How does assumption of risk apply in a motor vehicle accident case?

Case law recognizes that assumption of the risk can be express or implied. Express assumption of risk is a contractual matter and comes into play where the plaintiff, in advance, expressly "agrees not to expect the [226 Cal.App.3d 763] potential defendant to act carefully...." (Coates v. Newhall Land & Farming, Inc. (1987) 191 Cal.App.3d 1, 7, 236 Cal.Rptr. 181.) In other situations a person implies consent to certain risks by voluntarily encountering a known danger.