I was cited in the mail as having an unsafe lane change on the highway a month ago. I was traveling about 90km on the freeway when I switch into the far right hand SLOW lane. A sec. later I heard screeching of brakes &saw in my mirror a car hitting the ditch and flipping. Witnesses, who stopped, saw the whole thing & gave their details to the cops. I waited for the cops further down & they just took my license & reg. of the rental car.*(There was no contact between the cars). I think the other car was either not paying attention to me or was going to fast but cop said it was difficult to say. I did turn my signal on and made the proper check before. Either way I have an attorney of the other party trying to contact me. Now in my case what is next? I did contact my Insurance Company to explain the scenario but they have not heard anything yet. I live in Canada and the incident happened in the US.I really am stressed about this as I have never been in this type of situation.
2007-08-09 05:54:43 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
Sadly, the evidence is stacked against you, especially if you mentioned the "Slow Lane" in your statement. On a Freeway (Motorway in the UK), there are no "fast" nor "slow" lanes as defined in Law. All lanes have the same speed limit. As you have mentioned the "slow lane" it can almost be proven, just from those words alone that you were reckless as you "assumed" that the other vehicle will be moving slowly compared to the speed you were travelling. However, it appears that the other vehicle was moving much faster and you hadn't checked long enough to get a good assessment of the speed of the other vehicle. Therefore, you had pulled in front of the other vehicle thus forcing the driver to have to break harshly and lose control, to avoid hitting you. I am not sure of the relationship between the US and Canada but if it's a civil sue and not a criminal charge that you are being hounded for, you might get away with ignoring it but it would be best to seek legal advice in Canada. You must remember that if you do decide to ignore it, you may have a problem returning to the US in the future. Alternatively, send a statement, denying that you were the cause of the accident to the insurer of the hire car and let them deal with it but do not have any direct contact with the other party and / or the other party's representatives. Leave that to the hire car insurer and their legal bodies.
2007-08-09 06:13:48 · answer #1 · answered by kendavi 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It appears as if you did not check to good before the lane change and caused an accident. Better get a lawyer!!
2007-08-09 06:08:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe both at fault. You changed lanes too fast and he was driving too fast. It's up to the court. Lawyers help. Get some statements from the witnesses.
2007-08-09 06:08:22 · answer #3 · answered by ted j 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Give Ken D best answer and follow the advice he gives. There is nothing I can add.
2007-08-09 06:50:10 · answer #4 · answered by oklatom 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
get a lawyer ..you can't fight it on your own
2007-08-09 05:58:31 · answer #5 · answered by VWBeetleBear 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋