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ACcident at a yield sign posted before provided merging lane

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Turtlephungi

Guest
I live in South Carolina. I had an accident this morning at an intersection where a yield sign is posted before the provided merging lane. The car in front of me stopped at the yield sign instead of slowly proceeding into the merging lane. The was a no speed rear end collision that occured. Is it proper to stop at the yield sign? SC law reads, inregards to yield signs as follows: "THe three sided yield sign means you are approachingan intersection where you must yield to any lanes you intend to enter or cross approaching from right to left...It is your responsibility to slow down[not stop!!!], look right or left and yield to oncoming traffic. The officer said that a yield sign means stop also because it is red. There is no applicable SC law that states this. What, if any, recourse do I have in court to prove that i should not have been held at fault?
 


Happy Trails

Senior Member
Turtlephungi said:
I live in South Carolina. I had an accident this morning at an intersection where a yield sign is posted before the provided merging lane. The car in front of me stopped at the yield sign instead of slowly proceeding into the merging lane. The was a no speed rear end collision that occured. Is it proper to stop at the yield sign? SC law reads, inregards to yield signs as follows: "THe three sided yield sign means you are approachingan intersection where you must yield to any lanes you intend to enter or cross approaching from right to left...It is your responsibility to slow down[not stop!!!], look right or left and yield to oncoming traffic. The officer said that a yield sign means stop also because it is red. There is no applicable SC law that states this. What, if any, recourse do I have in court to prove that i should not have been held at fault?
**I have never heard of yield to mean someone cannot stop. Obviously if traffic was not allowing him to merge in, what other option does one have?
 

racer72

Senior Member
Turtlephungi said:
I live in South Carolina. I had an accident this morning at an intersection where a yield sign is posted before the provided merging lane. The car in front of me stopped at the yield sign instead of slowly proceeding into the merging lane. The was a no speed rear end collision that occured. Is it proper to stop at the yield sign? SC law reads, inregards to yield signs as follows: "THe three sided yield sign means you are approachingan intersection where you must yield to any lanes you intend to enter or cross approaching from right to left...It is your responsibility to slow down[not stop!!!], look right or left and yield to oncoming traffic. The officer said that a yield sign means stop also because it is red. There is no applicable SC law that states this. What, if any, recourse do I have in court to prove that i should not have been held at fault?
Why did you add the (not stop!!!) to your quotation of the state law. There is nothing that says you can't stop. The fact is you struck a vehicle from behind and it does not matter if the vehicle you struck was obeying the law or not. You can't go around running into vehicles if the driver's are not obeying the law.
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
Yes you can stop at a yeild sign if it is unsafe to proceed and or it is necessary to see the traffic. You can't just plow into them because they stopped no matter the singnage, you always have to drive safe for the road conditions. I have never seen a red yeild sign but it being red instead of yellow should be a clue that the cars may be stopping at times. Why on earth you you drive into a stopped car or were you not paying attention?
 

dequeendistress

Senior Member
You need to leave sufficient room between you and the vehicle in front of you, otherwise you are following too close. You need to be able to stop your vehicle prior to colliding with another or you are going too fast, etc.

Hitting another vehicle from the rear is pretty self explanitory as to who is at fault.
 

JETX

Senior Member
Turtlephungi said:
I live in South Carolina. I had an accident this morning at an intersection where a yield sign is posted before the provided merging lane. The car in front of me stopped at the yield sign instead of slowly proceeding into the merging lane. The was a no speed rear end collision that occured. Is it proper to stop at the yield sign?
Yes. If a person cannot proceed safely, they MUST stop and yield to the other traffic.

What, if any, recourse do I have in court to prove that i should not have been held at fault?
None. You are at fault for assuming the car in front of you was going to proceed through the yield intersection. BTW, a vehicle can stop in front of you at any time for any reason. It is incumbent on YOU to provide sufficient space to stop without hitting them.
 
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Turtlephungi

Guest
However a merging lane was provided so that stopping is not neccessary and to aid in the flow of traffic. When I turned my head to the left to look for traffic there was sufficient distance between me and the other vehicle. The vehicle in front of me stopped without proceeding into a lane in which there is no traffic to yield to. The lane provided is to be used in the merging of traffic, if the vehicle had followed the law by not stopping in the proccess of proceeding into the merging lane ,the accident would not have occurred . I was following the law by approaching the intersection slowly, allowing for plenty of distance, and looking to the left to check for traffic to yield to. That is what the law says. When entering an interstate one does not stop at the yield sign to check for traffic, one procceeds cautiously in the merging lane and yields to any on comming traffic! Right or wrong? In my opinion the accident should be considered a no fault accident because the driver in front of me failed to utilize the provided lane thus contributing to the accident.The accident occurred at zero speed and there was no damage involved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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Turtlephungi

Guest
Yes you can stop at a yeild sign if it is unsafe to proceed and or it is necessary to see the traffic.
There is a merging lane povide so that it is no neccesary to stop and check for traffic!
 

Happy Trails

Senior Member
Turtlephungi said:
However a merging lane was provided so that stopping is not neccessary and to aid in the flow of traffic. When I turned my head to the left to look for traffic there was sufficient distance between me and the other vehicle. The vehicle in front of me stopped without proceeding into a lane in which there is no traffic to yield to. The lane provided is to be used in the merging of traffic, if the vehicle had followed the law by not stopping in the proccess of proceeding into the merging lane ,the accident would not have occurred . I was following the law by approaching the intersection slowly, allowing for plenty of distance, and looking to the left to check for traffic to yield to. That is what the law says. When entering an interstate one does not stop at the yield sign to check for traffic, one procceeds cautiously in the merging lane and yields to any on comming traffic! Right or wrong? In my opinion the accident should be considered a no fault accident because the driver in front of me failed to utilize the provided lane thus contributing to the accident.The accident occurred at zero speed and there was no damage involved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
**And what did the officer say when you told him that?
 

JETX

Senior Member
Turtlephungi said:
However a merging lane was provided so that stopping is not neccessary and to aid in the flow of traffic.
And of course, that has absolutely NOTHING to do to negate YOUR obligation to maintain proper distance between you and the car in front of you... yield sign, stop sign or no sign at all.

When I turned my head to the left to look for traffic there was sufficient distance between me and the other vehicle.
If that was the case, there would not have been an accident UNLESS the car in front of you backed up. The bottom line is..... you moved forward while looking the other way (for oncoming traffic) without looking to make sure the road in FRONT of you was clear.

I was following the law by approaching the intersection slowly, allowing for plenty of distance, and looking to the left to check for traffic to yield to.
Oh??? And what about the car in front of you???

[/quote]That is what the law says.[/quote]
What is what the law says?? Please explain and provide ANY statute that says you don't have to watch the traffic in front of you when moving forward.

Here is the applicable South Carolina statute:
"SECTION 56-5-2330. Stop signs and yield signs.
(c) The driver of a vehicle approaching a yield sign shall in obedience to such sign slow down to a speed reasonable for the existing conditions and, if required for safety to stop, shall stop at a clearly marked stop line but, if none, before entering the cross-walk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting road before entering it. After slowing or stopping, the driver shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching on another roadway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time the driver is moving across or within the intersection or junction of roadways. If such driver is involved in a collision with a vehicle in the intersection or junction of roadways, after driving past a yield sign without stopping, the collision shall be deemed prima facie evidence of his failure to yield right-of-way."
 

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