I was driving on a two lane road yesterday and the speed limit is 45mph. There was a car in front of me going slow, so I decided to pass him. When I was passing him/her a car coming from a side street was making a right turn ( which meant it was going to come at me head on) I saw the turning car not really stop at the stop sign so I layed on my horn, he went off into the grass and I finished my pass. Now my question is, if he hit me, whos fault would that have been.? MIne even thou I was doing a legal pass or his who did not look both ways even thou he really only need to look one way
2007-10-11 06:09:39 · 7 answers · asked by tamparav 4 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Safety
It would have been his. The person already on the main street always has the right-of-way. The person at the stop sign always has to yield.
2007-10-11 06:18:45 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I hate to burst the bubble, but both of you were wrong.
The other car obviously did not make a complete stop and never looked in your direction. It's what we call making an assumption.
By law... you are not allowed to pass another vehicle in an intersection. Your scenario is the reason why. If you notice that most intersections are marked with a double yellow line from about 100' back from the intersection. Because of this law, the other driver "assumed" that the lane he would be going into was vacant. Oops.... You were there...
Be thankful that it turned out the way it did, but keep an eye out for intersections when passing. You not only need to check the oncoming traffic before committing to your passing maneuver, but also look for intersections, driveways, etc.
Good luck and safe motoring...
2007-10-11 15:29:38 · answer #2 · answered by Wired for Sound 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The car pulling out to make the turn needs to look BOTH ways, even though he only expects vehicle traffic from only one direction. YOUR car would be an example of why, but, more likely, it would be a pedestrian that would face the greatest risk of being hit by that driver.
Whether or not you made a legal passing manouver, NO driver has any business moving his car in ANY direction with out LOOKING in that direction.
2007-10-12 23:30:42 · answer #3 · answered by Vince M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the car did not stop at the stop sign it would be his fault. But if he did, and it would be hard to prove that he didn't, it would be your fault. Although it was legal to pass at that point, you still have to anticipate people turning out from side roads and you would be at fault for dangerous driving.
2007-10-15 01:42:59 · answer #4 · answered by c420wizzle 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When turning at a stop sign, a driver does need to look both ways. In addition to looking out the driver's side for traffic, he also needed to look in your direction to make sure that there were not stopped vehicles blocking his path.
2007-10-11 14:20:20 · answer #5 · answered by StephenWeinstein 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like the other car failed to yield at a stop sign. Plain and simple.
2007-10-11 13:18:13 · answer #6 · answered by G Y 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm assuming you were in a passing zone so it would have been his if you could prove he didn't stop at the stop sign. . If not then it would have been yours.
2007-10-11 13:19:15 · answer #7 · answered by Joey R 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋