The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Origin -ARnews-
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The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Origin -ARnews-
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SCENE:
“A” Road a north/south asphalt roadway in good repair. It consists of one northbound and one southbound lane. There is also a center two-way left turn lane. Passing is prohibited on this roadway and there are numerous “DO NOT PASS” signs posted including one approximately 300 feet south of “B” Road.
“B” Road is an east/west asphalt roadway in good repair and intersects “A” Road at an approximate 90-degree angle. It consists of one eastbound and one westbound lane.
“A” Road is a through street and there are stop signs controlling traffic on “B” Road.
SUMMARY:
D-2 is travelling west on “B” Road. She stops at the limit line at “A” Road. She looks north and sees no cars approaching southbound and looks south and sees only a full size passenger van approaching northbound. The van has its right turn indicator on and is slowing to make a right turn to go east on “B” Road. D-2 looks north again, sees no cars and again looks south. She sees the van just starting to make the right turn so she pulls out to make a left turn on “A” Road.
D-1 is travelling northbound behind the van in a Honda Prelude. She sees the van begin to slow to make a right turn and she crosses over into the two-way left turn lane and continueing into the left turn pocket, intending to pass the van and continue straight through the intersection while still in the left turn pocket. As the van is completing it’s right turn, D-1 sees V-2 entering the roadway, goes into a locked wheel skid and hits V-2 broadside.
CAUSE:
This is where the debate starts. I am of the opinion that D-1 is at fault and the PCF is CVC 21752(c), driving left of center within 100 feet of an intersection. D-1 could also be found in violation of CVC 21461(a), passing in a posted no passing zone and CVC 21460.5, driving straight in a 2-way left turn lane. There are a couple of others I could think of but I won’t go into them.
I also feel that D-2 should not have an associated factor and was not in violation of CVC 21802(a), right of way at a stop sign, because D-1 committed at least 3 violations and placed her vehicle where it was not suppose to be before D-2 ever pulled out from the stop sign.
Roughly 10-12 officers support this position (with the exception of one or two that feel D-2 should have the associated factor of CVC 21802(a)).
The same number of officers feel that D-2 should have the PCF in violation CVC 21802(a) because she was at the stop sign and there was no stop sign for traffic on “A” Road. They state it doesn’t matter that D-1 was committing 4-5 violations prior to D-2 pulling out.
Several officers, including myself, have used the argument that D-2 had a reasonable expectation that D-1 would not commit the violations she did and had complied with the requirements of CVC21802(a). We’ve all used this ”reasonable expectation” argument before but I have yet to see it in writing somewhere. Anyone know if it might be in the Vehicle Code somewhere?
There is a lot of background on the parties involved that has caused this to become a heat case so when I finally get the report done and in, I want references to base my conclusions on.
Any opinions???? (I know…big mistake asking for opinions on a message board that a lot of cops frequent)
Tim Jordan
TJ0843@aol.com
For example, to continue this discussion look for a thread titled
Who gets the PCF on this collision??
If this thread does not exist in the current archive, you can begin another one by using that title.