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QuestionInsurance Question  I hit black ice, my truck went into the ditch, hit a small tree and rolled over. Is this an at fault accident when no one else was involved?

AnswerAuto Insurance Answer

State laws and insurance guidelines for what is considered anĀ at-fault accident and incident differ however in general a driver is responsible for maintaining control of their vehicle at all times and thus by losing control on the black ice you would normally be found at-fault in this single car accident.

All states have a law that requires that you drive in such a manner to be able to bring your car under control at all times. So typically you would be considered at fault due to loss of control even though it was due to weather related reasons. Unless you could prove the road was not properly maintained or there were extenuating circumstances for you not being able to maintain control of your vehicle most insurance companies would find you at fault.

Insurance companies know ice, snow and most winter weather makes it hazardous to drive but they expect their insureds to drive cautiously and if necessary stay off the roadways so that they are not involved in an accident. This may not always be possible and so accidents do occur but if you are the only driver involved you will most likely be found by your insurer at fault if state laws allow.

You can check with your state's insurance regulator to find out about your state laws in regards to what is considered at-fault or if it is left up to the individual insurance companies to determine.

For example, in Massachusetts auto insurers and the Division of Insurance Board of Appeal use the MA Standards of Fault to determine if an operator is more than 50 percent at fault. Number 19 of these Standards of Fault is single vehicle collisions. Here it states that the operator of a vehicle subject to the Safe Driver Insurance Plan shall be presumed to be more than 50% at fault when operating the only vehicle involved in a collision. So MA finds a driver at fault automatically when they are the only driver involved in the accident.

You can also check with your car insurance agent for information on if your insurance carrier's guidelines would classify this accident as at-fault or not.

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