According to WeatherSpark, “the summers in Anchorage are cool and mostly cloudy and the winters are long, freezing, snowing and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 13˚F to 68 ˚F and rarely belong - 8 ˚F and above 75 ˚F.” Car accidents can occur as a result of various underlying causes, and when an individual is injured in a car accident, it is critical to determine who is liable in order to get compensation for the injury and damage caused. In many crashes, especially multi-vehicle crashes, weather is a contributing factors that makes roads slicker and more dangerous. However, when weather plays a role in an accident finding fault can be a bit difficult.

Generally, drivers are expected to take the necessary precautions to drive safely when there are bad weather conditions. Therefore, if a driver chooses to head out during a rainstorm, goes through a stop sign too quickly and fails to stop causing several cars to be involved in an accident, that driver can still be found liable for the accident.” While this may seem unfair on the part of the driver, because he or she cannot control the weather, the reality is that drivers have the ability to decide whether or not to drive in poor weather. They also have the power to change their driving behavior in order to compensate for the changes in the weather. So according to the law drivers are still responsible for an accident they cause even when wet or icy roads contribute to the problem.”

Each time a driver heads out on the road, that driver has a legal responsibility to take reasonable care in order to avoid an accident. As such, when driving in a downpour the driver needs to slow down; where there is poor visibility, even the posted speed limit can be too fast and the driver has the responsibility to drive at a speed that is appropriate to the weather at the time. In addition, drivers have the responsibility to refrain from following other vehicles too closely when travelling in low visibility weather or when the roads are slippery.
According to statistics mentioned in one article, “weather is a contributing factor in 22% of annual car crashes, causing over 1.2 million crashes each year. In each of these crashes, insurance companies and attorneys need a way to know whether or not a driver is liable.” Therefore, when handling personal injury cases related to bad weather accidents attorneys in Anchorage Alaska look to see whether the driver was driving at a rate of speed reasonable to the weather conditions, was following at a safe distance behind other vehicles, the weather was a known event or unexpected and if the driver could have taken action in order to avoid the accident. As a result, in most weather related crashes the driver can be held liable because there are actions that he or she could have taken in order to prevent the crash.

One Crowson Law Group attorney stated that, “There are instances when a driver may not be held liable for an accident that happens during bad weather. Such an example is an accident which results due to an event that is referred to as an ‘Act Of God’, such as an unexpected tornado that causes a multi vehicle pileup.”

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