What is the name of your state? California, Placer County
On October 4th of this year, I went into work as usual. I was in the parking lot and saw a vehicle leave a space to my left, approximately 5 spaces ahead. I waited for a moment, drove up and proceeded to pull into the space, and was approximately halfway into it, when suddenly, the driver side door of the vehicle next to me opened. There was absolutely no time to react and no sooner had the door opened when my bumper came into contact with it. The door gouged a deep cut in the bumper, damaged my light housing, and scratched the edge of the hood. All told, it will cost about $1650.00 to repair. After properly parking my car, we exchanged information and then onsite security took a report. I stated exactly as I said above while he said that his door was opened a few seconds earlier and I should have seen it open (my car is louder than usual and I believe that if his door really was open as he claims, he should have heard it approach). Neither of us is claiming responsibility. I have taken the liberty to check with the California Vehicle code on this subject and indeed there is one. Cvc 22517 states:
No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open upon the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.
I have sent 2 letters to the other party stating this and also stating that I will not pay out of pocket even recoverable monies for an accident that I firmly believe to be his fault. My family is also on a tight budget and we cannot come up with the deductable of $500.00 to get repairs initiated. It looks like small claims is where this is heading and after much thought, there are 2 questions that come to mind.
1. Does the code above refer to parking stalls, as well as to common
roadways?
2. Is it enforceable on private property?
Thank you in advance for any advice on the subject.
On October 4th of this year, I went into work as usual. I was in the parking lot and saw a vehicle leave a space to my left, approximately 5 spaces ahead. I waited for a moment, drove up and proceeded to pull into the space, and was approximately halfway into it, when suddenly, the driver side door of the vehicle next to me opened. There was absolutely no time to react and no sooner had the door opened when my bumper came into contact with it. The door gouged a deep cut in the bumper, damaged my light housing, and scratched the edge of the hood. All told, it will cost about $1650.00 to repair. After properly parking my car, we exchanged information and then onsite security took a report. I stated exactly as I said above while he said that his door was opened a few seconds earlier and I should have seen it open (my car is louder than usual and I believe that if his door really was open as he claims, he should have heard it approach). Neither of us is claiming responsibility. I have taken the liberty to check with the California Vehicle code on this subject and indeed there is one. Cvc 22517 states:
No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open upon the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.
I have sent 2 letters to the other party stating this and also stating that I will not pay out of pocket even recoverable monies for an accident that I firmly believe to be his fault. My family is also on a tight budget and we cannot come up with the deductable of $500.00 to get repairs initiated. It looks like small claims is where this is heading and after much thought, there are 2 questions that come to mind.
1. Does the code above refer to parking stalls, as well as to common
roadways?
2. Is it enforceable on private property?
Thank you in advance for any advice on the subject.
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