Accident Terms and Definitions

Comparative negligence
Negligence of a plaintiff in a civil suit which decreases his recovery by his percentage of negligence compared to a defendant's negligence.

Affidavit
A written or printed declaration or statement under oath Affirm - The assertion of an appellate court that the judgment of the lower court is correct and should stand.

Collision
Pays for damage to your car caused by physical contact with another vehicle or with another object, such as a tree, boulder, guardrail, structure, or person.

Frequent or unsafe lane changes
In driver test books there are laws that state what type of passing may be done acording to the yellow lines paited in the road or highway. There are some laws that regulate the distance that a lane change can be made related to an intersection.

Impaired Driving
Can be alcohol or any oher substance that changes judgement while driving. Impaired driving will affect one in three Americans during their lifetimes (NHTSA 2001a).

Linear Momentum
A quantity associated with the motion of an object along a straight path. The linear momentum of an object is defined to be equal to its mass times its velocity.

Failure to signal
There are laws and driving rules that instruct proper turning signals, at time a hand or a light signal is required to be used. A right hand turn may not be permited, or a turn in an intersection may be done incorectly.

Brake Build-up (Brake Lag)
Occurs just after the brakes are applied and continues until they lock.

Risk assessment
The determination of the probability of failure of a component or system.

Misdemeanor
Criminal offenses less than felonies; generally those punishable by fine or imprisonment of less than 90 days in a local facility.