Advice on Stop Sign Accident

[issha]

What is the name of your state? Washington State

Hello, please provide guidance in my situation:

A couple months ago, I was driving with my sister at 8:30pm from our house to a neighbor's house, which is 3 minutes away. I was the driver and my sister was in the front passenger seat of my dark blue 2016 Mazda 3 hatchback.

The main street has a wide pedestrian walkway in the middle, and traffic is only one-way, one-lane on either side of the walkway, with available parallel street parking to the right. Posted speed limit is 30 mph (see pictures attached).

I turned from a side street, stopped at the stop sign, looked left and saw no cars from that stretch of one-way road, and proceeded onto the road towards the pedestrian walkway to go to the other stop sign at the end of that walkway for the one-way road to go left.

As I almost made it through, I got hit from the left. Point of impact was between driver side and middle of vehicle. (See pictures attached for point of impact damage, which is not where the police officer's drawing indicated.) Airbags deployed, and I was spinning out and finally landed facing the wrong way, and my sister blacked out instantly from the whiplash. My car dialed the police dept, and I started passing out as well. The impact pushed my car into two other parked vehicles. The other vehicle had hit us so hard that they landed onto the pedestrian walkway. In addition, when the other car hit ours, I did not hear any brakes or honks.

I was a bit disoriented when the police questioned me, as I did not know that my car had spun several times and ended up facing in the wrong direction.

I was cited for not stopping at a stop sign, and the other driver (with passengers) was cited for a suspended license and driving without insurance.

After 2 months of investigation by the insurance companies, the other vehicle's insurance company stated that I was 100% at fault due to not stopping at the stop sign.

Please advise if I should pursue this further because I did stop, I have a 20+ years record of excellent driving, this is the neighborhood that I grew up in and had visited at least twice a week in the last 12 years, and the other driver is 18 with a suspended license, driving his mom's car, living at least an hour away. The law is right that oncoming traffic have right of way, but do any of the factors in this accident carry weight to offset my 100% fault?

.

Thank you!

 

[adjusterjack]

Please advise if I should pursue this further because I did stop, I have a 20+ years record of excellent driving, this is the neighborhood that I grew up in and had visited at least twice a week in the last 12 years, and the other driver is 18 with a suspended license, driving his mom's car, living at least an hour away. The law is right that oncoming traffic have right of way, but do any of the factors in this accident carry weight to offset my 100% fault?

No.

You may have stopped at the stop sign but you failed to yield to the vehicle coming from the left. You were cited for the stop sign but it's the failure to yield that makes you negligent in causing the accident. The characteristics of the other driver are irrelevant. He could have just as easily been an adult driving with a valid license and insurance, driving his own car, and living 10 minutes away, and he still would have hit you because you appeared suddenly in front of him.

You certainly have the option of suing the driver (and the mother) but I think you'd be wasting your time and money if there were no witnesses and no video of the accident itself. Consult a personal injury attorney and review your options.

 

[Lawyer9696]

It's really sad. And Yes it's your mistake.

 

[not2cleverRed]

I will only note that there has been no comment about excessive speed or obstructed line of view.

It is possible, if someone were, say, doing 75 in a 30 mph zone, that you might not see them in time to avoid them. However, in such a case, you would still have some fault. Since you did not mention it, it apparently isn't a factor.

It is also possible, that you erroneously thought the coast was clear due to a blind spot. There are some intersections that I avoid, knowing that foliage prevents me from adequately seeing the oncoming traffic. And there is one stop sign that I cannot avoid that I say a prayer every time I go through, because the idiot is violating town code with his %&^$ bushes and trees blocks my view of traffic. In such a case, you would still be at fault. You are expected to be aware of visual obstructions to your line of vision and be extra careful accordingly. Because this is a neighborhood that you are familiar with, if the visual obstruction is due to a code violation that you were aware of and did nothing about, you really can't complain.

 

[adjusterjack]

There were photos and a police report here last night. They are gone now.

 

[not2cleverRed]

There were photos and a police report here last night. They are gone now.

Given the posts about another accident (July 2018), I think Issha could benefit greatly from a defensive driving course.

Having 2 accidents within 12 months for failing to yield the right of way should be a heads up.

 

[adjusterjack]

Given the posts about another accident (July 2018), I think Issha could benefit greatly from a defensive driving course

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/my-lane-was-closed-merged-left-and-the-car-hit-me.648841/
Must be genetic. Dad rear ended somebody a few years earlier.

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/toyota-airbags-did-not-deploy-legal-action.277679/

 

[issha]

Here are the photos and police report again: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/t4s8u7ywkfvg99l/AAC7lm8N-RA_lfeuepM6HBaba?dl=0
I have everything redacted, so I'm not sure why the link was removed.

1. My dad's accident was from 14 years ago, not a few years ago. He wasn't able to stop in time when a car braked really hard in front of him (book shelf or something fell off of another vehicle in front of that braking car).
   
   
2. The fender bender from 6/23/18 was because my lane was closed and the guy in the lane I was merging into (who didn't speak very good english) sped up and hit me instead of letting me in. Not sure why he thought that was okay.
   
   
3. Speed WAS a factor - look at my car! If he were going 30mph, my car would not have sustained such damage! The police didn't include it in his report, because that would be an opinion. I didn't include it in my post because I thought the photos would speak for themselves (didn't know the photos would be removed). This was the first and last time I'm driving through this intersection!
   
   
4. Last, but not least, this car is CURSED. I've been driving since 1998 and nothing until I started leasing this car in March 2016. I've had a big rock in my ROOF while driving, got rear-ended at a red light (super minor), windshield got damaged, hit a pole while parking at work, fender bender June 2018, and finally total loss 2 months before my 3 year lease was up.

There are many factors to each issue, but I just came here for advice. I do appreciate everyone's feedback!

 

[Zigner]

Here is the text of the Seattle Municipal code that you were charged with violating (11.50.320). You were NOT charged with failing to stop. You were charged with failing to yield the right-of-way:

Edit: That's covered by the "improper stop" note in the narrative on your police report.

11.50.320 - Stop intersections.


A.
Every driver of a vehicle approaching a stop sign shall stop at a marked stop line, or if none, before entering a marked crosswalk 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 roadway, unless directed to proceed by a person duly authorized to regulate traffic.

B.
Before entering the intersection, and after having stopped, the driver shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle which is in the intersection or which is approaching on another roadway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard. (RCW 46.61.190(2) and 46.61.360(2)) (RCW 47.36.110)


Edit again - here is the link to the code: https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=TIT11VETR_SUBTITLE_ITRCO_PT5DRRU_CH11.50OBTRNTDE_11.50.320STIN

 

[Zigner]

1. 
   
   
2. The fender bender from 6/23/18 was because my lane was closed and the guy in the lane I was merging into (who didn't speak very good english) sped up and hit me instead of letting me in. Not sure why he thought that was okay.

Oh, THAT is you - the guy who thinks he can just merge willy nilly without regard to the presence of other vehicles. I actually remember that post. I'm astonished that you still can't see that you were 100% wrong in THAT incident as well.

 

[HighwayMan]

The fender bender from 6/23/18 was because my lane was closed and the guy in the lane I was merging into (who didn't speak very good english) sped up and hit me instead of letting me in. Not sure why he thought that was okay.

I think I remember that too.

I'm not sure why YOU thought it was okay to merge into another lane without yielding to a car already in that lane. You had no right to be "let in", rather it was your responsibility to yield the right-of-way to other traffic when you changed lanes, regardless of what the reason for the lane change was.

You seem to have problems understanding the basic rules of the road.

 

[Just Blue]

I think I remember that too.

I'm not sure why YOU thought it was okay to merge into another lane without yielding to a car already in that lane. You had no right to be "let in", rather it was your responsibility to yield the right-of-way to other traffic when you changed lanes, regardless of what the reason for the lane change was.

You seem to have problems understanding the basic rules of the road.

Perhaps she would have driven more courteously if the other driver spoke better English...

 

[not2cleverRed]

Here are the photos and police report again: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/t4s8u7ywkfvg99l/AAC7lm8N-RA_lfeuepM6HBaba?dl=0
I have everything redacted, so I'm not sure why the link was removed.

1. My dad's accident was from 14 years ago, not a few years ago. He wasn't able to stop in time when a car braked really hard in front of him (book shelf or something fell off of another vehicle in front of that braking car).
   
   
2. The fender bender from 6/23/18 was because my lane was closed and the guy in the lane I was merging into (who didn't speak very good english) sped up and hit me instead of letting me in. Not sure why he thought that was okay.
3. Speed WAS a factor - look at my car! If he were going 30mph, my car would not have sustained such damage! The police didn't include it in his report, because that would be an opinion. I didn't include it in my post because I thought the photos would speak for themselves (didn't know the photos would be removed). This was the first and last time I'm driving through this intersection!
   
   
4. Last, but not least, this car is CURSED. I've been driving since 1998 and nothing until I started leasing this car in March 2016. I've had a big rock in my ROOF while driving, got rear-ended at a red light (super minor), windshield got damaged, hit a pole while parking at work, fender bender June 2018, and finally total loss 2 months before my 3 year lease was up.

There are many factors to each issue, but I just came here for advice. I do appreciate everyone's feedback!

You really need to take a course in defensive driving.