i would have seen her if that damn SUV wasn't beside me.. meaning he took off first.. the Intersection was clear when i entered, my light turned green... and then the SUV took off, and i followed about 3 feet behind his front bumper.
thanks guys.. yeah.. A pillar.. i know it's one of those... it didn't cover "her".. just her lights hitting the groun that i normally spot before a car gets even close to me. you must understand, i track traffic.. when a car appears in my vision, i usually know what kind of car it is and about how fast it's going. My witness in my passenger seat did see her enter the intersection at a high speed when my light was green.... i was right next to the SUV... he was far enough away to see a car enter the turn and run in front of us. He said it looked like she never slowed down. the light turn delay is 1 second (from her red to my green). i think that yellow is a 3 second delay. It took me a good 3 second to hit her. At he speed it only takes me about 3 seconds to enter and exit an intersection. After i hit her it took her a good 30 to 40 feet or so to stop.
I have been in and witnessed a few accidents in my day. Once, when in an accident, none of the witnesses stuck around to provide a police report. Since there were no witnesses, the person who hit me was not found to be at fault (read "LIED") and I was forced to pay for my own reparis. Vowing to never let that happen to anyone else, I always stop and provide a police report when I witness an accident. On two occations, both insurance companies called me and I answered all their questions. I make it very clear that don't know either party and have no personal or financial gain. So anyway, where's the guy in the SUV? Is there a police report with his name on it? Did he bolt from the scene since he wasn't damaged? What's that guy got to say about what happened? Unfortunately, I do not think the witnesses in your car will be able to help you. A cousin of mine was hit by a red-light runner with no witnesses except the poeple in the respective cars. In the end, since every witness in both cars swore that it was the other car's fault, it was declared a no-fault accident. I would think that passengers are not allowed to sway the outcome since they are most-likely biased.
Cooljw is correct "green does not mean go and have an accident." I learned to drive in California and drove there for 18 years before moving. I did learn to drive defensively in California, but have learned even more taking the required defensive driving courses in NM to maintain my license for driving a state vehicle. The defensive driving courses advocate, and I practice, at least counting three seconds once your light has turned green before entering the intersection whether you can clearly cross-check the incoming traffic. I tell ya..counting to three has saved my bacon more times than I can count here in NM since there seems to be more of a tendency to run red lights here than what I would consider "normal.". V8, I do feel sorry for your accident, but chalk it up to learning to wait a bit regardless of the other drivers around you are doing ...it could have been worse or it could have been a pedestrian.
i did wait.. i was the second to take off... do you guys seriously not listen. I'm probably one of the most defensive drivers on the road. I've had cars cut me off at 45mph... that's them cutting across my lane.. in the rain.. to get to my right... no blinkers... in the rain i had to fishtail my rear end out of the way to keep the car from T-boning me.. the list goes on... and on.. and on. I waited. I never jump a light. I checked the intersection, it was clear. I processed after the large SUV beside me did. Either way my insurance is probably going to pay for it (my damages).. A police office did show up.. she said her report isn't necessary, and left. The SUV driver did not stop.. he just simply left. We have everything after the accident on film... her talking.. me talking.. police officer... etc.. and her saying her little " i though the light was still yellow when i entered the light".. and us saying that we ddin't enter till a clear couple seconds after our light was gree, and the intersection was clear at that time.
Sorry for not listening. It is sounding more and more like she actually ran the red light and in her little mind the light was yellow (I'm thinking it was yellow when she was way back in the lane and it happened to turn red as gunned the car to turn). If you have a car full of witnesses saying it was green and you waited and the SUV started and slammed on the brakes but you happened to hit her then she probably really was running a red. P.S. I didn't see your 12:20 explanatory message when I was writing my reply (probably because I had to answer a phone call while trying to type...sorry...)
Okay, the way I read that CA law excerpt, it's fine to enter the intersection and wait for my left *IFF* there is room for me to proceed out of the intersection after appropriate yielding and making the turn. That actually *helps* traffic flow, and is not a gridlock situation since when the light turns, the small amount of traffic potentially waiting in the intersection is small and promptly clears. Unless something really pathological is going on, in which case the secondary or tertiary left-turners also waiting might need to back up some and wait out the cycle. . Gridlock is getting *trapped* in the intersection, usually a result of bad planning when going *straight*. Rarely on turns. . _H*
Actually, I remember getting docked a couple of points (I still passed) when I took my first driver's test. The DMV guy wanted me to go into the intersection and wait until the light changed. I would be "first in the intersection" and be able to complete my turn. The company I work for makes engine systems for hybrid buses. They want more drivers (to move buses around). They will pay for the medical and will let me use one of the buses for the test. That would be a trip, to see what the rules are for them.
So... the inspector guy for my insurance came today. He took a quick look and a few photos. he estimated (without pulling the bumper off) that it's between 2 and 3k to fix. The light cost around 400 dollars. The bumper is around 700 or 800. When the bumper gets pulled off the foam has to be removed and the car has to be checked for the metal being bent. No frame.. just metal piece after metal piece. http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_g...i=106524,00.jpg check out that photo. If you look at the front passenger side.. you see no supporting frame. you have the impact bumper piece. that is what hit her wheel and bent her wheel/rear axle. So.. i'm guessing some of that metal crushed and has to be replaced. oh gee...
Gosh, your car in the photo looks like a lot more damage was done to it! Half the roof is gone! Man, that's going to cost a LOT to fix! B)
oh... interesting... so, if she was doing about 20 miles per hour ( i think she was doing a little faster.. ok.. a lot).. then that's 30 feet per second.. if the accident was.. oh.. let's say even 2 second after my green, she would have cleared 90 feet from the time hear light turned red till impact. I think it was more like 5 seconds after. It took me a good two second till i even started to accelerate. the impact was probably 2 to 3 seconds seconds after i started to accelerate.. and with a 1 second delay before my green.. then she traveled (15mph) at least 100 feet... about 108.5 feet. but she wasn't going that slow. Not if she sped up to make the light. and she "thought" the light was still yellow.. yeah... sure.. about 6 to 7 seconds before i hit her. the light isnt red if she isn't looking at it.. common sense says she wasnt' looking up.. but at the corner to make sure gets through as fast as possible.. after all. she was "going home".. because she "got off of work early for once and wanted to get home" my dad said i should have asked her " why did you run that red light?"
Actually in California, if you have entered on the green it is always legal to continue through the intersection (as you need to clear the intersection), if you enter on the yellow and have not cleared by when it is red then it is illegal. Sorry, just needed to clarify, when the light is green and you are trying to turn left you are supposed to enter the middle of the intersection and make the left when safe to do so, even if that is on the yellow or red, as you are already in the middle of the intersection. I almost got a ticket for not pulling into the middle of the intersection on a green light, thus the reason I know this. If you are approaching the light and it is yellow, you should be extremely cautious, if you did not see it chanign from green to yellow you should stop on the yellow.
