Description: it was may 28, 2009 about 7-7:30pm. it was a residental area, 2 lanes, day and dry outside. i was traveling in the right lane and stopping to turn left in a private drive. i drive an 2001 expedition and had a small 2 wheel car dolly attached and had a passenger. the vehicles behind me slowed down and witnessed me yielding and turn left in the drive. in the opposite lane came a honda car flying at a high rate of speed from far down the road (Which the speed limit was 40mph)and struck my side of vehicle. she left 67 ft skid marks plus 2 1/2 ft more after contact with my vehicle. she has no insurance, driving on suspended license, speeding. she had 2 small kids. one was in a seat belt and the other was small in a car seat that was not bucked to the car and was flipped over facing floor board. the lady jumped out of her honda car getting on her phone. i myself got her kids out of car. the witness right behind me stated in audio to insurance company that she witnessed everything. she witnessed me yield and says to her opinion that it was the other drivers fault due to high rate of speed. the off duty officer 2 cars behind me says he never saw the honda when i was turning and then his veiw was obstructed due to me turning after i yielded. my passenger even witnessed it, he was on the side that was hit. the lady whom struck my vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, on suspended license, and no auto insurance. the insurance says im 60% at fault and her at 40%. i feel thats only cause i cant recover any profit if im over 50% at fault, which i shouldnt be at fault. i have pictures, witness statements. i need help recovering my (totalled) vehicle loss and pain in suffering. she wasnt even legal to be driving and i was totally legal with license and insurance. so therefore i feel she is at fault
sounds like you pulled out in front of her, you are screwed
You were turning left you are responsible for making sure the way is clear. She may have been speeding which could be augured was a contributing factor but she had the right of way and you didn’t. At best you are both responsible but there is no way it is all her fault and the fact she has no license and insurance doesn’t change that.
You still could be cited for failure to yield to on coming traffic regardless of the other driver’s actions. That’s the insurance company’s determination. Had you not turned, she would not have hit you. Her driving status has no bearing on fault assignment.
Did you know that if you enter an intersection on a green light and have an accident, you still can be cited? You can’t enter an intersection until is safe to do so regardless of the shade of the green light. Same with turning across on coming traffic lanes! You can’t turn unless it is safe.
The other driver will still face citations for her driving habits and lack of license and insurance. Speeding may also be added to her list after the investigation.
Unfortunately when you make a left turn in front of some one and get hit, even if they are speeding, you carry the majority of the fault. She should not have been driving on a suspended license with no insurance and probably will be ticketed and penalized for this, but I see where the insurance company is coming from. Also, from the 67 feet of skid marks, they may not be sure she was actually speeding. Stopping distance for a vehicle going 40 miles per hour is 120 feet.
She is at fault regardless of the circumstances because she was not supposed to be there. She had no license to drive. And that is against the law. Therefore, she had the accident during the commission of a crime. She is SO SCREWED ! ! !
I know this can be frustrating, but the accident is your fault. No license or no insurance doesn’t matter unless you live in a “no pay no play” state, which you obviously don’t since your insurance found you 60% at fault. Anytime you get hit on the side while you’re making a turn, the insurance would find you at fault every time regardless of their speed. I think 60/40 fault is pretty good. I hear that these types of accidents are usually 80/20 or 100/0. I think putting 40% fault to her means they believe she was speeding excessively. More than half the fault is always put to the driver making the left turn.
I hope everyone is okay and there weren’t any serious injuries.