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[Jjnieto180]

What is the name of your state?
California
I was driving down a country road with a speed limit of 55. I was traveling about 40. When I approached a truck traveling at roughly 15mph and had been for a while when I turned my turn signal on to pass them as a came aside them they had no signal on and turned left so I tried to avoid them as much as possible and got hit and my passenger side causing me to swerve around...
I am wondering if anyone can shine some light on who’s at fault?

 

[adjusterjack]

I'm putting it on you for the following reasons.

1 - You say he didn't signal. Maybe he says he did and you came out of nowhere. Both statements are biased and self-serving and cancel each other out in the absence of independent unbiased witnesses.

2 - Passing is a higher risk activity than turning so you had the greater duty to pass safely. You got hit while passing which creates a presumption that you weren't passing safely.

Whether you are 100% at fault, or less, is something that your insurance companies (or the court) will have to decide. CA is a comparative fault state where percentages of fault can be applied.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Also, was it a legal to pass in that zone? Did you have a solid or broken yellow line?

 

[zddoodah]

I am wondering if anyone can shine some light on who’s at fault?

Yes. I would imagine that your and the other driver's insurers will allocate fault between the two of you in some manner.

 

[HighwayMan]

How many lanes and as Red alluded to, what kind of pavement markings were present?

 

[Jjnieto180]

It was a 2 way road with only two lanes, one going in each direction and a broken yellow line in the middle

 

[Just Blue]

From your other thread:

Jjnieto180
Member

What is the name of your state?
-California

So I had gotten into a vehicle collision about 3 months ago. A driver of a truck was driving down a county road traveling at approximately 15-20mph he had been traveling at this speed for quite a while as I could see him from a distance as I was catching up to him. He showed no signal of a left turn or that he was slowing down. So as I approached him at about 45-50mph I attempted to pass him as he was driving ridiculously slow. I put my blinker on and proceeded to go around him. My car was nearly half way by his when he made a hard left turn. The front end of his truck hit my front passenger door to my rear passenger door putting a huge dent and scrapes on my car. The impact had made me almost lose control of my car but I was able to keep control of it. There was no witnesses on my part as I was driving alone. He did have a passenger in his vehicle. I have no idea if he would be a valid witness though as he was intoxicated. His truck had merely scratches as my car was messed up on almost my whole passenger side. At first I was worried if I was traveling to fast but the officer that arrived to the site told me that the speed limit for a county road was 55mph. Also the road had a broken yellow line so a legal pass was allowed. Now present day the other drivers insurance is trying to charge me for the fees as if it was my fault the accident occurred. I need help as I do not know how to go about this. I want to fight it but I do not know the chances I have of winning. I also have no one backing my part up as my insurance was canceled jus 4 days before the accident. Just my luck. I need to know who is at fault and if its not me how to go about disputing their claim that I am at fault.

 

[Eekamouse]

From your other thread:

Driving with no insurance. You forgot to mention that in your first post on this thread. Are you angling to get a response that favors you by leaving important information out?

 

[Zigner]

This thread is from October...

 

[quincy]

This thread is from October...

Jjnieto started a new thread last night on the same accident he wrote about in October. The new thread was added to this original thread and his new thread deleted. See Blue’s post for a quote of the new thread.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Driving with no insurance. You forgot to mention that in your first post on this thread. Are you angling to get a response that favors you by leaving important information out?

OP should be more worried about about getting their license suspended.

 

[zddoodah]

It was a 2 way road with only two lanes, one going in each direction and a broken yellow line in the middle

So...you resurrected your thread after nearly three months. What has happened with this matter during that time?

In the text quoted by "Just Blue," you wrote that "the other drivers insurance is trying to charge me for the fees as if it was my fault the accident occurred." I assume that means that the other driver (or the owner of the vehicle, which may have been a commercial vehicle?) made a claim against his/her/its collision coverage to have the truck repaired. Apparently, the other driver's/owner's insurer has determined the accident to have been your fault and is now seeking to recover whatever it paid from you by way of subrogation (essentially, the insurer succeeds to the other driver's/owner's rights against you).

You described the cancelation of your insurance as "just my luck," but luck has nothing to do with it. Why was your insurance canceled? Was it because you didn't pay the premium?

In any event, since you were without insurance, you'll have to deal with this yourself. You can either pay what the other driver's insurer is demanding or ask for a payment plan or say no and see what happens.

By the way, was the other driver turning left at an intersection? If so, passing would have been illegal, so there'd be no question about liability.

 

[Litigator22]

What is the name of your state?
California
I was driving down a country road with a speed limit of 55. I was traveling about 40. When I approached a truck traveling at roughly 15mph and had been for a while when I turned my turn signal on to pass them as a came aside them they had no signal on and turned left so I tried to avoid them as much as possible and got hit and my passenger side causing me to swerve around...
I am wondering if anyone can shine some light on who’s at fault?

Please let us know whether or not this commonly understood rule-of-the road applies to your unfortunate encounter with the truck:

(Other than when traveling on a two-way roadway -)

"No vehicle shall be driven to the left side of the roadway when approaching within 100 feet of or when traversing any intersection." (See: California Vehicle Code Section 21752(d)

I was taught that in drivers' ed before there was such a thing as drivers' ed. Farmer kids could drive at age 12! I swear.

 

[Jjnieto180]

well first off I posted this question like 10 minutes after the crash so I had no ideas that my insurance was canceled, that's why I did not have it on my other thread. And when I had called my insurance the next day to file a claim they stated that yes because I was not able to pay my fee on the 7th they canceled it on the 13th. My accident was on the 17th. when i spoke to a representative on the 8th I guess there was a mix up I had thought that they were giving me until the 23rd to pay. I had explained to them the factory i worked at had gotten shut down because of a covid outbreak n I was waiting on unemployment. I am only revising my thread because when I had talked to my insurance for the claim i spoke to an adjuster that had told me that this accident may be fightable but that they can not help me cause I was not insured at the time. I want to know if i even have a fighting chance. Since this accident I have tried numerous times to contact his insurance to find more information and all i reach is voicemails no one ever got back to me. I received a letter stating that they were charging me. All i want to know is if I have a chance or not. So i can save the hassle

Also no it was not an intersection it was a dirt road he was trying to pull into.

 

[Jjnieto180]

I jus turned 20 this is my first accident I do not know how to go about this.