I was recently in a car accident. I was coming to a light that has the green arrow or yield to green. The green arrow was showing as I went through the intersection, then a car coming from the other direction hit me. There was another vehicle from his direction that was sitting at the light. The car that hit me had run a red light. The car that was sitting at the light came out to make sure I was OK, then left. There was no other witness. The officer gave me a failure to yield to green citation. He said he was citing me based on the other driver's statement. I had told the officer what happened, but my statement was disregarded. The other driver hit me going about 65 mph in a 35 mph zone. The officer cited me though, when I was not speeding and had the right of way. Now I'm worried that I won't be able to dismiss this ticket, and my insurance will have to pay for his damages. I only have limited liability on my car, which is worth $7,300. Does anyone have advise for me to dismiss my ticket and fight the insurance company for damages to my car? Please help! :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

Did you get the name and address of the driver that was sitting at the light and came out to check on you? Why did (s)he not give a statement to the police? Also keep in mind that sometimes at a controlled intersection traffic has a green arrow to make a left turn but not a green light to go straight. This is what's called a "delayed green" and they are common at busy or hazardous intersections, especially in urban areas. Make sure that you did not run a delayed green. If you did then you are in fact liable, even if the oncoming car that struck you was speeding. Without radar there's no way to prove speeding to a court's satisfaction.

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Originally Posted by s_cianci

Did you get the name and address of the driver that was sitting at the light and came out to check on you? Why did (s)he not give a statement to the police? Also keep in mind that sometimes at a controlled intersection traffic has a green arrow to make a left turn but not a green light to go straight. This is what's called a "delayed green" and they are common at busy or hazardous intersections, especially in urban areas. Make sure that you did not run a delayed green. If you did then you are in fact liable, even if the oncoming car that struck you was speeding. Without radar there's no way to prove speeding to a court's satisfaction.

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The light had both the green arrow and the yield green showing at the time I passed the intersection.
With the speeding, the damage done to the car states the obvious. He hit me going way too fast.

Without another witness it will be your word against the other persons.

As for the ticket, if you go to court, plead not guiilty, big chance the police officer and the other driver will not be there to testify against you.

If just the officer is there, he did not witness it, so unless he has evidence to prove his case, you tell your story and the judge should not be able to convict you. If the other driver shows up, it will depend on who the judge believes, But I almost never saw the other driver show up at a ticket hearing,

If you are to plead, you plead NOLO, which means the ticket can not be used in civil court.

But the Civil court is still the issue, the police officer will have wrote the accident report up showing you at fault, even without a ticket, the insurance company is using the accident report. I would say you will need a good attorney and you will need to find some witnesses of the accident to win the civil case

I was trying to cross the intersection on orange light , but a driver wanted to turn left ,and there is a sign yield on green, so who is at fault

What is the deadline to report the accident

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Originally Posted by Bellouche

I was trying to cross the intersection on orange light , but a driver wanted to turn left ,and there is a sign yield on green, so who is at fault

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Orange?

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Originally Posted by Bellouche

What is the deadline to report the accident

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Please start another thread with these new questions.

This is another reason why it's not a good idea to add a new question to a pre-existing thread. The original question is fresh and requires more discussion. This new question gets in the way.

The "deadline" to report the accident to the police is usually before you leave the scene of the accident. Or do you mean to ask how long you have to report it to an insuance company?

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Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

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If you are to plead, you plead NOLO, which means the ticket can not be used in civil court.

But the Civil court is still the issue, the police officer will have wrote the accident report up showing you at fault, even without a ticket, the insurance company is using the accident report. I would say you will need a good attorney and you will need to find some witnesses of the accident to win the civil case

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In many states a nolo contendre ( which means "no contest") plea can be used against the defendant in a civil case.