Solar Glare: Dangers Driving Into the Sun

You’re driving along and suddenly the bright sun blinds you. In that moment your car slams into another car causing an accident.  Are you at fault?

Reverse roles. You’re driving along minding your own business and suddenly without warning a car in the oncoming lane crosses the center line and strikes your car.  The other driver explains “The bright sun temporarily blinded me it’s not my fault.”

Solar glare can temporarily blind a driver and potentially cause accidents and injuries if nothing is done about it. How does the law handle the challenging issue?

Car Accidents Caused by Solar Glare

In one Massachusetts car accident case, the driver found at fault claimed that solar glare was at least partly to blame for the crash. She said that as she approached the other car, she was blinded by the low still rising sun that flashed into her eyes.  Unfortunately her own insurance company found her at fault for the accident and surcharged her auto insurance.

When she appealed, the hearings officer found that she failed to compensate for solar glare. The officer wrote that the driver failed to exercise due care in the operation and control of her car and that she “should have compensated for solar glare”.  In an unpublished decision, Wheeland v. Commerce Insurance Company, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals on November 4, 2015 upheld the hearing officer’s decision, as well as a mid level appeal to the Superior Court.

Solar Glare While Driving: What Can You Do?

There is no law excusing a driver from liability in an accident due to solar glare. In fact, the rules of the road specifically require that drivers operate with due care in light of the circumstances.  Even a sudden sun flare is a circumstance, then, that the rules of the road require us all to deal with.

What can drivers do to avoid solar glare?

• Wear polarized sunglasses – they can reduce glare.
• Keep the windshield clean inside and out.
• If solar glare occurs frequently on a given route, take an alternate road or change travel time.
• Never keep papers or clutter on the dashboard.
• Drive with headlights on to increase visibility.
• Use sun visor or even open palm in sudden glare to block bright sun.

Other tips, borrowed from the AAA website, include leaving more following room when the sun is in the driver’s eyes, and, if having difficulty in a sudden situation look for lane markings to guide travel.

Solar Glare Causes Serious Accidents

In one case that went to court, a driver heading into an intersection looked to the right, then to the left and all of a sudden was “blinded by the sun”, then struck and killed a pedestrian.   The driver claimed he was unable to do anything to avoid it.  But in Lifson v. City of Syracuse, decided in October, 2011 the Court of Appeals of New York held the driver responsible for striking and killing the pedestrian despite the claim that the accident occurred due to temporarily blinding  bright solar glare.

So the answer to the original questions raised above: solar glare is no defense against driving with due care in all the circumstances, and will not absolve one of civil liability for accidents caused by glare.

The decisions cited above represent actual cases decided on the facts presented.  Every case presents its own unique facts and circumstances which can potentially alter the final result.

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