What is the name of your state?My wife was involved in an accident in the state of Washington about two weeks ago.
The officer arrived on-site after the accident. There were no witnesses other than my wife and the other driver. He eventually issued my wife a citation based on his best evaluation of the evidence. He said my wife failed to yield to the truck which was already in the center lane. He was very nice, and said this is his best understanding with limited information, and we should work it out in court.
The road in question was three lanes, one in each direction plus the center two-way left turn lane. My wife was pulling into the center and had her front end clipped as a truck behind her was trying to pass. The officer said that since the truck was already in the lane, he had the right-of-way, and my wife failed to yield to him. The citation was for RCW 46.61.140 "Driving on roadways laned for traffic".
I've done some research, and Washington has a law RCW 46.61.290 "Required positions and method of turning at intersections" which seems much more appropriate. This law states "A vehicle shall not be driven in this center lane for the purpose of overtaking or passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction."
A local police precinct's website (Lynnwood PD) states on this topic "vehicles traveling down this lane are not at anytime allowed to pass traffic that is either stopped or proceeding in the same direction".
So how then can an officer make a claim that my wife failed to yield to traffic that is not allowed to be passing in that lane? (The term "yield" seems incompatible with this type of lane)
I am only out my deductible, plus I will have to pay the citation, then any increases in insurance rates. I'm not sure how far I should want to go with this. Hiring an attorney seems to be overkill, but I can't stand the thought that I've been screwed-over here.
My insurance company sees this as my wife's fault because their "rule of thumb" says the person changing lanes is usually at fault. I thought the person who did the hitting was usually at fault, but I guess there are always exceptions...
How will the insurance company rule fault? Will they wait for the outcome of the legal proceeding, or is their determination independent of that? (Have they already decided?)
Thanks in advance for anything helpful anyone can provide.
The officer arrived on-site after the accident. There were no witnesses other than my wife and the other driver. He eventually issued my wife a citation based on his best evaluation of the evidence. He said my wife failed to yield to the truck which was already in the center lane. He was very nice, and said this is his best understanding with limited information, and we should work it out in court.
The road in question was three lanes, one in each direction plus the center two-way left turn lane. My wife was pulling into the center and had her front end clipped as a truck behind her was trying to pass. The officer said that since the truck was already in the lane, he had the right-of-way, and my wife failed to yield to him. The citation was for RCW 46.61.140 "Driving on roadways laned for traffic".
I've done some research, and Washington has a law RCW 46.61.290 "Required positions and method of turning at intersections" which seems much more appropriate. This law states "A vehicle shall not be driven in this center lane for the purpose of overtaking or passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction."
A local police precinct's website (Lynnwood PD) states on this topic "vehicles traveling down this lane are not at anytime allowed to pass traffic that is either stopped or proceeding in the same direction".
So how then can an officer make a claim that my wife failed to yield to traffic that is not allowed to be passing in that lane? (The term "yield" seems incompatible with this type of lane)
I am only out my deductible, plus I will have to pay the citation, then any increases in insurance rates. I'm not sure how far I should want to go with this. Hiring an attorney seems to be overkill, but I can't stand the thought that I've been screwed-over here.
My insurance company sees this as my wife's fault because their "rule of thumb" says the person changing lanes is usually at fault. I thought the person who did the hitting was usually at fault, but I guess there are always exceptions...
How will the insurance company rule fault? Will they wait for the outcome of the legal proceeding, or is their determination independent of that? (Have they already decided?)
Thanks in advance for anything helpful anyone can provide.