If I accept payment from other drivers' auto insurance company, can I still appeal it or a file lawsuit later

[adjusterjack]

But I cannot continuously look in all directions at the same time,

Actually, you can, and you do. It's called peripheral vision. Everybody has it. You "saw" everything that was happening just as your camera saw it.

also tried to explain that that the other driver did not use a turn signal,

Doesn't matter if he did or didn't. It would have been physically impossible for you to react fast enough to avoid the accident. And when I say physically impossible I'm referring to the laws of Physics. Have you ever seen a braking distance chart? Here's one.

stopping-distance-chart-gif-gif.144346 (738×540)

At 21 mph it would have taken you at least 43 feet total to react and brake to a full stop. Going frame by frame in the video it looks like you were about 20 feet from the other car when his wheel crossed the line.

 

[Mark_A]

Actually, you can, and you do. It's called peripheral vision. Everybody has it. You "saw" everything that was happening just as your camera saw it.

It is certainly true that I have peripheral vision, however as I tried to explain earlier, the position of the dashcam on the inside of my windshield (at the top and slightly right of center of the windshield) was different than my view from the drivers seat (lower down, 2 feet back, and on the left hand side of the vehicle). Since the driver turned into me on the right side of my vehicle, I don't believe that I had as good of a view of him as my dashcam did, especially since his vehicle was dark blue and it was night, and he used no turn signal.

 

[Mark_A]

I understand the OP's explanation. S/he was approaching a RED anticipating it to change to a flashing yellow. S/he was focused on oncoming traffic and the still-red light so that s/he could get a jump on that signal as soon as it changed. I don't believe the OP's speed estimate to be credible, because of the fact that the OP was ONLY focused on oncoming traffic, which means there was no looking at the speedometer.

Frankly, I don't understand why the OP couldn't focus on surrounding traffic, considering s/he was approaching a red light.

With all that said, I don't believe the OP bears any fault, but I am playing devil's advocate here. The OP needs to be aware of what the other side may claim, particularly when it comes to assigning fault.

First of all, since my forum name is Mark_A, you can call me he.

You claim that I was approaching the red light anticipating it to change to flashing yellow. I thought it might turn to flashing yellow, but I was not counting on that, and I was slowing down fast enough to come to a safe stop at the traffic light.

I didn't say I wasn't focused on surrounding traffic. I said at the exact moment (1-2 seconds) that the other driver turned sharply into me that I was not looking in that direction, and as mentioned above, my view is not anywhere near the same view of the dashcam has when looking at a car almost side by side with mine (on my right side). The dashcam can see further to right and further down (at the wheels of the other driver's car), which may not have even been visible to me from the drivers seat.

Regarding whether my estimate of the speed of my vehicle is credible, I find that comment to be outrageous, since the dashcam records and displays my speed in the video. I did say that I was probably going maybe 1-2 mph slower than the displayed speed, but that is because of the way a GPS calculates speed and there is some time delay and some inaccuracies in a GPS calculated speed whenever a vehicle is slowing down or speeding up.

 

[Mark_A]

86% of people consider themselves to be above-average drivers.

Look, I've said it several times. I do NOT think you have any fault in this. Take what I'm sharing here as pointers on how to adjust your way of communicating about this matter.

I am sure that 99% of people who post comments on the Internet think their posts of above average quality and accuracy. Also, being a good driver doesn't mean one is a defensive driver. Are race car drivers good drivers? I would bet that they take a lot of risks even in street driving that I wouldn't take.

But I didn't say I was above average when it comes to defensive driving, I said world-class. It is certainly possible that 80% of drivers are world-class defensive drivers, just like it is possible that 80% of people taking an exam get a perfect score.

 

[quincy]

First of all, since my forum name is Mark_A, you can call me he.

You claim that I was approaching the red light anticipating it to change to flashing yellow. I thought it might turn to flashing yellow, but I was not counting on that, and I was slowing down fast enough to come to a safe stop at the traffic light.

I didn't say I wasn't focused on surrounding traffic. I said at the exact moment (1-2 seconds) that the other driver turned sharply into me that I was not looking in that direction, and as mentioned above, my view is not anywhere near the same view of the dashcam has when looking at a car almost side by side with mine (on my right side). The dashcam can see further to right and further down (at the wheels of the other driver's car), which may not have even been visible to me from the drivers seat.

Regarding whether my estimate of the speed of my vehicle is credible, I find that comment to be outrageous, since the dashcam records and displays my speed in the video. I did say that I was probably going maybe 1-2 mph slower than the displayed speed, but that is because of the way a GPS calculates speed and there is some time delay and some inaccuracies in a GPS calculated speed whenever a vehicle is slowing down or speeding up.

Just be aware that IF you use the dashcam video, the other driver’s insurance company probably will claim that you were going too fast and you could have avoided the collision had you been paying attention. Once again, don’t make it easy for them to support those claims by saying you were concentrating on the turn lane light and the oncoming traffic lanes.

 

[Mark_A]

Just be aware that IF you use the dashcam video, the other driver’s insurance company probably will claim that you were going too fast and you could have avoided the collision had you been paying attention. Once again, don’t make it easy for them to support those claims by saying you were concentrating on the turn lane light and the oncoming traffic lanes.

I wasn't going too fast. My speed is recorded and displayed in the video and I was slowing down. The speed limit is 45 mph.

 

[quincy]

I wasn't going too fast. My speed is recorded and displayed in the video and I was slowing down. The speed limit is 45 mph.

Okay. But even 21 mph is too fast in a 45 mph zone if there is an obstacle ahead or an icy road. Speed alone, in other words, is not the sole determiner of whether you were driving responsibly. And in the video from what I saw, it looked like you were going too fast.

The bottom line is that the insurance company will be working to prove 85/15 fault. Don’t help them. Let the facts of the accident speak to fault. The other car suddenly crossed a solid white line right into your path. Done.

 

[Zigner]

Oh my god. You sound like a teenager. "Nu-uh, was not!" Really, we're trying to help here. Don't get pissy with us. Take the points we're making and really digest them, don't just dismiss them with a kneejerk reaction.

 

[Zigner]

First of all, since my forum name is Mark_A, you can call me he.

I didn't want to presume.

 

[Mark_A]

Oh my god. You sound like a teenager. "Nu-uh, was not!" Really, we're trying to help here. Don't get pissy with us. Take the points we're making and really digest them, don't just dismiss them with a kneejerk reaction.

Sorry, I don't believe that 21 mph was too fast, and I was in the process of slowing down and had plenty of time stop at the traffic light. The road was wet, but the temperature was about 55 F.

 

[Zigner]

Sorry, I don't believe that 21 mph was too fast, and I in the process of slowing down and had plenty of time stop at the traffic light. The road was wet, but the temperature was about 55 F.

I get it - as all of us have said, it's pretty clear to us that you are not at fault. You just have to be careful so you don't talk yourself into a finding of partial fault. I wouldn't mention your lack of focus on surrounding traffic. In fact, when it comes to proving liability, there's really not too much more you need to say beyond "Your honor, this is my dashcam video."

 

[Mark_A]

As mentioned before, the 21 mph speed of my car as calculated by the GPS in my dashcam and displayed on the video may have been slightly higher than my actual speed, since I was slowing down.

I found this information on the Internet:

"A Vantage dashcam [the brand that I have] typically calculates speed using GPS data once per second; meaning it records your vehicle's speed at a new point every second as it receives updates from the GPS satellites"

Conversely, if one is accelerating, then speed calculated by the GPS is going to be a bit slower than one's actual speed, because of the one second interval used for recalculating the speed.

 

[Zigner]

You don't need to prove it here. Best of luck to you in court.