the lane you were.

3. Save any dashcam footage, and the names of anyone who saw it.

4. Do not give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement before you have spoken to a lawyer.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Alabama attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l):

(l) All actions for any injury to the person or rights of another not arising from contract and not specifically enumerated in this section must be brought within two years.