I was recently involved in a T-Bone accident I was the driver that hit the other vehicle( he failed to yield at a stop sign). I told the officer I was going the speed limit but on the police report he put I was going 45 in a 35. The other vehicle he listed at 15 mph. When I hit his vehicle there were no skid marks for excessive speed and his vehicle did not move or turn. (Hit driver door) I’m not a crash expert or anything but two cars that have around the same weight. If a car going 45 mph was to hit a car going 15 that car would’ve turned. Or made some kind of movement. For this the insurance companies are putting me at fault as well as the driver who failed to yield.
I’m not seeing a debate here. I think it’ll do better in MPSIMS.
Failed to yield at a stop sign? What?
Do you mean he failed to stop? Because stop signs mean stop. Not yield.
Which is it? Could you be a little clearer maybe?
You told the officer you were “doing the speed limit”, how fast were you actually going?
This isn’t a battle you’re likely to win. These insurance companies have an agreeable business model that works for them. If you want to buck that system, it’s going to cost you way more than it’s worth. And that’s exactly the way they want it.
You admit you hit the other driver. So you’re just as much at fault as he is.
What did the other driver and witnesses say?
Most state laws require that a vehicle approaching a stop sign first stop and then yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and other vehicles already in the intersection. For example, here is the California Vehicle Code section:
@cochran
I don’t see how that works. If Other Driver pulled out unexpectedly from a side road right in front of Ovo he may not have had time to stop.
Certainly getting hit on the drivers door rather than from behind seems to indicate Other Driver pulled out without having the space to do so safely. Otherwise, they would have been hit from behind.
OTOH … if you’re actually, factually speeding … yeah, fault there. And *driving *at 45 doesn’t necessarily mean *hitting *at 45. I’m gonna assume there was some braking involved at some point.
If the other vehicle was in fact going an estimated 15 mph upon impact they probably did not come to a full stop for the stop sign. Since you hit the driver’s side they wouldn’t have crossed a few lanes and/or a median beforehand.
You are not asking a question so I assume you are just sharing. But physics says that it doesn’t matter whether the other car was going 15 or 50, the deflection from force at a right angle would be the same.
I would challenge the officer’s determination of your speed. The only evidence he had for your speed was the level of damage to the other car, which we don’t get to see. I don’t think an officer eyeballing the scene can tell the difference between damage at 35 vs. damage at 45.
I’m assuming this was NOT a four-way stop. Because you would never have gotten up to the speed limit while still in the intersection. So, if the other driver had a stop sign, and you did not, there is no way this should be your fault.
If it *was *a four-way stop, and you were going the speed limit, that means you never stopped, and it would be your fault all the way.
Your travel speed probably wasn’t the deciding factor (as far as your insurance company is concerned) in their decision of fault. What were the conditions when you were driving, rainy, nighttime, visibility etc. Were you traveling with the flow of traffic or ahead of the flow? The speed limit is the max you’re legally allowed to drive under normal conditions.
That said, insurance companies will sometimes purposely try to put part of the fault (in your case the other driver’s company) to minimize their payout. I once was T-boned while driving a rental car. The accident was 100% the other driver’s fault (I was in stopped traffic and he pulled out of a side road directly into me) and the CC I used automatically gave me Loss Damage coverage with the rental agency. The other driver’s company sent me an intimidating letter stating I had to give them my insurance company info. I wrote back saying to contact my CC company and leave me alone. They never wrote back.
I honestly believe I wasn’t speeding the officers police report is off. He put speed at impact 40 mph still that would’ve moved the other vehicle and he put distance traveled after impact 11ft!!! 11 ft is some distance after a accident considering after I hit his vehicle( i did not have a stop sign) his car did not move. His door is smashed in and his window is broken. Nothing of my car came off but air bags and bent up bumper and hood
Give your story to your insurance company. They are better at determining if your story makes sense than several amateur dope heads on the internet. Besides, the claims adjusters at your insurance company are motivated to reduce the amount of claims they pay and shift it to the other driver’s insurance company. They are the best to help you.
If you are involved in an accident you are required to provide license, registration, and insurance, even if it’s 0% your fault. Your Loss Damage waiver was only for the rental car, not other cars involved, so the other’s driver’s company legitimately does not care about that, and there would be no reason for them to contact your CC company. I am surprised they did not follow up when you refused to provide legally required information. I assume there was no police report, or the police would have collected and provided the information.
Did the impact push his car directly sideways to his right? Were there skid marks from his tires going sideways?
If you pushed his car 11 feet sideways that could be an indication of your speed.
That’s the complete truth. Here’s my story and what I’ve learned. My wife last Friday got T-boned by a car running a red light. The girl got out and asked what happened. The driver of the car behind her leaned out the window and said she ran a red (unfortunately, the driver drove away without giving us contact information.) The girl admits she wasn’t paying attention. The girl then apologizes to my wife and tells her not to call the insurance company and she’ll pay out of pocket since she was in an accident at the exact same intersection 3 months earlier (that was deemed no-fault, that should have been a clue.). Wife calls the cops and they come. The girl lies on her statement and said that my wife ran the red. She puts in a claim to her insurance company saying that my wife ran the red. We decide to put in a claim after she doesn’t respond to any of our texts. Her insurance company says that they can’t determine fault, so they refuse to pay. We only had liability on the vehicle since it bluebooks at 4 grand. Long story short, we have a 3700 dollar repair bill. Our only recourse is to sue the girl who hit us. Our legal fees will almost be as much as the repair costs.
Long story short, if you’re involved in an accident, lie through your teeth. Make up any reasonable story and you can keep your premiums lower. If you’re involved in an accident, make sure you get every single witness’s contact information.
Not always. I hit someone pulling out of a driveway without looking. I was not judged to be at fault at all - no increase in insurance, no ticket, no nothing.
It helped the other driver had no license or insurance. The cop asked if I has been wearing a seatbelt (I was) and then chewed out the driver who got hit.
I hope you took pictures. That would help.
The insurance company, based on the damage to your car, probably can figure out how fast you were driving. Far better than a random cop who didn’t see the accident.
And insurance companies are not necessarily eager to rip off customers with real claims. They don’t necessarily want you to jump ship right away.
There is a stop sign - for a 3 way intersection - right in front of my house. 75% of cars don’t really stop, and maybe 10% hardly slow down. So I’m with you.