West Jordan, UT asked in Car Accidents for Utah

Q: Who is more at fault in a collision involving a car turning left vs. a car driving on a bike lane

Long story short, a family member is trying to turn left into an apartment complex on a 2 way street (and a shared divider). He waited in the divider to turn left as safely as possible and found that moment when the oncoming traffic had come to a complete stop and signaled him to go. He started making his turn when a vehicle came out of nowhere driving through the bike lane and collided with him. No, the vehicle was not trying to turn right into the apartment complex, she admitted on the scene in front of a witness and the officer that her purpose was to cut the traffic and go straight to the new lane up ahead that will allow her to make a right turn into the upcoming highway. Both only got warnings, with one given a warning for driving in bike lane, the other failure to yield turning left. under UT law, he yielded to the oncoming traffic who is in the right of way, plus assumed under UT law that other driver is following law, which that auto on bike lane was not.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Tim Akpinar
Tim Akpinar
Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Little Neck, NY

A: A Utah attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for three weeks. Until you're able to arrange a consult with a local attorney to analyze the matter under state-specific vehicle and traffic law, this would be a difficult case in most jurisdictions across the nation. Liability could be argued for both sides. Different arguments could be raised for either vehicle. I hope no one was injured. If the matter only involved property damage, the respective PD adjusters might not be willing to expend large resources in determining exact percentages. But that could depend on the insurance carriers. Good luck

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