Traffic crash liability determination: Danger and Dodge model

By proposing a systematic set of rules for traffic crash liability determination, this paper attempts to prove the feasibility and practicability of legal liability in handling traffic crashes. Two sequential elements are identified for crash occurrence, i.e., the occurrence of a dangerous situation and failure in dodging the dangerous situation. A Danger and Dodge model is subsequently established for liability determination in a traffic crash. By investigating the basic mechanism of a crash occurrence, the specific contents of causalties and the effect of the parties' acts in traffic crashes are specified. Based on the theories of social adequancy, the principle of reliance and the duty of care, the study further proposes to use the “peril” of a dangerous situation and the “possibility” of dodging the dangerous situation to appraise the effect of the parties' acts upon a crash occurrence, with the rule of the “pattern deciding effect”. The proposed approach would be very helpful to the concreteness of the determination of liability in a traffic crash. Two case studies are presented for demonstration.