hclll

WHen I was driving on a highway, I wanted to change to the right lane so I flashed the turning light. But there was an SUV coming up on the right lane. So I pulled back to my original position. THe SUV thought I was going to hit her, so she braked very hard, and the SUV start to spin, hit the truck behind me, and flipped over. My Max didn't touch her.

Whose fault in this accident? If it's mine, i'm goning to loose my Max,'cause my insurance covers only $5000 property damage.

Chris91SE

iTrader: (1)

did you stop or keep going? if you did stop were you written any tickets?

hclll

I stopped. The police didn't write any ticket.

What's your opinion? Maybe I have to argue on the court.

MaDMaX024

if it is your fault, thats the dumbest thing i've ever heard. its not your fault she overreacted and slammed the brakes. did you even start to merge into her lane?
stupid people should have signs.

hclll

I stared to merge, but just a little bit. I don't know whether I touch the center line of the road.

G.Andrews

From the sounds of it, its not your fault.
Stupid drivers need to have an annual driving IQ test to retain the right to be on the road.

Anyway, this sounds like another arguement for the "Stupid Stopper" that the comedian Gallagher talks about...."everyone that owns a car is issued a gun that shoots suction cup darts. if you see someone do something stupid, you shoot their car. the police then pull them over after an accumulation of so many stoppers and gives them a ticket for being an !@#$&."

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

LOL
I used to keep a paint pellet gun in my truck for that purpose.. then I got arrested for it one night.. I no longer do that.

Soon2BMaxed

davis449

I'd say it was the idiot in the SUV's fault. She overreacted, that **** happens all the time. See this is why women should be allowed to drive only Ford Taurus's. I live in West Texas and we have a lot of yuppie rich oil men's wives out here. I swear it's like their husbands give them 9 kids, a Ford Excursion or Chevy Suburban, and a cell phone and tell 'em to have fun. I've almost been killed by those *****es so many times! I'll tell you a neat trick as to how to spot a yuppie stupid ***** in an SUV. It's kinda like the stupid stopper idea, but this one's real. Look at the side view mirrors of any woman's SUV and you will see the scrape marks, I swear. I never recognized it before, but my sister's boyfriend pointed it out to me and now I can't help but see them everywhere I go and not just in Texas either! Now, I'm not gonna knock ALL women on this one cause some of them know how to drive better than any man, but most of them can't drive for ****.

hclll

I don't have witness. What could I say to convince the judge that it is not my fault?

I'm a student, and the Max is all I have. I don't want to loose it.

Thanks a lot.

nupe500

iTrader: (13)

have a thing to worry about...why the hell would you have to go to court anyways, you were not involved. Your car was not involved therefore you are absolved (damn that rhymes)...I wouldn't even go to court, unless you receive a subpeona (sp?) but they would need a valid reason to send you one....

good luck

Tom

If the officer did not issue you a ticket, chances are you don't have much to worry about.

To take a load off your back, open up your Yellow Pages to "Attoneys" and find one that specializes in Auto Accidents (there should be plenty). Initial Consultation is always FREE. Explain to the attorney exactly what happened. Try several attorneys. All it will cost you is your time.

Jon91SE

note to self....... be extra courtious to matt if i ever see him on the road

singhg83

this is kind of what had happended in my accident. You might get a ticket for failing to yeild, but you still never touched her so that means that it should her fault for being reckless. So, you might get a ticket, but not lose your car

hoey

sorry to hear about that

hclll

Although the police couldn't issue me a ticket, he still said I'm the cause of the accident, is that important or not?

OnTheRoad

The advise to contact some lawyers for free initial consultation was good advise. Do you have liability insurance? Does liablity cover additional property damage? A good lawyer helps. I say good and not one who will throw your case. My wife got into an accident (3 cars). The two witness' in the first car said it was car #2 fault. Car #2 said it was my wife's fault. An out of town off-duty cop, who actually witnessed it, said it was car #2 fault. Well the local cop wrote it up as all the witness' saying it was my wife's fault. Well at the trial, the off-duty cop gave a hand written sworn written statement saying that he told the local cop that it was car #2 fault, how it happened, questioned why she wasn't writing it down and and her refusal to write down his statement. The city attorney objected and had that sworn statement thrown out because the out of town cop could not be cross examined. The local cop and car #2 stood by by their stories. The city attorney called the two witness' fro car #1 to collaborate the local cops story. They both said they didn't need the off-duty cops statement, but it was exactly what happened and the local cop also made up their statements and point out that the pictures of the damaged cars clearly shows that the local cop's version could not have happened. The other people (75 busy day) in the court room are upset as such statements made by the local cop and car #2. Instead of the judge reprimanding the local cop, the judge say that the cop was just misunderstood what was been said by the witness' and was not lying. Take home lesson is don't expect truth to prevail unless there absolutely no way do deny it AND there are witness to embarrass the judge for an unjust judgement. Funny how I could find the out of town cop with a couple of phone calls, while the local police said he had moved and couldn't be located. Hopefully your case will not go to trial and can be resolved by the insurance companies.

NYCe MaXiMa

iTrader: (9)

Sounds like she was in the blind spot with the SUV and you just didn't see her, either way, you said you signalled for the lane switch, she should be prepared for that and automatically drop speed gradually, if you did everything at normal paste and signalled a few seconds before you started to merge lanes, she should have just enough time to brake and make some distance, or speed up and pass ya, OR honk the horn!!! You say you merged just a little, and might not have even crossed the lane dividor.. that is not that bad, she just panicked, over something that wasn't even that bad! These kind of things happen every freaking day on the road.... I've been in situations where I was cut off at crazy high speeds suddenly without the other person signalling or anything, but I maneuvered my way out of it, I have a problem, i rarely use the horn unless someone is sitting there while the light turns green...
If everything happened how you described, you can't be held responsible for her turning over and ****... you can get a ticket maybe.. but that would be it..

BlackMaxGoddess

I don't think this can possibly be your fault. I doubt you will even end up in court. Really, the accident is between the SUV and the truck behind you she hit. If you didn't even cross the center line, she totally should have reacted better. I'd talk to a lawyer, but don't pursue the issue if no one contacts you about it. You never touched her car and were in your own lane. How smart do you have to be to know that you shouldn't slam your brakes on?? Besides, she was driving an SUV! (By the way, to the guy bashing women a bit, I am chick who drives a Max very well thank you)

superdesi

Matt, did you sell your car? If yes, why?

Chris Gregg

iTrader: (59)

Just my $.02, as previously said, you were not given a ticket. Hypothetically, if she was cited AND you were, it would be a "no fault" becuase you both were responsible. If you were at all to blame, then ask why did she not swerve in the opposite direction if you were comming into her lane? It doesn't make sense for her to swerve TO you in order to aviod a collision and hit the driver behind you, does it? Do talk to a lawyer though, not to make you worry, a lot of people do not know it, but you can call the police dept. and have the accedent report changed by the officer who wrote the report. I've done it myself and my dad has too.

hclll

The ticket and traffic summons finally come. The accident is described in the beginning of this tread.

The police wrote on the ticket(yellow sheet) : "Improper passing", " overtaking vehicle on the left", "Def. failed to stay to the left of a vehicle he was passing until safely clear of the overtaking vehicle."

What the hell did he write?! I never overtake any vehicle! I was slowing down to enter the turn when the accident happened!

WHat should I do now? If plead not guilty, I have to drive 4 hours to the court. Do I need a lawyer? I appreciate your help.

OnTheRoad

What's 4 hours plus the waiting time, etc. worth to you? If it were me, I would hire a lawyer. Did you consult with a lawyer? Will your insurance pay for the other car under liablity? Is it possible to plead not guility and send in the bail or fine by mail without appearance? Can the lawyer make the ticket go away (no guilty, no no conto, etc. on your record, recorded as a dismissed) and you pay a fine or court cost? How will ---- affect possible suit(s) by the other parties involved (if it happens)? Where injuries involved or claimed (remembering the statute of limitations). These are some questions you should be asking your lawyer and getting expert (I hope) advise from your lawyer. Not from ordinary drivers like me.

Don't worry, but think and act according.

Chris Gregg

iTrader: (59)

In reading those tickets, the accedent reports read car 1, car 2 (or vehicle 1/ or 2) You have to ascertain who they were writing about, who did what. If I didn't say it before, you have a legal right to call the reporting officer and his Sergeant to discuss the matter and even possibly have the report changed. You said you were not sighted, right? What about the SUV? You can find out either in the report, it should be listed, or ask when you call the dept. I had a report changed by calling and discussing it with the reporting officer and his Sergeant (who has the final say) in an accedent determined my fault, it was changed to report "no fault", neither of us were ticketed, but both reported as "failure to yeild." That didn't mean that she couldn't sue me later though, just that my insurance was not liable to pay for the damage on her car. I still had to pay out of pocket for mine, which I thought was fair in MY situation.

custmmax

Ok, now to start off.. if you have to goto court over this, discuss with your lawyer the following.. IF, by chance, she had NOT slammed on her breaks like she did, then the worst thing that could have happened would have been you to bump into her.. it was HER fault for over reacting and causing the accident SHE was in. If you moved over slowly, then say you did to the lawyer, he will use it in court to prove that you could only have barely bumped her, which could have been taken care of by insurance, and everything would have been taken care of then.. it was her stupidity that got her vehicle probably totaled and another vehicle involved.
Trust me, i know how to get out of things.. hehe, i rear ended an audi last octboer in another one of my cars, which sent him into the back of a brand new Mercedes, and a black pickup truck. Would you believe that i have had NO court dates, NO insurance paying for ANYTHING, and it only cost me 140 to fix my other car..
wait, all i had to pay was a measly 60 dollar "following to closely ticket.. lol"