by Guest » Wed Jul 29, 2009 08:47 pm
So recently I was involved in a car accident where I was on the right most lane on a three lane (local) road (with traffic lights). The other involved party was in the middle lane and decided to turn into my lane (either to make a right turn or simply to merge into my lane) without checking to see if anyone was in the lane he was merging into (me) or even using turn signals.
I was forced to hit the brakes and I turned left to try and avoid him. Unfortunately there was not sufficient distance/clearance and my front RIGHT clipped his REAR LEFT.
The police did not write a report but simply made us exchange information.
I gave my statement to his insurance company stating the above as professionally as possible. The other party also gave their statement and to my surprise said 'they were turning into my lane and did not see me'. This is what the insurance company representative told me. She also mentioned that the other party DID deny NOT using the turn signals.
- You guys have any thoughts on how this will turn out? I feel I had the right of way and he should have checked to make sure he was merging/turning in a safe and proper manner.
- How do I obtain a copy of his statement? Their insurance office said I would need to obtain a subpoena. Is this true?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you guys.
-Nick
I was forced to hit the brakes and I turned left to try and avoid him. Unfortunately there was not sufficient distance/clearance and my front RIGHT clipped his REAR LEFT.
The police did not write a report but simply made us exchange information.
I gave my statement to his insurance company stating the above as professionally as possible. The other party also gave their statement and to my surprise said 'they were turning into my lane and did not see me'. This is what the insurance company representative told me. She also mentioned that the other party DID deny NOT using the turn signals.
- You guys have any thoughts on how this will turn out? I feel I had the right of way and he should have checked to make sure he was merging/turning in a safe and proper manner.
- How do I obtain a copy of his statement? Their insurance office said I would need to obtain a subpoena. Is this true?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you guys.
-Nick
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:48 pm Post Subject:
There are many unknowns here that could make a difference (speed of the vehicles, types/size of the vehicles, etc). I'd say that you have a few things going your way:
He does not deny changing into your lane so your statement that he did this and did not give you a chance to avoid might hold some weight.
What you have going against you:
You rear ended the other vehicle. This usually indicates that you did not maintain a proper distance (yes, I understand... see the statement above).
The point of impact to the two vehicles might indicate that the other vehicle was well within your lane when the impact occurred. That is, he was established in your lane already. If he was able to move this far into your lane, then you should have had time to stop.
As mentioned above, the speeds of the two vehicles makes a difference... what was the speed difference between the two vehicles. Also, the distance between the two vehicles when the person started to merge. Many other things as well come into play when determining liability. Oh, also state laws (comparative, modified comparative, contributory) come into play. If contributory, if your 1% at fault you cannot collect from the other party.
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 09:42 am Post Subject:
I was forced to hit the brakes and I turned left to try and avoid him. Unfortunately there was not sufficient distance/clearance and my front RIGHT clipped his REAR LEFT.
Hey, it seems that he had made the lane change quite successfully when you bumped into him, otherwise, how his driver side can get hit by the passenger side of your car.
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 02:39 pm Post Subject:
.
.
tcope,
'I'm not so sure about that...
What you have going against you:
You rear ended the other vehicle. This usually indicates that you did not maintain a proper distance (yes, I understand... see the statement above).
For starters... they were in different lanes, he was not following the other car, so in my Opinion "Proper following distance rules" should not apply.
The point of impact to the two vehicles might indicate that the other vehicle was well within your lane when the impact occurred. That is, he was established in your lane already. If he was able to move this far into your lane, then you should have had time to stop.
I did a lot of late night [public] Road Racing in my youth and I will assure you that it can take about one second to change lanes.
It would seem Logical that the driver in the far right lane has control of that lane and the driver to his left has control of that lane. And if either wished to change lanes, the one changing lanes should yield to any traffic in the lane they are changing into.
Just my (quick) thoughts.
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 02:59 pm Post Subject:
For starters... they were in different lanes, he was not following the other car, so in my Opinion "Proper following distance rules" should not apply.
They were not in different lanes when the accident happened. But this is also why I mention much more information is needed. All of that information would help better understand if the OP had the opportunity to keep a safe distance. Once you see someone pulling into your lane, you need to react. Many people tailgate thinking it's not their fault that there is not plenty of distance. Other just let off the acceletator to coast to a safe distance, etc. The proper thing to do would be to brake and increase the distance as soon as you realize the other vehicle is moving over. The other vehicle had enough time to complete the lane change.I did a lot of late night [public] Road Racing in my youth and I will assure you that it can take about one second to change lanes.
I'm not sure the other person was "road racing". Typically it takes several seconds to complete a lane change. But this is why I mentioned that much more information needs to be known about this accident in order to know who is liable and by how much. Statements from both drivers would be needed. My first statement:There are many unknowns here that could make a difference (speed of the vehicles, types/size of the vehicles, etc).
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 05:17 am Post Subject:
The facts as there known, regardless of speed, amount of time OP was occupying the lane prior to the other driver switching etc….The other driver’s company is going to side with their insured if the damage is to the OP’s right front and the other driver’s left rear. The only way that this could change is if there was an independent witness, which I doubt since the OP didn’t state that as a fact.
OP, are you telling the truth….it would seem so. Are you going to win this….most likely not, without a witness. You could have been occupying this lane for 3 miles and the other driver was going 100 MPH in a 25 zone and switched lanes abruptly (limited your assured clear distance) , but without an independent witness, him admitting what he did or physical evidence that proves your story, it is an uphill battle. All they see is that you struck him from behind.
Is any of this "fair"? No.
As far as them releasing the statement, no they do not have to give you their client’s statement without you going through legal routes.
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 07:04 am Post Subject:
If we consider the issue of 'who has the right of the way at the time of the accident?' I think we can put some amount of responsibility on the other driver since he was required to allow the cars in the lane to pass first before merging into it.
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