An automobile stopping on the highway or street can be dangerous and create an unreasonable risk of harm to the driver, his passengers and others on the roadways. Wisconsin law on stopping has some specific rules of the road to help guide us in varying situations.
1125 PARKING: STOPPING: LEAVING VEHICLE ON OR OFF THE ROADWAY: EXCEPTION TO PROHIBITION
A statute further provides that the prohibition against parking or stopping or leaving a vehicle on the roadway or off the roadway does not apply when the vehicle becomes disabled while on the roadway or off the roadway in such a manner or to such an extent that it is impossible to avoid stopping or temporarily leaving the vehicle in the prohibited place. A vehicle is disabled when the parking, stopping or leaving of the vehicle on the roadway or off the roadway cannot reasonably be avoided, and it is impossible to move the vehicle under the existing conditions and circumstances. A vehicle is left temporarily when it is stopped for such period of time only as is necessary to permit the driver to take reasonable steps to remove the vehicle.
1132 STOPPED SCHOOL BUS: POSITION ON HIGHWAY
A school bus when loading or unloading passengers must be stopped with its flashing red warning lights activated and must be stopped on the traveled portion of the highway as near as practicable to the right hand edge of the lane farthest to the right which is improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel excluding the berm or shoulder. While the law provides that a school bus while loading or unloading with flashing red warning lights activated must stop on the traveled portion of the highway, nevertheless the law requires the school bus driver to use ordinary care to determine whether the stop can be safely made on the paved or traveled portion of the roadway of the highway. The driver is required to take into account such factors as weather, atmospheric conditions of visibility, conditions of the surface of the highway, the topography and the course of the highway, the visibility of the bus to oncoming traffic, and any and all other conditions and circumstances as would be taken into account by a reasonable school bus driver acting under the same or similar circumstances.
As evident, not all stopping on the highway is negligence. McCormick Law Office attorneys get the best settlement results in stopping cases when there is direct evidence of the defendant’s negligence in causing damages, including medical bills, wage loss, pain and suffering. Direct evidence can include witness testimony or video footage. Indirect evidence can be an accident reconstruction based on debris, skid marks and vehicle damage.
