Car accident laws in Arizona can be broken down into two categories: traffic laws that you should pay particular attention to, which can help you avoid getting into an accident, and laws that apply after an accident happens. Here, we cover some specific Arizona laws you must know if you are involved in a car crash.
Arizona car accident laws can be complex. If you have been in a motor vehicle crash, the Phoenix car accident lawyers at the Stone Rose Law firm can help you understand your legal rights, comply with laws that apply to you, and recover compensation for your personal injuries and property damage.
Call us at (480) 498-8998 if you need legal help after a car accident in Maricopa County or anywhere else in Arizona.
Arizona law begins to apply to a car accident from the moment it is over and you ask yourself, “What just happened?”
The first laws that you must pay attention to right away are the ones that establish your duties to others who were involved in the collision.
Arizona requires the driver of every motor vehicle operated on roads in the state to carry liability auto insurance through a company authorized to do business in Arizona. The minimum levels of financial responsibility for a car insurance policy are:
If you do not maintain proper insurance on your car, your Arizona vehicle registration and driver’s license could be suspended.
Under Arizona law, getting into an accident and leaving the scene prematurely without meeting legal requirements constitutes a “hit-and-run” or in Arizona, this is called, “leaving the scene of an accident”. Depending on the circumstances of the event, leaving the scene before complying with Arizona law can be a misdemeanor or felony-level crime.
Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) § 28-661 through § 28-665 outline the responsibilities of drivers involved in accidents, including what you must do after you stop and the penalties you can face if you do not comply with your legal duties.
You have a legal obligation to stop after an accident in Arizona when you experience:
If you get into an accident where someone is injured or killed, your legal responsibilities are:
If an accident only results in vehicle damage, Arizona law requires drivers to observe the same duties as an accident resulting in death or severe injury. You must also stop your vehicle without obstructing traffic more than is necessary.
If no one occupies the other vehicle in the accident, such as a collision with a parked car, you must still stop your vehicle and either:
Under Arizona statute (ARS 28-665), drivers are not explicitly required to stop. However, they are required to find the person who owns the damaged property, notify that person of the accident, and provide that person with your name, address, and vehicle registration number. You may also need to share your driver’s license upon request.
If the collision you get into involves death, serious injury, or damage to a driven or occupied vehicle, ARS 28-663 mandates that you must provide the following information to the other party:
ARS 28-661 also requires drivers in accidents involving injury or death to:
You are only allowed to leave the scene of an accident once you have fulfilled these requirements.
The punishment for a hit-and-run accident in Arizona depends on its nature. The more severe the crash’s consequences, the more severe the legal sanctions.
There is no statutory duty under Arizona law for drivers to report car accidents they are involved in. The police, however, are required to report more serious accidents. Specifically, they must file a written accident report when investigating an accident involving injury, death, or property damage of more than $2,000 or when a traffic citation is issued.
Police are informed about incidents once those involved or witness an accident call 911. This often means that you will be present when the police officer begins the accident investigation and will be included in the report. This allows you to provide your side of the story to be officially documented.
The officer can complete the accident report at the scene or later. Under Arizona law, the officer has up to 24 hours to complete the report after the accident investigation.
Arizona car accident reports help preserve the record of what happened, who was involved, who witnessed the accident, the officer’s conclusions about what caused the accident, and who the at-fault driver was.
You can also file your own accident report in Arizona after a minor accident if all of the following circumstances apply:
This do-it-yourself online report does not replace the official police report, but it can be valuable. It lets you record your perspective of the accident and generates a police report number, which your insurer may require you to provide.
Instead of submitting your online report, you can request an Arizona DPS trooper do an on-scene accident investigation of a non-emergency traffic accident by calling the Arizona Department of Public Safety at (602) 223-2000.
You may need to consider whether to claim personal injury legally after an accident, especially when people are hurt or property damage occurs. If this is the case, the first Arizona law you must remember is the applicable Arizona statute of limitations.
ARS 12-542 is the statute of limitations for car accident claims in Arizona. Under this law, you usually have two years after the date of the accident to file a claim.
Certain circumstances can extend or shorten the two-year statute of limitations.
For example, an injury may not become evident on the same day as the accident. In these situations, the statute of limitations may not begin until you become aware of the injury or reasonably should have become aware of it. However, when it comes to motor vehicle accidents the best and safest rule of thumb is two years from the date of the accident.
If the accident results in the death of a driver, passenger, or pedestrian, the family members of the deceased have two years from the date of death to make a wrongful death claim.
The statute of limitations does not apply to reporting an accident to a car insurance company. As part of their terms and conditions, auto insurance companies often require you to make a claim or give the insurer notice of an incident that could trigger a claim “promptly” or “within a reasonable time” after the auto accident.
Arizona personal injury law is not statutory. Instead, car accident claims derive mainly from fault-based common law.
In Arizona, the person at fault for the car accident (through that person’s insurance policy up to policy limits) is also responsible for any resulting harm due to that driver’s negligence.
In a personal injury case, who is at fault is determined based on the concept of negligence. In the context of a car accident, negligence can take several forms, including:
Aggressive or reckless driving like tailgating, brake-checking, and other “road rage” behaviors are also grounds for fault in car accident personal injury claims.
When you are injured in a car accident in Arizona, you can recover compensation for your accident-related losses as part of any insurance claim or lawsuit judgment award. This can include the cost of medical expenses for your injuries, physical and mental pain and suffering, property damage costs, and any financial harm caused by the accident, including lost wages and future earning capacity.
Although liability for vehicle accidents is fault-based, determining who the at-fault driver was is only the beginning of considering what your personal injury damages can be. A limiting factor when seeking financial compensation is the concept of comparative negligence under ARS 12-2505.
Car accidents often do not involve one driver who is 100% at fault and another one who is completely blameless. In most car accident cases, an Arizona judge or jury (depending on the type of case) will allocate fault between a successful plaintiff and the at-fault defendant based on their respective percentages of fault.
For example, let’s say that you get rear-ended in a car accident and sue the other driver for personal injury. Although the following driver is usually found at fault in a rear-end collision, eyewitness testimony may show that you brake-checked the other driver right before the accident. This act contributed to the crash, meaning you can be found partially at fault under Arizona’s comparative negligence law.
When comparative negligence applies, the judge or jury (depending on the case type) will reduce the judgment award of the prevailing personal injury lawsuit party by the percentage of that driver’s fault. In our example above, if the court finds that the driver who rear-ended you was 80% at fault and you were 20% at fault, your damages award will be reduced by 20%.
There is no limit on how much you can be comparatively at fault for an accident for which the other party is technically at fault. Theoretically, if the court decides that you were 99% at fault, you can still collect 1% of any damages award you receive.
Comparative negligence can also guide a car insurance settlement claim if you do not file a personal injury lawsuit.
If your car accident is the result of a violation of Arizona vehicle or traffic laws, you could be subject to a civil and even criminal charges that a city or county prosecutor’s office commences separate and apart from any civil lawsuit between you and the other driver.
Although many counterclaims, cross-claims, and third-party claims can be joined together in a single lawsuit in civil court, criminal cases are always tried separately from civil lawsuits.
Our Phoenix car accident attorneys at Stone Rose Law help car accident victims receive fair compensation throughout Arizona. Contact us online or call (480) 498-8998 to schedule your free consultation to discuss your car accident case with a qualified car Phoenix car accident attorney.
If you have been a car accident victim and have suffered personal injury or property damage and want to be sure you receive the best possible legal representation from an experienced car accident attorney, call us.Remember—the Arizona statute of limitations for car accident injuries is only two years, and your insurance company might give you even less time to make a policy claim. Let us help you recover the maximum compensation from your car accident claim—call us today.
