Ri$k Happens: Converge and merge

Oct. 24, 2021 - By Mary Ann Gormly, CERP - Loss Analyst, ARA Insurance

Two vehicles were traveling in the same direction on a congested highway.

One driver was a woman who knew she needed to get over because her lane was coming to an end up ahead and her lane would merge with the lane to her right. She proceeded at the pace everyone around her was going and had her blinker on, hoping for an opening in the next lane.

The other driver was a driver for a rental store. He was in the center lane and remained there knowing he wouldn’t need to exit the highway for quite some time. He saw a vehicle to his left with its blinker on, but the flow of traffic never allowed that vehicle to get in front of him or for him to allow her to change lanes. He put it out of his mind and continued down the road.

A few hundred feet later he felt a bump to the rear of his vehicle and heard a horn honking. He had just come up to the spot where two lanes converged to one and he put his blinker on and pulled over to the shoulder of the highway to his left.

The woman behind him had merged into his lane when her lane came to an end. She stated that she didn’t see his trailer and didn’t realize it was there when she moved to the right. She rear-ended the trailer on the driver’s side rear, pushing it into his truck.

No one sustained any injuries, and the only real damage was to the front right passenger side of the woman's car.

The drivers exchanged information at the scene when the police arrived. No citations were issued, and no police report was filed. When the claim was reported by the woman to the insurance company for the rental store, the adjuster took statements from both drivers. It was determined the driver for the rental store was not at fault and the claim will be denied.

This item, provided by ARA Insurance, Kansas City, Mo., contains safety tips and is intended to help readers better understand and manage risk. For more safety and risk management information, customers of ARA Insurance can log on to ReSource. Access is free, so if you haven’t signed up yet, contact your agent or call 800-821-6580.