Safely navigating the roads on Daniel Island

Holy traffic, Batman! While we do not sit in our Seven Farms Drive office and count the passing cars, casual observations reveal increased vehicle traffic on Daniel Island. Adding construction related traffic, a typical Daniel Island weekday sees thousands of vehicles coming and going. Inevitable is the occasional slow speed vehicle collision. While these will dampen your day, this article is devoted to understanding some basics so it does not dampen your month or year.

 

The City of Charleston maintains an interactive traffic incident website that reveals speeding and failing to stop at stop signs are Daniel Island’s primary police involved traffic incidents. Even though minor collisions are not always reported to the police, there are things you can do should you be involved.

 

• Stop! This may seem like an obvious statement, but you would be surprised (or not) at the number of drivers who do not stop following a collision with another car (especially unoccupied parked cars). Leaving the scene of any collision can lead to much more serious legal consequences, including criminal charges. Even if the collision is minor and you are confident there is no damage, it is best to stop.

 

• Share and collect information. South Carolina law requires all drivers to maintain insurance, including underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage. In addition to insurance information, it is wise to collect and share your name, phone number and mailing address with the other driver. While some drivers would rather debate fault on the side of the road, this is not the time or place for such a debate.

 

• Photographs. In the day and age of smartphones, taking a couple photos of the condition of both vehicles is wise. In the event you notice unrelated damage on the other vehicle, then it is prudent to document. Unfortunately, some drivers will claim a minor rear-end accident put a crack in the front windshield. Thus, documenting pre-existing damage to the other vehicle could prove useful in the future.

 

• Do I call the police? Calling the police is never the wrong answer. With that said, if there are no injuries and both cars are capable of leaving the scene, then you may not need the police to simply document the aftermath. In other words, if you do the things outlined above, then the police will rarely be able to offer anything additional.

 

One other point relevant to life on Daniel Island concerns pedestrians and crosswalks. Pedestrians in a crosswalk have the right of way. One of the tricky designs of Daniel Island concerns the stop signs and crosswalks on the many roads accessing Seven Farms Drive.

You probably already know what we are referring to (as you mutter under your breath) — the stop sign set back 15 feet from Seven Farms Drive, immediately followed by the crosswalk set back 10 feet from Seven Farms Drive. If there is a pedestrian, yes, a driver must stop at both the stop sign and the crosswalk.

 

In closing, we hope you avoid any situations in which this article may be useful. But, should a minor accident occur, heed some of the points outlined herein.

 

Safe driving!

 

Chris Mingledorff and Michael Patterson are attorneys with Mingledorff & Patterson LLC on Daniel Island. For more information, go to mptrial.com.