Almost had an accident, now have a question

What is the name of your state? OH

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Cliff Notes: if two cars turn onto the same 4-lane road at the same time from opposite directions and either the guy turning left swings wide into the right lane or vice versa, who would be at fault in the event of a collision?
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On the way to work this morning, I was waiting to turn left onto a 4 lane divided highway from a 2 lane road. There's a stoplight, but no arrow, so on green I pulled out into the intersection to wait for my opporunity to turn (which as far as I know is legal in Ohio).

There was a lot of traffic to wait for, so eventually the light turned yellow. When this happened, I noted that the one car from the opposite direction had already begun to turn right (the same direction I want to go), and that there was another vehicle behind this person who also had his right indicator flashing. Therefore, in order to vacate the intersection in time, I began my left-hand turn, with the intent on turning into the left-most lane on the right side of the 4 lane divided highway. Well this person who I mentioned as being behind the vehicle who had already commenced his right-hand turn decided that he was going to turn right as well. I'm not sure if he noticed that the light was changing from yellow to red or not, since he seemed to be in a hurry. With that in mind, he made a wide right turn with the intent of moving directly into the left-most lane on the right side of the 4 lane divided highway, presumably to pass the person he was behind. Thankfully, we were both able to stop before we hit each other. Obviously in the process I sounded my horn (not out of anger, but so that he would notice me there and not hit me), and then after we came to a stop and I proceeded to move on, he honked his horn back at me, as if it were my fault.

I was under the impression that even if the light were green and we both turned at the same time, if he moved into my lane during his turn and struck my car, it would be his fault. Am I correct in this assumption, or would I be at fault for not yielding to "oncoming" traffic? Obviously the best thing for me to do in that situation is to just sit tight and wait for all oncoming traffic to stop, but natural instinct told me to get out of the intersection before the cross-traffic light turned green.

So I guess what I'm asking is if we hit each other, would it be my fault or his? Either way though, I'll chalk this up to a learning experience and never again assume that other people are paying attention when they drive.

Thanks very much for your time. I hope it's ok to post here even though no tickets/violations are involved.

Larry

Not knowing OH law, I can only base this on what I know of CA law on the matter ... and I am also making assumptions that may or may not be correct regarding the intersection.

Generally, the drivers turning right are going to be required to turn into the right hand lane unless otherwise required to yield. Additionally, the driver turning left will generally be required to turn in to the leftmost lane on his turn. If there were only one lane, the left turning driver would likely be required to yield to the driver turning right.

However, you may want to pose this question to a local member of Ohio law enforcement (preferably one who does traffic enforcement as their primary function).

Carl

Yes, you are correct in your assumptions of the intersection, and what you said makes sense. I just wondered if it would be the fault of the person who is turning left (i.e. me), no matter the circumstances, or if the person crossing lanes would be at fault. Anyone from OH have any ideas?

Thanks!