Improper Passing (I feel I am not at wrong)

[cyjeff]

He did not signal and was negligent.

You are missing the point.

You were not allowed to pass there. It doesn't matter if he signaled or not.

You decided to go around a car in an unsafe and illegal manner.

 

[turned19today]

You are missing the point.

You were not allowed to pass there. It doesn't matter if he signaled or not.

You decided to go around a car in an unsafe and illegal manner.

He seemed to have pulled over, if I kept going straight I would of hit him.

 

[davidmcbeth3]

too bad

it happened on your birthday

 

[FlyingRon]

He seemed to have pulled over, if I kept going straight I would of hit him.

What he seemed to do is IMMATERIAL. He was driving in a lane on a no passing zone highway, you passed him illegally, unsafely, and improperly.
Unless he was completely off the road, you should not have attempted to pass him.

If you hit him going straight you'd have been breaking a different law and responsible as well.

Larger vehicles (and even smaller ones driven by idiots) may swing right to make a wide turn.

 

[ecmst12]

I disagree that OP is 100% at fault, though he will be more then 50%. But the other vehicle swerving right to turn left was certainly negligent and contributed to the accident.

 

[FlyingRon]

I disagree that OP is 100% at fault, though he will be more then 50%. But the other vehicle swerving right to turn left was certainly negligent and contributed to the accident.

I disagree. Who said squat about swerving? The original post certainly indicates the contrary. He said he started moving to the right. This isn't a swerve, it's clearly to gain a little extra room for the turning radius needed to make the turn.

There are two issues here that he might try to bring up in court. First, was the failure to signal. Second, and I missed this the first time, that the truck was making a U-turn rather than a left. U-turns are illegal on curves or other places of restricted visibility. Don't know if this applies to where this occurs. Of course neither exonerates him from the ticket but it might decrease the civil liability.

Of course, the fact the OP was cited and the truck driver was not isn't going to bode well for him with the insurance companies or a civil action.

 

[ecmst12]

The law will say that turns are to be made from the farthest part of the road in the direction of the turn that's possible. So making a left turn OR a u-turn from the right lane, right shoulder, or after moving to the right part of the lane is improper, AND really f-ing stupid.

 

[FlyingRon]

The law will say that turns are to be made from the farthest part of the road in the direction of the turn that's possible. So making a left turn OR a u-turn from the right lane, right shoulder, or after moving to the right part of the lane is improper, AND really f-ing stupid.

This is a two lane road (one lane in each direction) with a double yellow line. The truck turned from the ONLY lane. The NJSA doesn't make any such prohibition. The closest statute involves making left turns at intersections.

Please avoid the profanity, edited to avoid the forum filters or otherwise. It does nothing to enhance your point.

 

[HighwayMan]

Is there a shoulder there? The OP contradicts himself by saying at some point that the other vehicle was on the shoulder, but then says in another post that if he would have gone straight he would have hit the other vehicle.

 

[FlyingRon]

Is there a shoulder there? The OP contradicts himself by saying at some point that the other vehicle was on the shoulder, but then says in another post that if he would have gone straight he would have hit the other vehicle.

For most of that stretch, there's about half a lane of paved shoulder and a hard curb on both sides of the road. It's unlikely he was moving on the shoulder, but as described, swinging right a bit to get more radius to make the U turn.