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Alright.
A few weeks ago, I had a minor car accident.
I was driving home from Uni, and as I was approaching an intersection, I noticed a car in front of me driving very slowly.
This being located in my neighborhood and me knowing that the intersection is plain//clear//easy to see (you can see clearly in every direction, there's no bushes around or anything like that) I decided to pass that car so I get home faster. The car didn't have any of the blinkers blinking so I figured it's going straight and I'm safe in doing this.
Suddenly, as I'm parallel to that car, maybe even slightly ahead, it turns left and bangs into me!
Nobody was hurt or anything, but the thing is, the money stuff has gotten a bit complicated.
We didn't call the police because initially I was sure they would pin the entire thing to me, because it was me who was passing this car in an intersection. The woman who was in the other car was considered 'being good' by not calling the police. We agreed to deal with this among ourselves like civilized people without the extra costs of police coz it was a minor accident.
But now, my insurance(which are apparently known for being cheap as hell) have refused to give them the full amount of the damages, they only offer them like 20-30%. Which would imply that my responsibility for the accident is those same 20-30% if I understood right.
Sooooo.. Now the husband of that woman calls me and is obviously upset by getting so little money and is talking about hiring a lawyer and arranging a reconstruction of the event in order to prove that they deserve more money.
On the other hand, I have yet to apply for a compensation from their insurance company. (which I initially didn't even intend to do)
Now, if this gets to court and I'm proven more guilty than she, I might have to pay more moneyz than if I simply don't apply for compensation and admit full responsibility because of all the costs of official reconstruction of the event and court costs.
So, if any of you guys knows this stuff... How much weight do each of our mistakes have when talking in context of the law?
Once again, I decided to pass her in an intersection only after she failed to turn her blinkers on.
And then, she made a second mistake of failing to check the mirrors and 'dead angle' to make sure she can turn left safely.
My car is damaged in the side area, while her damage is on the front left edge of the car which indicates that I was slightly ahead when the impact happened.
Here's the pic:
If you have a friend or someone who might give an educated advice about this, I'd appreciate it.
The sums of money are too low for me to seek professional advice, and TL has tackled tougher issues than this one.
I'm interested to see if someone here turns out to be an expert in this, that'd be sweet.
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Well, both of you made mistakes so I don't think either of you could be found 100% at fault for this. You passed where you shouldn't have, and she didn't signal her turn or check her blindspot before turning the wheel.
I'm pretty sure that the guy is bluffing/trying to scare you, and think he can get away with it because he's probably a lot older than you. Think about how much it would cost for him to hire a lawyer and reconstruct the accident. This would be WAY more expensive than minor repairs to the car (I'm assuming she wasn't driving a really nice car). Also, if this went to court if you aren't found 100% at fault, you shouldn't have to pay any of the other party's legal costs and even if you are, you can try pulling the poor student card and the judge might go easy on you anyways.
Whatever you do, don't admit responsibility in any way. If you do, this is probably the only way it could become a nightmare for you if he takes you to court.
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I don't understand your picture:
1) What direction is traffic going in those lanes
2) What lane is she turning from
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Be a man and pay up, you fucked up its 100% your fault, if she had the blinkers or not its still your fault...
why didnt you pass her on the right lane anyway?
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On November 19 2008 05:47 Flaccid wrote:
I don't understand your picture:
1) What direction is traffic going in those lanes
2) What lane is she turning from
errrr they are both going north
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On November 19 2008 05:47 baal wrote:
Be a man and pay up, you fucked up its 100% your fault, if she had the blinkers or not its still your fault...
why didnt you pass her on the right lane anyway?
It's not 100% his fault, keep in mind she hit him. He didn't pass on the right because there is no lane further right, and why would he pass on the right if he didn't think she was turning?
EDIT: What country/state did this occur in?
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On November 19 2008 05:56 Terranator wrote:Show nested quote +On November 19 2008 05:47 baal wrote:
Be a man and pay up, you fucked up its 100% your fault, if she had the blinkers or not its still your fault...
why didnt you pass her on the right lane anyway? It's not 100% his fault, keep in mind she hit him. He didn't pass on the right because there is no lane further right, and why would he pass on the right if he didn't think she was turning? EDIT: What country/state did this occur in?
errrr somebody is not understanding the drawing...
As i see it there is a lane totally clear on the right, he was passing her "invading" the lane where the opossing traffic is supposed to go.
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United States20667 Posts
As far as I know in mainland Europe they pass on the left >>;
edit: and passing on the right is technically 'wrong'
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misunderstood the OP... deleted.
EDIT, Atleast that's how it would be in the US, in my state... Where did this occur? It's prolly also on tape somewhere, atleast I know here theres a camera on almost every intersection.
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You don't pass at an intersection!
WTF were you thinking? 100% your fault.
Pay her everything and think about how dumb that move was.
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On November 19 2008 06:04 Motiva wrote:
So wait... she's turning left from the right lane?
100% her fault?
Solution - She pays for the damage to both cars, and she gets a ticket for failure to yield right of way... and you get a ticket for changing lanes in an intersection
well, if you had called the cops... Am I missing something?
EDIT, Atleast that's how it would be in the US, in my state... Where did this occur?
Its 1 lane in each direction i think. Unless the drawings bad?
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Calgary26004 Posts
You passed her through an intersection?
ROFL
I'm all for aggressive driving, but you majorly fucked up and should pay.
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On November 19 2008 06:08 nitram wrote:Show nested quote +On November 19 2008 06:04 Motiva wrote:
So wait... she's turning left from the right lane?
100% her fault?
Solution - She pays for the damage to both cars, and she gets a ticket for failure to yield right of way... and you get a ticket for changing lanes in an intersection
well, if you had called the cops... Am I missing something?
EDIT, Atleast that's how it would be in the US, in my state... Where did this occur? Its 1 lane in each direction i think. Unless the drawings bad?
Ah... 2way street then? Makes sense... yes 100% his fault then.... but the lack of a blinker is pretty n00b on her part... still 100% his.
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Guys, please don't post any legal advice here if you're not familiar with the respective country's traffic law, this might lead to more trouble than expected.
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Since from what i've gathered, it looks like you're at fault, and going to have to pay... don't pay anything without getting a estimates from a few different places.... you can save a lot of money...
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Seems you fucked up homie. Guess you should pay. Even though she was being dumb and failed to signal her turn, you were dumber for trying that manoeuvre 
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On November 19 2008 06:12 d1v wrote:
Guys, please don't post any legal advice here if you're not familiar with the respective country's traffic law, this might lead to more trouble than expected.
In croatia, serf one's rickshaw is not allowed to pass serf two's rickshaw at the meeting of two cart paths.
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Are these one way streets or two way? One way you passing is no big deal, albeit still wrong, two way you're fucked and should pay full.
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I don't think you can get out of this niteReloaded, you pretty much have yourself to blame for this, the blinker off was retarded but still that doesn't come close to what you did. :p
Besides she was driving slowly, HINT HINT. It always pains me to see what people do in traffic to cut maybe 10 seconds of the travelling time.
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Kentor
United States5784 Posts
this is why i hate people who don't signal. god damn, how hard is it?
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