New Hampshire Accidents Dictionary

Legal and insurance terms explained plainly

What trips people up most is that the officer usually does not have to prove the speed was unsafe for conditions. If the posted limit is an absolute speed limit, going even a...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-24

actual notice

People often mix up actual notice with constructive notice. Actual notice means a person or business really knew about a condition or problem because they saw it, were told...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

basic speed law

Not a rule that only matters when a driver is going over the posted limit, and not a free pass to drive at the speed sign no matter what is happening around you. A basic speed...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-26

blocking the box

Miss this in heavy traffic, and a routine commute can turn into a crash scene, a ticket, or a chain-reaction backup that traps everyone behind you. "Blocking the box" means...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-28

criminal traffic offense

You just got a letter that says a traffic charge is a criminal matter, not a payable ticket. That usually means the alleged driving conduct is treated as an offense that can be...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-29

excessive speed charge

Insurance companies and defense lawyers often point to an excessive speed charge to argue that an injured driver was careless, contributed to a crash, or made their own...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-29

exhibition of speed

Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers like to throw around this phrase when they want a driver to sound reckless, immature, or "showing off" instead of simply moving with...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-26

failure to maintain lane

What does it mean if a ticket says you failed to maintain lane? It means a driver did not keep the vehicle within a single marked lane when the law required it, or moved from...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-01

failure to signal

People mix this up with failure to yield, and they are not the same thing. Failure to signal means a driver changed direction or lanes without giving the required turn signal...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-25

failure to stop for school bus

The trap that catches drivers most often is thinking a bus must be fully in their lane before they have to stop. Once a school bus is stopped and using its red flashing lights...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-28

FMLA interference

Everyone says just take the time off, hand in the doctor note, and keep your head down, but actually that can cost you wages, health coverage, or even your job if your leave...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-21

illegal U-turn

Miss this on a ticket or after a crash, and you can lose ground fast: a move that seemed minor can become key evidence that a driver broke the rules, caused a collision, or...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-26

inadequate lighting

Insurance companies and defense lawyers often use this phrase to argue that a hazard was "open and obvious" and that the injured person should have seen it anyway. In plain...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

presumed speed limit

Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers sometimes treat a posted speed number like automatic proof that a driver was careless: if someone was going over it, they argue fault is...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-03

prima facie speed limit

You might see this phrase on a traffic ticket, in a court notice, or hear it when someone says the posted speed was only "prima facie," not automatic proof of guilt. In plain...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-28

racing on highway

You just got a letter that says you were charged with "racing on highway," and the wording makes it sound worse than a basic speeding ticket because it is. It means driving in...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-29

right turn on red violation

Like stepping into a machine before it has fully stopped, turning right at a red light without completing the required checks creates a preventable hazard. A right turn on red...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-31

snow and ice liability

You may see this phrase in an insurance letter, a landlord's response, or a business owner's explanation after a fall: "This was a snow and ice liability claim," often followed...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

strict liability traffic violation

What trips people up most is that intent usually does not matter. If the officer or court can show the act happened - speeding, running a red light, following too closely,...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-30

super speeder law

A "super speeder" label can hit both your wallet and your case outcome, because it usually means extra fines on top of a regular speeding ticket and can make a driver look...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-02

survival action

The part that trips people up most is that this is not the same as a wrongful death claim. A survival action is the claim the injured person could have brought if they had...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-21

wrongful death action

What surprises many families is that this claim is not filed in their own names at first, even though they are the ones suffering the loss. In New Hampshire, the money at stake...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-21