posted
That's a bummer! I'm glad you're not hurt and that your truck wasn't too badly damaged!
Hopefully you're not in the same situation I was (where being the person making a left hand turn automatically means you're at fault - regardless of the fact that the other person was illegally passing).
posted
You were found liable for turning left when struck by a passing car?
Assuming you were in the far left lane, and the passing car was coming from behind you, I think you got screwed.
This happened to a friend in Virginia. The cop ended up giving him a ticket for bald tires, but only after he wrote and then tore up the ticket for illegal left turn. I think he realized the passing guy was at fault.
My friend was in college and not local, so the authorities really went after him. But even then, the lady that hit him had to pay for his damage.
posted
Found at fault. No ticket, cop was nice enough to waive that.
My house sits on a corner. .......| .......| X MEANS HOUSE (. is filler) -------|---- = means driveway ...XX.| -> North ..XX=| .......| .......| i was on the one of the streets, about to turn right onto the street with the driveway. From this stop sign, I saw no one coming from the west or east. No one. So i turn right, and begin to turn into my driveway like i've done a billion times before. I drive a decent sized pickup, so i make the turn a little wider than, say, a Geo Metro would. Common knowledge.
As my front bumber enters my driveway, i hear a long screetch. Not a little short burst before the collision. This sucker was a decent length. Long enough for me to think "god i hope that guy's not on this street. If i get in an accident, my insurance rates will kill me. Let alone my parents" (its their vehicle)
BANG! I press the break to stop both me, and now the little white Kia which was stuck to my passenger door.
That door now is well ventilated, as i can see through 3 spots along what used to be a well formed seam. Woops. Also decent amount of damage to the panel along that side of the truck bed.
The other guy now has a crumpled hood, a busted up headlight, a crushed bumper, a dented raidator, etc.
I'm okay.. he's okay.. call the cops. Officer arrives, takes our licenses, registrations and such, and starts asking a few questions. How fast were you going, did you have you seat belt on, did you have your signal on, etc. Damn my blatent honestly. I said I "assume my signal was on, because i almost always use it. Second nature" Shoulda just said "yes" Crap.
Cop gets a call on radio, drives off with lights on. apparently we're not important enough.
hour & 1/2 later, he returns, finishes up paperwork, and explains to the %!@$% who hit me that he won't be at fault.
I finally get the cop to explain what the he means by me being at fault. Apparently moving slightly to the left during a right turn, so that one can land in one's driveway correctly isn't officially legal. So I'm at fault. Cop is nice enough about it. Explains whats going to happen, what my options are, all the good jive. Rather nice person really.
So now I wait for the trial by fire which is my mother's arrival at home. Already called her and she knows it happened, just not about the at fault bull****. Its her car, and she reminds me whenever she needs something to hold over my head.
posted
I'm glad you are okay. I'm still puzzling through the scenario in my head, but I'm very glad you are okay.
Posts: 2919 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
To make the right turn into my driveway, and not hit the other car in the driveway (double wide driveway), I adjusted for the turning radius of my truck by shifting to the left in the road a bit before i turned.
Apparently little !#$@ who was using our neighborhood to avoid construction decided to try to cut past me on the right not knowing that i was turning. Which i why i wasn't able to assure myself or the cop that my blinker was on.
So I shifted left, he tried zooming past me on the right, i completed my turn ( or so i thought ), he doesn't have room to stop, but leaves 25 foot skid marks on the road, BANG!
and i THOUGHT legally he's supposed to maintain a safe stopping distance, whether i'm "swerving around the middle of the road" as he put it, or stopping to not run over a child.
posted
Are there two lanes of travel in the direction you were going? I'm at a loss as to why the officer said this was your fault when he passed you on the right, assuming you weren't turning from the left lane.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Pshaw. He's still not allowed to pass you on a one lane road. And 25 foot skidmarks may indicate he was going to fast. If nothing else, it indicates he was following to closely to stop had you had to make an emergency stop.
Frankly, it's worth making your case to your insurance company that it's not your fault.
posted
Get a photo of the skid marks ASAP, if you haven't already.
Edit: Dave and I carry a disposable camera in the glovebox for this very reason. Sucks, but in an accident, I'd snap a shot now before I even got out of the car to check on the other driver.
I was burned by a guy who "wanted to move out of traffic to avoid another accident" but then disputed the original positioning of the cars (he lied in his favor, of course). With a snapshot, it would have been clear. It worked out okay, as there were other issues that made him an unreliable reporter (no insurance, fake ID), but I'm not taking chances next time.
[ October 07, 2004, 08:29 AM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
Posts: 2919 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
ouch ouch ouch. I could tell from picture #1 how bad #4 was going to look. I've been in a similar kind of crash ... actually I've been in 3 of em and my car was in a 4th without my presence. Fortunately (?) only once was I the driver.... the question mark is because in the other two I was in the seat that got smeared.
I'd guess that the frame itself is likely bent. Pay special attention once the truck returns from the body shop to how easily and how tightly that door closes. I had serious issues with the repair job to my car (the time I wasn't involved myself) because the right passenger dor never did close entirely, would not lock, had an eternal air leak through the seals. But because I didn't take it back within a very short period of time (I think they gave me 3 days - and didn't tell me about it until my insurance company was threatening to sue), they refused to repair their repairs. So when it's picked up, whether it's by you or by Mom, find out how long you have to vet the repairs and bring it back if the work is unsatisfactory... and then really go over it with a fine toothed comb!
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
You shoulda seen the little Kia Rio that did that.
Bumber dead, hood, both side panels crumpled. radiator crushed on one side (yet not leaking?) battery threatened to be dented, drivers side door bent, etc
If he's gonna hit somebody with his little piece of plastic and aluminum, he shoudln't have chosen a truck with real steel in it.
Silly toy cars. If my car were similar to the one he used to hit me, that accident would have rendered me totaled, and undrivable. I just have to worry about weather issues til i get it fixed. Perfectly drivable.
Posts: 271 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
in my state, passing on the right (as in driving on the shoulder to pass) is illegal. The other driver shouldn't be trying to pass on the right - he should be waiting behind you until you are out of his way.
That being said, my dad was once involved in an accident where he was turning left - and the driver behind him tried to pass him on the left and ended up going in the ditch. Dad had a trailer behind his truck and apparently the left turn signal/left taillight wasn't working. In that case, I think the other driver was morally at fault - if someone is turning, let them turn before passing. Sheesh - is that so hard? However, I think Dad was considered legally at fault because the guy claimed he thought Dad was turning right since he only saw one taillight.
As I recall, Dad was the only one injured - he twisted his knee when he went into the ditch to check on the other driver - and injured his bad knee when he stepped into a hole.
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
You said you only pulled slightly left to make the right turn. That would mean that he was accelerating to pass you before you were all the way over if you had actually been on your way to parking on the other side of the street.
I would also think your insurance company might want to determine how fast the other driver was going when he hit you. It shouldn't be too hard to determine.
One last thing. If it's illegal for you to slide into the left lane to make your turn, is it illegal for large trucks to do the same on city streets? They do it all the time and I've never, ever heard of one of them getting a ticket for it.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
Plus you said you never crossed the center line, so you weren't in the left lane.
This sounds like it was the other guy's fault. I bet your insurance company will agree, unless the other guy happens to have the same insurance company. Then it's cheaper for them to just go along with what the cop said.
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I'm glad you're not hurt and that your truck wasn't too badly damaged!
