Truck accident: Five seconds on the track - driver still liable
Multiple lanes, hectic traffic: After changing lanes, there's a crash - and the driver who changed lanes is mostly liable, even though they've already been driving in the new lane for seconds. Why?
A recent ruling by the Schleswig-Holstein Oberlandesgericht (OLG) has clarified liability in a car accident involving a lane change. A driver who changed lanes before a road narrowed was found to be primarily at fault when his car was hit from behind by a truck. Although the driver claimed he had been in the new lane for around five seconds before the accident, the court ruled that this was not enough to prove he was not responsible for the crash.
The OLG Schleswig found the driver 80% liable and the truck driver 20% liable, with the driver's insurance covering only a fifth of his damages.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
