06-21-2003, 08:43 AM
Quote:Anyway, I got ticketed for the incident, which incensed me to no end. Apparent;y, since I was the one not hurt, I was at fault. Or something.
The reason you got ticketed was because you were pulling out in front of him. Again, it's a right-of-way issue. The other gentlemen (HA!) had the right of way; you turned in front of him, thus blocking his path (right of way), and so he hit you. That's why it was your fault.
Now, if you ask me, if he was speeding, you should not have been found at fault. Or, at the very least, you should not have been found SOLELY at fault. I have a friend who had a similar incident, and he ALMOST got found at fault (in addition to the other person involved, not solely), but he wasn't. The cop let him off with a warning, and a lenient one at that. Essentially what happened was my friend was making a left-hand turn (may have been a U-turn, but I can't say for sure). He saw the other guy, and he had plenty of time and room to make his turn. He took it, and ended up getting T-Boned, big time. Completely smashed in the passenger-side door (his little sister, younger by only a couple years), and sent the car reeling. The speed limit was around 25 or so; his car had some sort of impact support that worked up to 25 M.P.H. The guy was doing WELL over that (the skid marks proved this), but by the time he hit my friend, since he had slammed his breaks, he was only doing 25. My friend's sister got off VERY lucky. I forget exactly how fast he was going, but I THINK it was around 50+, and if memory serves it was in a 30 zone, or something to that effect. Regardless, this guy was FLYING over the speed limit. He was, of course, found at fault, but my friend was given a warning by the cop(s) (more like a tip / lesson than a warning) about the nature of the incident: the fact that it was a left-hand turn, etc.
Now, personally, I don't think you should have been found at fault, or at least SOLELY at fault, but I can at least understand why you were. It's a blind corner, hence the responsibility falls (once again) NOT on the driver so much as on you. Combine that with the fact that you were pulling out, thus getting within his right-of-way, and you have the reasons why you got blamed. However, given that he was speeding, and that HE hit YOU (rear-ended, no less; not even T-Boned), he should have been found at fault AT LEAST as much as you were. If he T-Boned you, I wouldn't feel quite the same, as then you truly would have been cutting him off, speeding or not. However, since that was not the case, there is absolutely NO excuse why he should not have been found at fault.
Frankly, I would have revoked the guys license for 180 days, at least, and sentenced him to a driver's education course. But that's me, and I ain't the law. Sorry to hear about your fate, in any case. Mayhap your future will not bear similar results. ;)
BTW - if you want a REAL headache, try getting pulled over because the cops think you're driving a car with stolen plates. I'll have to tell you about that story sometime. ;) It's anti-climactic, at best, as nothing happened, but I can't tell you how scared I was during that incident before they let me go. Getting accused wrongly of a crime is NO fun, but at least they didn't drag me out of my car or anything. The issue was settled before it reached that point, although it took at least half an hour. :P
Roland *The Gunslinger*