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General Off-Topic Discussion / Rules of the Road
« on: July 18, 2010, 02:12:41 PM »
I got into a minor fender bender yesterday, no big damage on the other guy's car (his bumper fell off) and all I have to do is get my passenger side door's replaced.
It happened at an intersection, I got into the left turn lane while the light was green and I let the guy in front of me go ahead, I eased into the intersection then it turned yellow but the flow of traffic from the opposing lanes was still pretty heavy, so I waited until the light turn red and started to make the turn when I saw that the opposing lanes of traffic ceased movement. The guy in the other car told me that he was not going to make a right turn, but drive straight through the intersection. He had to pump the brakes pretty hard to stop, but we still collided.
I know that because of ARS 28-772 that I was already to blame, even if the guy was technically running the red light.
My question is though, according to the rules and laws of Arizona, am I supposed to ease into the intersection when I need to make a left turn and yield for traffic coming in the opposite direction and only turn when it looks clear? Or am I supposed to wait behind the crosswalk for all traffic in the opposing lane to stop before I turn? I'm not able to find any solid documentation on how I'm supposed to do this. Some people I talk to say stay behind the crosswalk, but the reality seems to be that in heavy traffic the lights will go red for both the people in the opposite lane and for those making a left turn, if I initiated a left turn from behind the crosswalk on a red light isn't that technically running a red light?
It happened at an intersection, I got into the left turn lane while the light was green and I let the guy in front of me go ahead, I eased into the intersection then it turned yellow but the flow of traffic from the opposing lanes was still pretty heavy, so I waited until the light turn red and started to make the turn when I saw that the opposing lanes of traffic ceased movement. The guy in the other car told me that he was not going to make a right turn, but drive straight through the intersection. He had to pump the brakes pretty hard to stop, but we still collided.
I know that because of ARS 28-772 that I was already to blame, even if the guy was technically running the red light.
My question is though, according to the rules and laws of Arizona, am I supposed to ease into the intersection when I need to make a left turn and yield for traffic coming in the opposite direction and only turn when it looks clear? Or am I supposed to wait behind the crosswalk for all traffic in the opposing lane to stop before I turn? I'm not able to find any solid documentation on how I'm supposed to do this. Some people I talk to say stay behind the crosswalk, but the reality seems to be that in heavy traffic the lights will go red for both the people in the opposite lane and for those making a left turn, if I initiated a left turn from behind the crosswalk on a red light isn't that technically running a red light?