D
dyoung5150
Guest
This accident occurred in Texas: On his way to work in the morning, my boyfriend was making a right-turn from a parking lot onto a busy street. There was already another car waiting behind him. He has a 4-wheel drive 3/4 ton crew cab truck. He found a break in the on-coming traffic and started to pull out. Since his truck is so long, he always has to pull straight out and then swing the truck to the right to keep from hitting the curb while turning into the closest lane of traffic. While he was swinging his truck to the right, he felt an impact. He looked to his right and saw a small Mazda protege had tried to squeeze past him on the right (this was not the car that was waiting behind him but was a car that apparently came from behind the both of them). He didn't understand how the driver of the car was able to squeeze between him and the curb because he didn't think there was enough room for a vehicle.
The lady of the car jumped out, screaming, saying it was his fault, but he said otherwise. She wanted to call the police, but when he said he would call, she said she didn't want the police involved. Then she said there was no damage to his truck, but the front corner of her car had gouged the side of his truck from the front wheel well all the way back to the bed of the truck. She said he didn't have his right turn signal on, but he said that he did. In addition, his truck was already pointed to the right (again, to try to minimize his risk of hitting the curb when executing his turn). They exchanged information and left.
She filed a claim with his insurance company, saying it was his fault because he didn't have his right blinker on, so she was justified in thinking he was making a left turn. They were trying to turn on a major street that is 6 lanes + a median across, so anyone who drives through this area during rush hour knows that it is impossible to make a left turn across that street at that time. My boyfriend filed a claim with the other driver's insurance company to say it was her fault.
His own insurance company (Farmers Insurance) is claiming that it was his fault. The woman on the phone was extremely rude and said it was obvious it was his fault because he had left enough room between him and the curb. Texas traffic codes say that you should make a turn "as closely as practicable to the right-hand curb." Considering the length of his truck and the desire to minimize risk of turning into any lane but the closest one, he thinks he was as close as practicable. In addition, he thought he was close enough to the curb that another vehicle could not fit in that space.
Is there any recourse he can take if his own insurance company is saying he is in the wrong? He feels he did nothing wrong because the woman in the other car was trying to race in front of everyone else to make the turn. In addition, she was the one in visual control of the situation because she could see him, but he could not see her since she was not sitting next to him at the intersection but came from somewhere behind him. She has lied to the insurance company to make it sound like he was making a left hand turn but then changed his mind at the last minute, it seems as if her lie has worked.
My boyfriend is extremely frustrated with the circumstances. If he felt it was truly his fault, this would not be an issue and he would gladly accept the blame. I have not been able to find any regulations about this sort of incident, so any assistance you can give us will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much in advance for your help!
Deanna
The lady of the car jumped out, screaming, saying it was his fault, but he said otherwise. She wanted to call the police, but when he said he would call, she said she didn't want the police involved. Then she said there was no damage to his truck, but the front corner of her car had gouged the side of his truck from the front wheel well all the way back to the bed of the truck. She said he didn't have his right turn signal on, but he said that he did. In addition, his truck was already pointed to the right (again, to try to minimize his risk of hitting the curb when executing his turn). They exchanged information and left.
She filed a claim with his insurance company, saying it was his fault because he didn't have his right blinker on, so she was justified in thinking he was making a left turn. They were trying to turn on a major street that is 6 lanes + a median across, so anyone who drives through this area during rush hour knows that it is impossible to make a left turn across that street at that time. My boyfriend filed a claim with the other driver's insurance company to say it was her fault.
His own insurance company (Farmers Insurance) is claiming that it was his fault. The woman on the phone was extremely rude and said it was obvious it was his fault because he had left enough room between him and the curb. Texas traffic codes say that you should make a turn "as closely as practicable to the right-hand curb." Considering the length of his truck and the desire to minimize risk of turning into any lane but the closest one, he thinks he was as close as practicable. In addition, he thought he was close enough to the curb that another vehicle could not fit in that space.
Is there any recourse he can take if his own insurance company is saying he is in the wrong? He feels he did nothing wrong because the woman in the other car was trying to race in front of everyone else to make the turn. In addition, she was the one in visual control of the situation because she could see him, but he could not see her since she was not sitting next to him at the intersection but came from somewhere behind him. She has lied to the insurance company to make it sound like he was making a left hand turn but then changed his mind at the last minute, it seems as if her lie has worked.
My boyfriend is extremely frustrated with the circumstances. If he felt it was truly his fault, this would not be an issue and he would gladly accept the blame. I have not been able to find any regulations about this sort of incident, so any assistance you can give us will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much in advance for your help!
Deanna