Traveling across Spokane can be dangerous enough, but when drivers can’t even be trusted to stay between the painted lines, the chance of an accident skyrockets.
CCD Law helps injured victims who were forced into accidents by drivers who carelessly left their lanes. Please contact us for a free case consultation to find out what your case is worth and how to hold unhelpful car insurance companies fully responsible.
For more information on how CCD Law can help you rebuild your life after a frightening accident, you can visit our Spokane Car Accident Lawyers page.
The Dangers When Motorists Leave Their Lanes
It’s a scary sight to see motorists on I-90 drifting out of their lanes without looking at mirrors and blind spots. They can come over on you and risk a sideswipe accident. The accident becomes even more dangerous when the lanes are packed during rush hours, and you are knocked into other vehicles.
It’s also a frightening hazard on two-way roads without buffers. You might see a distracted driver in the opposite lane of Sprague Avenue jump a yellow line and come straight towards your SUV.
These and other traffic risks cause dangerous moments and powerful impacts.
These are a few of the other poor decisions that cause local drivers to cross white and yellow lines:
- Spokane Drivers Looking at Cellphones. The Richland Washington Police Department posted about how a driver traveling 55mph and glancing at a phone for only 5 seconds can travel the length of a football field while basically blind. If they travel that far, how far sideways, and out of their lanes, might they travel? It’s a scary thought, but in the real world, this negligence leads to accidents.
- Wrongway Accidents. When victims who are either confused or, in some cases, impaired, proceed down the wrong direction of a one-way street or in the opposite lanes of a two-way street. These accidents often occur at on and off-ramps around I-90 and can lead to devastating head-on collisions.
- Drivers going too fast can lose control in a curve or a straightaway and end up in another lane.
- Aggressive Passing. Aggressive drivers might want to blow past slower motorists and make an ill-timed jump into another lane to pass someone.
- Impaired Drivers. Drivers under the influence of drugs and alcohol can veer out of any lane to put the drivers beside them and any oncoming drivers at risk.
- Drowsy Drivers. Motorists not paying full attention to the road because they are tired or even falling asleep can leave their lanes to cause pile-ups.
- Swerving Drivers. Other travelers may swerve to miss a road obstacle like an animal, a Spokane pothole, or another driver who is being careless. This quick action can send them out of their lanes, where they become an obstacle to someone else.
Lane Drifting Accident Statistics in Washington
The WSDOT reports that Washington had 1,148 crashes involving a lane departure that resulted in either a fatality or a serious injury in 2025. 313 people lost their lives in those crashes.
Spokane County was the scene of 66 serious accidents involving lane departures in 2025. 13 people lost their lives in those tragic crashes.
- Washington State recorded 737 traffic fatalities in 2024. That’s according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission dashboard figures.
- 47% of those fatal accidents involved an impaired driver.
- 19% of those fatal accidents involved a distracted driver.
- 22 of the 737 fatal accidents in 2024 involved a wrong-way driver.
What To Demand After Being Hurt in a Lane Drifting Accident
After a careless Spokane driver leaves their lane and rams into you, you might be hurt and left with a stack of medical bills. You might also have to miss work while dealing with the pain and restrictions of an injury.
In Washington, victims can seek full compensation for their hardships after a crash caused by someone else. They would file a claim against the reckless driver’s car insurance provider. This claim would need to include a full list of every hardship the accident caused.
At CCD Law, we would demand full compensation and bring up certain damages that not everyone knows they can earn support for:
- Money to pay your medical bills, such as charges from ambulance rides, hospital visits, medicines, surgeries, and any medical devices you might need because of the accident.
- Getting financial support for the pain you’ve had to endure because of the accident.
- Getting financial help for the emotional pain you’ve suffered, such as PTSD symptoms leftover from a frightening crash and a loss of enjoyment of life caused by an injury.
- Reimbursing you for any paychecks you missed because you couldn’t work after the accident, and any money you might lose in the future because of it.
- Money to pay for travel costs going to doctors’ appointments and visiting specialists in other cities.
- Money to help pay body shop bills or to replace a totaled vehicle.
- Wrongful death benefits for families if a loved one is killed in an accident because a careless driver ran over a yellow line.
Deciding If You Need a Lawyer for Your Spokane Car Accident Involving a Lane Violation
If your accident involves only some minor soreness and/or a crumpled car, you may not need CCD Law’s help to get a fair settlement from an auto insurer. But if your injuries are more serious, such as a bone fracture, a spine injury or back injury, or brain trauma, it’s a good idea to talk over your options with a real lawyer.
The higher your recovery costs go, the harder an insurer will make it for you to earn the support you need to emerge without financial difficulties. You need to be ready for this battle. Contact CCD Law for a free, no-obligation case review. Find out what your injuries are worth before an insurance adjuster tries to “lowball” your needs.
And if you require our help to get the most from your claim, you don’t have to worry about how you’ll pay an attorney’s fee. CCD Law doesn’t charge anything unless we win your case. Then we are paid out of the settlement check that the insurer is forced to send you.