Car Ahead Pulls to Right, Stops, Attempts to Return to Lane While I Am Passing

[SSeymour5]

My question involves a traffic accident in the State of: California

To be brief, a car in front of me pulls to the right on a suburban road (I am presuming the speed limit is 25mph) in a spot between parked cars, as if parking parallel to the curb. However, the gap between parked cars was due to the presence of a two-way alleyway. The driver did not signal and came to a complete stop with approximately 2/3 of her vehicle completely out of the roadway.

In response to her maneuver, I stopped, then proceeded to pass on the left. I moved over ~8 feet to make sure there was room between myself and the other car. There are no markings on this suburban road so I cannot be sure if I was in the opposite lane.

As I passed on the left, the other driver attempted to pull back into the lane, contacting the passenger-side door of my vehicle with the front left of her vehicle.

We have not filed a police report, but I intend to do so tomorrow. I had two credible witnesses who were in the vehicle with me and both will attest to validity of my claims.

[jk]

why didn't you call the police when it happened? Now all you have is she said he said. Your witnesses are not going to be considered to be objective since they are your friends. That means their testimony likely will not help you much, if at all.

[cdwjava]

Fling a police report will not help you much. By regulation, they will not be able to determine fault. So, IF they even take the report, it will be regurgitating your statement and capturing the other driver's information on paper. In short, they will be documenting an incident based on your say-so and none of it will be evidence of anything.

At this point you need to contact your insurance company, give THEM the info, and let them handle it from there.

[jk]

Fling a police report will not help you much. By regulation, they will not be able to determine fault. So, IF they even take the report, it will be regurgitating your statement and capturing the other driver's information on paper. In short, they will be documenting an incident based on your say-so and none of it will be evidence of anything.

At this point you need to contact your insurance company, give THEM the info, and let them handle it from there.

if you can get the cop to describe the scene, it often helps one side or the other. That is why my car does not move from the spot of the accident until the cops arrive so they can write a description of the scene. That description can often help with a person's argument.

[cdwjava]

if you can get the cop to describe the scene, it often helps one side or the other. That is why my car does not move from the spot of the accident until the cops arrive so they can write a description of the scene. That description can often help with a person's argument.

But, at this point, the officer is not even going to go to the scene. First, there is no legal requirement they even take the report (and many agencies will not these days), and second the agency cannot assign fault.

At most, the scene will be described as "an east/west (or north/south) asphalt paved residential roadway with lanes for traffic in each direction," or some similar language. No measurements, no factual diagram, and no measurements.

The report will be hearsay and inadmissible if the matter goes to civil court, though the OP and his witnesses will be permitted to testify as to their observations.

The OP can try to report it, but the report will be quite minimal and will be largely a regurgitation of the OP's statement and whatever info he gives the police.

[jk]

wow, you guys in Cali get away with doing nothing at an accident. Back here there will be a drawing and a written description of the scene as well as the statements of the drivers all in the report.

[cdwjava]

wow, you guys in Cali get away with doing nothing at an accident. Back here there will be a drawing and a written description of the scene as well as the statements of the drivers all in the report.

But, in this case the police were not called to the scene. The OP will be making a counter report. As a counter report, they cannot establish the cause of the collision, cannot make a factual diagram, and cannot even be certain on a sketch of how the collision occurred.

Collision reports are largely done for the insurance companies and have no law enforcement value aside from statistics. In CA we are not mandated to take collision reports that do not involve injuries or fatalities, and given the number of fender benders, many agencies would be spending a lit of mney shagging non-injury collision calls. Because f the lack of resources we tend not to spend much time on counter reports.

[SSeymour5]

I admit it was foolish to not obtain witnesses. My vehicle obtained minimal damage and I fell victim to the alarm of a traumatized young driver who later told her parents... one thing lead to the next, and now here I am being told by the father that I owe him $1300. I may still be able to find an impartial witness - I believe one of the neighbors may have seen the whole thing. Thanks for all the help.