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  1. #1
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    Nov 2013
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    Default Left Turn into Blind Driveway, Other Driver Claims I Was at Fault

    My question involves a traffic accident in the State of: New York

    I was involved in a property damage accident, (no injury) I was making a left turn just below the crest of the hill. As I was turning, I suddenly saw a car come over the hill in the oncoming lane at what appeared to be a high rate of speed and a split second later it impacted my vehicle. I was issued a ticket 1141: Failed to yield right of way on left turn. However, I do not believe I should have been ticketed, there was no way I could have known a vehicle was going to crest the hill. The speed limit is 55, but there is a 35mph warning sign for blind driveways just before the hill. I have no way to prove the other driver was speeding, but I know it was faster than 35 mph. The other driver was ticketed for aggravated unlicensed operation because the license was suspended. I have one witness who told the officer that the other driver was driving at a high rate of speed and frequently drives past his house with excessive speed.
    So I've never been in an accident or been to court, the ticket says you can mail a not guilty plea in. What will happen if I do this, and what is the best way to explain to a judge?
    Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
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    Default Re: Left Turn into Blind Driveway, Other Driver Claims I Was at Fault

    Quote Quoting cooleyNY
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    The other driver was ticketed for aggravated unlicensed operation because the license was suspended.
    I'll start with this part... ^^This^^ is not likely to have any impact on the outcome of your citation/court proceeding, but it may affect how this case is ultimately settled with your insurance and the other driver's insurance assuming both of you are covered somehow. In other words, depending on the terms of one policy or both, he may be denied coverage if he was driving while suspended and assuming there is language in either policy that negates coverage for a suspended driver.

    Other than that, I'm afraid you've got three different obstacles working against you here...

    1) There is a big difference between a warning sign that is of an advisory nature and does not obligate the driver to comply and a regulatory sign which gives notice of a regulation, a mandate, a law that the driver must comply with.

    Furthermore, neither you nor your witness are likely qualified to have the ability to estimate the speed of an approaching vehicle to determine if he was driving at a high rate of speed or not, but even if he was, unless you are able to find a NY law (I did a quick search and did not come up with anything even remotely relevant, but you are free to search NY VAT statutes yourself HERE) that states that he loses the right of way if he was driving in excess of the legal limit, and you can further prove that he was driving in excess of 55 mph (not 35 mph), then you should not assume that this idea will work in your favor in court. Add to it that you are clearly biased and in the view of the court, you would naturally look for any excuse to shift the blame on the other driver, and so that makes it easy for you to say he was speeding. Similarly, your witness seems to have an ongoing issue with the other driver but just because he think the other driver speeds by his house does not mean he was speeding in this instance. And again, even if he was speeding, his still does not necessarily give up the right of way even if he did violate the 55 mph speed limit.

    Quote Quoting cooleyNY
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    I was making a left turn just below the crest of the hill. As I was turning, I suddenly saw a car come over the hill in the oncoming lane at what appeared to be a high rate of speed and a split second later it impacted my vehicle.
    2) This would be the second element and this will likely work against you as the insurance companies try to establish fault as well as work against you in court regarding the citation. NY VAT section 1125 states:

    § 1125. Further limitations on driving to left of center of roadway.

    (a) No vehicle shall at any time be driven to the left side of the roadway under the following conditions:

    1. When approaching the crest of a grade or upon a curve in the highway where the driver's view is obstructed within such distance as to create a hazard in the event another vehicle might approach from the opposite direction;

    2. When approaching within one hundred feet of or traversing any railroad grade crossing;

    3. When the view is obstructed upon approaching within one hundred feet of any bridge, viaduct, or tunnel.

    (b) The foregoing limitations shall not apply upon a one-way roadway nor to a vehicle in any lane which is at the time allocated exclusively to traffic moving in the direction the vehicle is proceeding and is marked to give notice of such allocation.

    This simply means that if there was no way you could have known a vehicle was going to crest the hill (as you stated here):

    Quote Quoting cooleyNY
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    there was no way I could have known a vehicle was going to crest the hill.
    ... then you should not have been making that turn!

    3) And the last element that you are facing here, and in addition to the fact that you should not have been in the left half of the roadway while being so close to the crest, the indisputable fact that you obviously were, and a vehicle was approaching from the other side, so closely that it not only caused a hazard, but your presence there was the primary cause for the collision. Therefore this is an unquestionable violation of the other vehicle's right of way. And I am not sure if there is anything that you can say or do to avoid a finding of guilt in this case.

    Quote Quoting cooleyNY
    View Post
    So I've never been in an accident or been to court, the ticket says you can mail a not guilty plea in. What will happen if I do this, and what is the best way to explain to a judge?
    You mail in your not guilty plea, your case gets scheduled for trial. Depending on which court you appear in the procedures may either require the officer to appear and testify to the reasons why he cited you or he may just submit an affidavit describing the same. On your trial date, you show up, and you can testify on your own behalf, although if it were me, and in light of the fact that you have not offered much that is likely to realistically work to your advantage here, I would remain silent if I were you, but that is just me...

    Your other option might come by way of some sort of plea bargain assuming there is going to be a prosecuting attorney handling your case for the State of NY. If there is, and assuming he/she is willing to make you an offer, then you should expect a possible plea bargain for a different charge, -a non-moving violation, perhaps- but if it does work out this way, and since a non-moving violation will not impact your driving record and will not affect your insurance premium, it will likely end up costing you more in fines and fees.

    Last but not least, I should add in that it really and obviously makes no difference to me as to how this case ends up. I don't know you, nor do I know the other driver, I lose nothing if you win this case and I gain nothing if you lose. So I have no reason to post what I did other than the fact that if I had posted anything else, I would be lying to you and more likely setting you up for a big bad surprise when you appear in court thinking you had a legitimate argument when it clearly is that you don't! You can take the information I posted and utilize it to help you make a choice as to how to proceed, or you can ignore it and hope someone else chimes in with a possible different view... Either way, good luck!

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