We've all seen him:  "The Waving Driver."  That's the guy that waves you through an intersection when you can't see what's coming, or the lady that motions for you to turn or cross in front of her first, even though she has the right of way.

Most people think they can rely on that.

If a waving driver motions for you to cross an intersection when you can't see,  you'll be at fault, not him, when it turns out that a surprise car was coming.  The case of Lennard vs. State Farm decided those facts.  The driver who couldn't see got sued by the surprise car, and he tried to defend the suit by relying on the waving driver's actions.  The Court said "NO," because in order to make that defense work, he had to prove, among other things,  that

1)the "waver" did indeed make the signal

2)that the "waver" intended to convey that he had checked for traffic, and

3)that the "waver" intended to show that it was entirely safe to cross the street.

These things are almost impossible to prove, so be careful out there.

This is attorney Greg DiLeo, and this has been Your Legal Minute.