Who is at fault in this car accident?

Question

Car 1 is traveling south and going straight. Car 2 is traveling north and is wanting to make a left turn. Car 2 is in the middle of the intersection waiting for a safe time to make their turn.

When the light turns red, car 2 starts to make their turn when Car 1 runs the light and hits the side of car 2.

Here is what the accident would look like.
http://img295.imageshack.us/my.php?image=accidentze9.png

Who would be at fault in this accident?

Driver of car 1 got summons for "Failure to exhibit registration and insurance"

Driver of car 2 got no charges against them.

On the accident report the police officer marked the "Apparent Contributing Circumstances" as "Driver Inattention" for both cars invovled.

Answer 1

They will both be at fault and likely both would receive tickets. BUT look at it this way.

If car #1 was proceeding normally (had the light) car #2 would be at fault because the vehicle code says that you make your turns when it is safe to proceed.

The on coming car (redlight or not) made the turning unsafe ..

sooooo... the major cause of the accident was car #2.

.

Answer 2

The driver of Car 1 is at fault all the way because he ran the red light. Car 2's driver was OK in the intersection because he had a green light at the time. And because he was in the intersection when the light turned red, he had the right-of-way over vehicles not in the intersection.

Now, even though Car 2's driver had the right-of-way, he should have been paying better attention. But in a civil case, Car 1's driver will be held fully liable because he was the one whose act made the crash possible to begin with.

Answer 3

If the one driver had no insurance and registration, should they even be on the road in the first place? No.

If the officer is putting the blame on both drivers as inattention, I say they both be at fault 50/50. Car 1 ran the light, but car 2 didn't make a safe turn.

Answer 4

I was involved in a similar accident about 10 years ago. My husband was driving the equivalent of Car #2, which was sitting in the middle of the intersection waiting for safe time to make a turn. The light turned yellow and all looked clear and he proceeded to make the turn. A stopped car in the far right (oncoming) lane decided at that moment to turn right, blocking my husband from completing his turn. Another driver (our equivalent of your Car #1) sped through the light, which was now red (he was speeding about 10 mph over limit). He hit the front passenger side of our car. He had consumed a six pack of beer AND he sued us later! He lost, because the violations were all on his side and not ours. (Plus his premise that he sustained serious medical damage was unfounded, as my own injuries were far worse than his or anyone else's in the accident-I was the only one who couldn't walk after the accident.)

The mitigating factors might be that 1) Car 2 believes the coast is clear-if Car 1 is speeding then Car 2's liability would be less. Since Car 1 ran a red light, then I'm leaning toward Car 1 being at fault, since, but for the illegal action (running the red light), Car 2 would have completed the turn safely and legally. the charge of inattention would have to rely on witnesses and accident scene investigation data to determine just how far away Car 2 could have seen Car 1 coming at that particular intersection (this was a factor in our case, as our Car 1 came over a blind hill at a high rate of speed and we did not see him at all until he hit us).

Answer 5

They are both at fault. Department of Motor Vehicles says that you cannot enter an intersection to turn unless you can safely turn before the light turns red. So Car #2 shouldn't have been in the intersection to make the turn because they couldn't safely complete the turn in time for the light to turn red. Car number 1 should have stopped at the red light also. They are both at fault.

Answer 6

Wow, I'm surprised a cop would list contributing factors.

I would put the guy who ran the red light as PROXIMATE CAUSE of the collision, and the guy making the left turn contributory for inattention.

The guy in the intersection, regardless of the color of the light has control of the intersection and right of way. If he's in the middle and the light turns red....he has to clear the path and all cars have to yield to him in order to do so safely.

The guy running the red light...he's just stupid and shouldn't have done it. "But for" his actions, the accident never would have happened.

The fact one driver didn't have registration or whatever it was...that's not proof of negligence & has no bearing on liability.

Answer 7

Both drivers failed to operate their vehicles safely: car 1 should not have run the red, and car 2 should not have turned into on-coming traffic, whatever the light signal. I think the insurance companies would probably give equal blame to both drivers. I think the police would definitely charge the red light runner for intentionally breaking the law. Not sure if they would charge the other driver; his actions are more accidental than intentional.

Answer 8

Car 1 shouldn't have run the light, but without witnesses thats hard to prove that they did. Car 2 had the right of way, but should have looked to see if anyone was coming -- even though they SHOULD HAVE, they didn't *have to* legally. Car 1 was wrong, but like I said its hard to prove that the light was red. If the light weren't red, Car 2 would haved been at fault for going in Car 1's path

Answer 9

Car 1 is at fault. Car 2 will have to have proof or witnesses to the timing (running red light).

Answer 10

Both cars seem to be at fault, as both of them were driving unsafely. Car 2 did not wait for a safe time to turn, Car 1 ran the light. Accidents typically happen when two people make mistakes at once.