Am I at fault? please help!!!?

[dasco]

I just want to know who is at fault. Okay so I was driving down a two lane divided highway (one of those ones with an extra curb lane for right turns and stuff) in the farthest right lane (closest to the curb) I guess the other two actual lanes both stopped to let a car turn left from the opposite direction. I didn't see her and I was still moving in this third lane. So she keeps going and I clipped the back of her car. My car ended up being totaled--airbags deployed and even facing oncomming traffic. Was it my fault? Or hers? oh and I got a ticket for speeding...does that matter?

[troyes]

If both lanes stopped to let this car pass, its not your fault. The car doesn't have the right of way so the driver of the car should have been cautious. If you received a ticket for speeding and you weren't you can go to court and say you weren't speeding, the other cars were going to slow. If you were speeding, your insurance company could say its your fault.

Bottom line: If you were speeding, its your fault (legally). If you weren't, take it to court and fight it out. I believe that it wasn't your fault.

[morcan]

If the other two lanes stopped, sounds like you also didn't see that the woman had the right of way as she was turning left with her traffic light ....even if it was yellow for her (why the others had stopped). She was probably clearing the intersection. Since she not only had the right of way AND you clipped the rear of her car, you are totally at fault. You admit that you did not see her, which means you were not keeping good situational awareness and practicing defensive driving. Since she had the right of way, she had no obligation to stop (that's why she kept going) and probably assumed you would stop...since she had the right of way. The fact that your car was totalled indicates you were speeding since there had to be plenty of momentum for your airbags to deploy in the situation you described. You failed to yield and was speeding. Get ready for higher insurance premiums and hope that she doesn't sue you.

Edit: Ditto Ramon. Same point I was trying to make...albeit slightly nicer. However, since you went there, sounds like another displaced blame notion that this current generation seems to be endowed with...or the Bart Simpson syndrome I like to call it. "Not my fault, wasn't me, you didn't see me do it, if that other car wasn't there I wouldn't have hit it, I was trying to answer my text message....." The excuses go on and on. I see it every day. I have actually pulled up next to some clueless drivers and asked them if their parents had any children that lived.

[menw]

Depends on the state, it's her fault she violated the right of way, in some states it's the two cars that let her cross the lanes, yes it's strange, now as far as speeding, how fast did the cop say you were going , how did he decide? the next question is where were you going in the turn lane? If you planned on turning then it's ok if you were avoiding traffic then it's improper lane use. There is just to little information to say for sure. I would contest the speeding ticket, he will need to prove how fast you were going. If you left skid marks, what drag factor did he use? How did he get it? Did he check your brakes if so are all of them working? Lots of questions. If you left yaw marks check his math? Very few cops can work the formulas. Now that I have confused us all, good luck.

[parnell]

I am puzzled. Deeply puzzled as to the nature of your question. What does it really matter what we think about your explanation about this crash? Your statement does not even make much sense to me. Cars usually do not stop on roads unless there is a stop sign or a traffic light! Your use of the term "clipped" is also not accurate. Clipping does not generate enough damages to total a car. A law enforcement officer took statements, evaluated the scene and gave you a citation for speeding. You acted recklessly by operating your vehicle on that third lane without considering what was going on at this intersection. You might have been blind at the moment and did not see the traffic light you conveniently skipped in mentioning. You have attempted to turn this into an innocent error compounded by cars that stopped just to allow another car "turn left from the opposite direction." No one does that. No one. Of course this is your fault. You hit some one with such a force as to cause massive damage. If anyone in this car that you hit had been killed you would have faced manslaughter charges. I call intersections, "imperfections," and must be approached with caution. It seems as if you were in the eternal hurry that most people seem to find themselves in an automatic manner, without reason, without thinking. You got lucky this time. Your lack of care for others on the road could have landed in court and in jail. Yes, this was your fault. No one else. YOU.

[chavivi]

since traffic stop you are required to stop if an adjencet lane of traffic is stop
you didnt

[flannagain]

Any time you hit a car in the rear, it doesn't matter what extenuating circumstances may have existed, it's your fault.

[archy]

Technically they will be found at fault for failure to yield when turning. Personally I feel it should be 50/50 in this case though.

[nissim42]

Technically they will be found at fault for failure to yield when turning. Personally I feel it should be 50/50 in this case though.

If you were not in a through traffic lane the fault will fall on you. Your description of the "other two actual lanes" makes me think that was the case. A friend was in the turning car in exactly this kind of situation and the other driver was found 100% at fault, even though here in Arizona fault can be apportioned by the court.

Everything is a technicality until something goes wrong.