Suspension of My License from an Accident That Was Not My Fault

[ohheyashlyn]

My question involves a driver's license issued by the State of: Pennsylvania

To start off, I am 17 turning 18 in November. I was in a serious car accident back in September which was my fault. I was just recently in another accident that was not really my fault and wasn't too serious.
I was trying to pull out of a place that was really hard to see to my left. Well I looked left, seen nothing, then looked right. Well, I was NOT over the white line, and I went to look back to my left, and about that time I got nailed by another car. The car was speeding (you could tell by the long black marks on the road) and they were over the white line. They had a skid mark from their left tire in the middle of the white and yellow line.
I was at fault for the accident, because apparently I did not yeild the right away? Well, I just got a notification in the mail saying that my license is being suspended for 90 days. I was wondering if this is something I should try to appeal, since the insurance companies did an investigation and found the other party at fault.
I just want to get a thought as to what I should do. I don't want to lose my license because then I have no way to get to work. But if I do lose it, am I elligable for the bread and butter license?

Thanks for the help

[jk]

the insurance companies determination does not hold any legal weight.

but this makes no sense:

I was at fault for the accident, because apparently I did not yeild the right away? Well, I just got a notification in the mail saying that my license is being suspended for 90 days. I was wondering if this is something I should try to appeal, since the insurance companies did an investigation and found the other party at fault

How can you be at fault but not be at fault?

[ohheyashlyn]

Because they had to put the blame on somebody, and since I wanted to pull out, they blamed it on me.
My father and grandfather were pulling out of the same place in front of me. My dad saw the whole thing and knows that I was not at fault. But with there being no evidence at the time of the other party speeding or anything, they didn't think they were in the wrong. Also, the police did not look at the road where the skid marks were or the vehicles, and did not ask the witnesses for their statements.

[jk]

who blamed it on you? Were you ticketed?

My father and grandfather were pulling out of the same place in front of me. My dad saw the whole thing and knows that I was not at fault

Immediately in front of you like maybe the car was attempting to avoid hitting your father and ended up hitting you?

[PTPD22]

Your posts are a little short on needed facts. So, I am trying to read between the lines to get the whole story. So, let me tell you what I have surmised and you tell me if I have it right.

You stopped at an intersection where you had a stop sign. After looking left (and seeing no oncoming traffic), you looked right (again seeing no oncoming traffic), and started forward to cross the intersection. However, before you crossed the limit line painted on the roadway at the stop sign, you were struck by a car coming from your left. You believe the other car was speeding. The cops responded and listed you as the at-fault driver on the accident report and (presumably) gave you a ticket for failure to yield at a stop sign. Your insurance company disregarded the cop's accident report and claim that the other driver is at-fault. PennDOT has now given you notice that your license will be suspended because of your second at-fault collision.

Do I have that right? I will try to answer with the presumption that I do.

If you have a stop sign (or a yield sign, for that matter) it is your responsibility to yield to all oncoming traffic before proceeding across the intersection. The fact that the other driver is speeding, talking on a cell phone, drunk, trying to contact space aliens on their ipod, or anything else is irrelevant to your obligation to yield. They can (and should) be cited for their own violations. But, their violations do nothing to relieve you of the obligation to yield.

You claim that you had not crossed the limit line when the collision occurred. However, I find that a bit hard to believe. Limit lines are painted several feet back from crossing traffic lanes. So, if the other driver was continuing straight across the intersection, he/she would have to drift several feet to their right to collide with you. It is hard to imagine someone doing that if they are slamming on their brakes because they believe you are about to enter the intersection in front of them. Even if the left front brake was not working, leaving only the right front brake skidding (which could cause a vehicle to pull to the right), it would have to be a VERY long skid or a significant slope to the roadway for the vehicle to pull to the right as far as you describe. Really, the only way I can envision it happening is if the other driver was attempting to turn right and was traveling too fast to successfully negotiate the turn. And, if that were the case, it would be very obvious (from the skid marks and the positioning of the vehicles) to the investigating cop. Now, I'm a bit confused about your description of the other vehicle's skid marks "from their left tire in the middle of the white and yellow line." I have no idea what that is referring to. So, the mental picture I have of the collision scene may be completely off.

But, your biggest problem is that police responded and listed you as the at-fault driver in the official collision report. That is the only thing that PennDOT is going to give a hoot about. The fact that your insurance company disagrees is not going to carry any weight. Your insurance company has a financial stake in finding the other driver at-fault. So, I really don't see any way that you are going to overcome the collision report and avoid the license suspension.

[Mr. Knowitall]

It would be interesting to learn what the other driver said. For example, "He pulled out in front of me. I hit the brakes and tried to avoid the accident by going behind his car, but [he hit the brakes and stopped in front of me]/[we were too close]/[etc.]."

[ohheyashlyn]

The cops blamed it on me, and yes I received a ticket but not at the scene. I recieved the ticket in the mail.
And yes my grandfather and father pulled out ahead of me.
I'm am going to try to explain what my dad saw.
My dad was frist. When he pulled out, the car that hit me was at the top of the hill, a good bit away. Then my pap pulled out and the car almost hit his rearend, which is when I got hit. The car came over the white line trying to avoid my paps truck. It is not un common for people to travel 50-60 mph on the 45mph road.
Sorry for the missing facts.

- - - Updated - - -

And yes, it would be nice to know what they saw, because anyone who seen the road could tell. I may be underage, but I am a very careful driver. I always double check before pulling out of a place. and I know that I was not over the white line at all..

- - - Updated - - -

And to PTPD22, I was not at a stop sign, I was trying to pull out of a storage center place. It was just a drive way.

[jk]

Oh, so your father is actually the cause of the accident.

so, sue your father. He is what caused the accident.

His speed does not shift the cause of the accident onto the other driver.

sorry about that. I forgot about the license issue:


what did you do about the ticket?

[Mr. Knowitall]

Oh, so your father is actually the cause of the accident.

so, sue your father. He is what caused the accident.

I think Ashlyn is saying that her father was first, and cleared the intersection, that her grandfather pulled out behind her father and cut off the oncoming vehicle (which had right-of-way), and that the oncoming vehicle swerved to avoid the accident, barely avoided colliding with grandpa, and ended up hitting her.

If Ashlyn was at a full stop behind the stop line, it is difficult to see why she would be held at fault instead of grandpa.

[jk]

If Ashlyn was at a full stop behind the stop line, it is difficult to see why she would be held at fault instead of grandpa.

agreed but then I realized OP was asking about a license suspension due to the ticket in this situation. If OP plead guilty to the ticket, s/he will be hard pressed to argue the matter now.