Illegal passing can lead to auto crashes and Wisconsin has rules of the road which explain safe passing procedures so that accidents do not happen. Failure to follow safe passing guidelines can result in sideswipe or more serious automobile crashes.
Wisconsin jury instruction 1141 provides that on any roadway where traffic is permitted to move in both directions simultaneously, the driver of a vehicle shall not drive to the left of the center of the roadway in overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction, unless the left side is clearly visible and is free of oncoming traffic for a sufficient distance ahead to permit the overtaking and passing to be done in safety. A driver must, before making such movement, exercise reasonable care to make an efficient lookout. A driver must not only exercise ordinary care to determine the presence and location of other vehicles that may be approaching from the opposite direction, but must also exercise reasonable judgment in calculating the time required to overtake and pass the vehicle in front, as well as the distance away and speed of any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction.
Jury instruction 1142 states that upon any roadway where traffic is permitted to move in both directions simultaneously, the driver of a vehicle shall not drive on the left side of the center of the roadway upon any part of a grade or upon a curve in the roadway where the driver’s view is obstructed for such a distance as to create a hazard in the event another vehicle might approach from the opposite direction.
Jury instruction 1143 provides that the driver of a vehicle shall not drive on the left side of the center of a roadway, or any portion of the roadway which has been designated as a no-passing zone, either by a sign or by a yellow unbroken line on the pavement on the right side of, and adjacent to, the center line of the roadway, if the sign or lines would be clearly visible to an ordinarily observant person. If no-passing lines or a sign were clearly visible to one who was ordinarily observant and a driver violated those rules just before the collision, then he or she is negligent. A safety statute provides that the driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left of the overtaken vehicle, at a safe distance, and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.
McCormick Law Office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin represents persons hurt in illegal passing automobile accidents for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering.
