Archive for May 8th, 2012

Steer it and clear it law in Texas helps avoid injury accidents

The video below shows a collision between a passenger car and a man walking on a freeway: the video was shot in Russia. The man was walking close by a vehicle that appears to have broken down in a freeway travel lane. He was not looking in the direction of approaching traffic when the car came from his right side and struck him, throwing him many feet into the air. Despite how severe the accident looks, the man was fortunate to escape with only a broken leg. This video provides a powerful reminder of why Texas has a “steer it and clear it” law. Chapter 550.022 of the Texas Transportation Code governing accidents involving damage to a vehicle says: “If an accident occurs on a main lane, ramp, shoulder, median or adjacent area of a freeway and each vehicle can be normally and safely driven, each vehicle operator shall move the operator’s vehicle as soon as possible to a designated accident investigation site, a location on the frontage road, the nearest suitable cross street or other suitable location to complete the requirements of Section 550.023 and minimize the interference with existing freeway traffic flow.”

Sometimes there is a tendency for people involved in an accident not to move their vehicle from a travel lane until the police arrive so the police can determine who was at fault. If your vehicle is still driveable and there is a lot of traffic passing by, the safer approach would be to move the vehicles out of the roadway. If you have a cell phone with a camera, as almost everyone does these days, you can always take a couple of quick pictures to show the position of the vehicles before you move them.