Rear-Ending or Wrong Lane Change

**plantagenet** · 04-23-2007, 11:35 PM

My friend got into an accident in California and we're trying to find out who is at fault; it's a bit complicated. She was in the middle lane and signaled to change to the fast lane. She looked in the mirror and checked her blind spot, and the lane was free. As she moved into the lane, she was hit from behind; the other car hit her left rear with its front right. This gave my friend's car a push forward and to the left, pushing her into the central divider.

What we found out afterwards is that the car that hit her hand changed lanes just before her, and then sped up. My friend was driving a bit faster than the 65mph speed limit, say around 70. The driver of the car that hit her claims he was driving at 70, but it must have been quite a bit faster, judging by the impact. My friend's car spun in the air and it's a miracle she survived.

The police claims it's all my friend's fault for changing into a lane that wasn't clear. Yet when she checked to turn it was clear -- the reason it wasn't, is that the other party was speeding. We were surprised by the police report, since normally it's not your fault if you're rear-ended.

What do people think? What are the relevant parts of the California highway code we can appeal to?

Cheers,
plantagenet

**seniorjudge** · 04-24-2007, 05:50 AM

Sounds to me like the fault is 50-50.

**Bookm** · 04-24-2007, 10:39 AM

My opinion:

Your friend should have used her left mirror as she was making the lane change as well as before. Since she only looked BEFORE she changed she didn't see the other car had pulled out to pass. Speed of other cars is generally irrelevant when it comes to right-of-way. Since the other car hit her with his right-front, he had made his lane change first and had the right-of-way.

I have had this happen to me (while passing) and have had to hit the gravel on the far left to avoid a collision, so maybe I'm just a tad biased

**plantagenet** · 04-25-2007, 02:57 PM

Quoting Bookm

My opinion:
Speed of other cars is generally irrelevant when it comes to right-of-way.

Thank you for the feedback. It seems to me the speed of the other car has to matter at some point if it's clearly above the posted limit. At such high speeds, there is very little time available for a driver in front to check what the driver in back is doing. The window available for a lane change shrinks to nothing if the driver in the other lane has the right of way at no matter what speed, so there's a reductio ad absurdum if you push that argument too far.

I'll call a lawyer and hear what they say too, but very much appreciate your assessments here.

plantagenet

**plantagenet** · 04-25-2007, 04:49 PM

The lawyer said the California Highway Code says you should anticipate others breaking the law and driving too fast, as it happens so frequently. Still, we can claim comparative negligence; there is no contributory negligence law in California.