Understanding Failure to Yield Laws and Your Rights as a Victim

A failure to yield the right-of-way upsets the expectations of other drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Not only that, but road users will proceed through the intersection simultaneously, greatly increasing the risk of a motor vehicle accident.

When drivers fail to yield the right-of-way, their carelessness often constitutes negligence. Thankfully, Wyoming law gives accident victims the right to seek injury compensation from negligent drivers.

Wyoming Failure to Yield Laws

Wyoming’s motor vehicle code includes several instances in which one vehicle is required to yield to another, but some of these rules are particularly obscure. For example, right-of-way laws provide the following rules regarding rare situations:

• Drivers must yield to oncoming traffic before going around a road obstruction
• ATV operators must yield to cross-traffic before proceeding
• All road users must yield to funeral processions

In addition to these rare circumstances, drivers must also yield to the following road users:

• Vehicles already in the intersection
• Vehicles that arrive first at an uncontrolled intersection
• The vehicle on the right (if two vehicles arrive simultaneously)
• Vehicles already on a road when crossing or entering it
• Vehicles traveling straight when turning left across their lanes
• Vehicles and pedestrians when at yield signs
• Pedestrians at intersections and marked crosswalks
• Emergency vehicles with their lights or sirens activated

Drivers who fail to yield in any of these situations could bear the liability for any crash that results.

Crash Scenarios Involving Failure to Yield Violations

Many of the most common intersection collisions occur because of a failure to yield, and they often result in serious injuries because they involve side or angle impacts. These impacts are especially dangerous because they can cause your door to deform inward, crushing you.

Moreover, seat belts do not prevent you from sliding sideways, and airbags typically deploy only in frontal collisions. As a result, you might have nothing to stop you from slamming into your door or whipping around during a crash.

The following common crash scenarios occur when a driver fails to yield the right-of-way:

Left Turn Across Path

A driver turning left across an active traffic lane must yield to oncoming traffic. Whether the driver is turning mid-block or at an intersection, Wyoming law requires them to wait for any vehicles close enough to pose a hazard.

Impatience and inattention can cause the driver to turn prematurely. Motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable in these circumstances; in fact, research suggests that left-turn-across-path collisions are the most common type of crash between motorcycles and cars.

Entering Traffic

Drivers turning right at red lights and stop signs must yield to cross-traffic. Likewise, drivers entering the road from driveways and parking lots must yield to vehicles already on the road before turning right or left.

Impatient or distracted drivers might collide with a car by turning in front of an approaching vehicle. These crashes can also occur when objects inside or outside the vehicle obstruct the driver’s view.

Crosswalks

Drivers must stop at occupied crosswalks. A common pedestrian accident occurs when careless drivers fail to see pedestrians in crosswalks. Collisions can also happen when drivers spot pedestrians but accelerate to cross the walkway before the pedestrian reaches their lane.

Red and Yellow Lights

Drivers must yield at red lights until the signal turns green. And even after the signal turns green, drivers must yield to vehicles still in the intersection. Wyoming law does not require drivers facing a yellow light to yield. However, a reasonably cautious driver would likely stop or slow down, seeing as the light is about to turn red.

Four-Way Stops

Four-way stops require drivers to apply all of their knowledge of right-of-way rules. Careless, improperly trained, or impatient drivers who violate these rules can crash into drivers who follow them. Crashes at four-way stops can happen when drivers proceed out of turn or exhibit a failure to yield to pedestrians crossing at the intersection.

Rights of Victims to Seek Injury Compensation

Crash victims have the right to seek compensation from negligent drivers who injure them. The term “negligence” itself refers to the driver’s failure to exercise reasonable care. In most cases, you’ll prove negligence by showing the driver violated traffic laws, including those pertaining to the right-of-way.

You can recover compensation for both economic and non-economic losses from negligent drivers. Economic losses include your financial costs, while non-economic losses include the diminishment of your life due to pain and suffering.

How a Car Accident Lawyer Helps

A reputable car accident lawyer will have years of experience fighting auto insurers for fair compensation after a crash. They will gather evidence for your insurance claim, and after submitting it, they will negotiate with the insurer to try to settle the claim and avoid a lawsuit.

However, if the insurer refuses to make a fair settlement offer, your car accident attorney can file a lawsuit. The pressure of a lawsuit is often enough to force the insurer to settle, but if your case reaches trial, your lawyer will present evidence showing the other driver failed to yield and caused the accident as a result.

FAQ

What Is a Failure to Yield?

A failure to yield occurs when a driver does not wait for another driver with the right-of-way. These failures can occur in many situations. However, they most commonly occur at intersections, driveways, and parking lot exits.

Is a Driver Liable for Crashes Resulting From a Failure to Yield?

In most situations, a failure to yield constitutes negligence, meaning the offending driver is liable for resulting injuries. In rare situations, though, a driver might escape liability. If a flood pushed a driver’s vehicle into an intersection, for instance, they would not be liable for any crashes that occur as a result.

What Happens if Both Drivers Commit a Traffic Violation?

Under Wyoming’s comparative negligence law, a victim can pursue injury compensation even if they are partially at fault for their accident. For example, a speeding driver hit by a driver who failed to yield might be 20% at fault for their accident and only get 80% of their compensation.

Contact Us to Discuss Your Failure-to-Yield Crash

You deserve compensation if someone else’s poor or careless driving injured you. Contact The Spence Law Firm to learn how we can prove the other driver’s liability for your injuries.