Waze Carpool Accident Lawyers
The drudgery of being caught in rush-hour traffic affects many commuters. Reducing the number of cars on the road is a worthy goal, and often involves the use of public transit and similar systems. For daily commutes, the best solution can be to use carpooling. Rather than each person driving his or her own vehicle over the exact same route every day, commuters can share a vehicle, enabling them to save money and wear on their vehicles. Having more than one or two people in the car can allow the use of high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, which can also save time.
Carpooling is not without its inconveniences, however. The process can take longer than the individual commute since it introduces additional stops or waiting on additional passengers. Additionally, being without a vehicle during the day can be a problem if a carpooler needs to run a quick errand or leave work early. It also may be annoying or unpleasant to spend time with the same people every day.
In many cases, carpooling is organized by local communities or even government agencies, in efforts to reduce traffic. Typically, participants in these carpools will agree on a driving schedule, with each member of the group driving in rotation. While fair in principle, such schedules can become complicated, especially if someone misses a day.
Recently, the Waze carpool company has stepped in to help solve some of these problems. With the Waze app, commuters are matched based on starting point, destination, and timing. The matches are such that the route never goes more than five minutes or one mile out of the optimal path for the driver. Rather than enforcing a rotation, riders are required to pay a nominal cost to the driver for gas and upkeep, from which Waze takes a small percentage. Since any rider can drive on other days, earning more money back than they put in, the overall cost of participating remains very low.
For many, such a process is an excellent choice. When accidents happen, however, things can become complicated. Waze is only a matching app, not a ride-hailing service, and so there is no insurance associated with the ride. The driver of the vehicle is responsible for maintaining insurance on his or her vehicle, but many auto insurance policies prohibit the use of the insured vehicle “for hire” and so insurance companies may try to deny coverage if they learn about the use of the app.
In cases where the driver has no coverage or insufficient coverage, a Waze carpool accident lawyer may need to get involved to determine what supplemental insurance might be available to the passengers. Passengers with uninsured liability coverage on their own personal auto policies will be protected in an accident, but getting the company to accept coverage isn’t always easy. Complying with the requirements of an uninsured motorist policy may involve recorded statements or other elements that can endanger the personal injury case.
If you have been involved in a Waze carpool accident, there could be multiple sources of potential coverage. Make sure you have contact information for all parties involved, and do not speak to any insurance company representatives until you have first discussed the case with a car accident lawyer. Cohen & Cohen
