Am I at fault?? *Verdict: NOPE (technically)*

[norcalpb]

People in the danville/san ramon area LOVE to come to full stops at yellow lights, it's no surprise this person had the gall to change lanes at 2mph with the light still yellow.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by norcalpb

People in the danville/san ramon area LOVE to come to full stops at yellow lights, it's no surprise this person had the gall to change lanes at 2mph with the light still yellow.

You do know you are supposed to stop at a yellow light, right? You are only supposed to go through a yellow light if stopping would be "unsafe."

Regardless of this fact, you say, "this person had the gall," as if the SUV driver doing something like this is completely unimaginably and unbelievably stupid. Furthermore you mention they do this with the light still yellow. Now, yes, if the light had JUST turned yellow, and the person was almost stopped and changed lanes, then I would be more inclined to agree that it was a stupid move. But that's not the case. The light had been yellow for quite a few seconds. In fact, look at the image below:



The light was already RED by the time the car had JUST crossed over into his lane. In addition, look at how far back from the light he is. This situation is a perfect example of two people failing to do their respective parts of defensive driving. On the one hand, the person in the SUV should never have assumed that he was going to stop for the light. On the other hand, driving defensively also means being as predictable as possible around others. That means using your turn signals ahead of time, signalling your intentions, and NOT BLOWING THROUGH A STALE RED LIGHT.

So basically, on the one hand, you've got an SUV driver assuming that the car behind him/her isn't about to blow by them and run a stale red light, and therefore deciding to squeeze in ahead of them to get around a slower vehicle. On the other hand, you've got a BRZ driver assuming that he can blow through an intersection in which he is not even close to having the right of way. You tell me who was being the bigger idiot.

Sorry, I really sound like I'm one-sided here, and that's because I am. You can argue all day long about who was at fault, and how the SUV driver was the one who broke the law since they changed lanes within 100 feet of an intersection, but the accident only occurred because the BRZ driver was attempting to break another law - running a red light. And, quite frankly, the latter is much more serious, and much more inexcusable. Everyone changes lanes within 100 feet of intersections. Not everybody runs red lights like an idiot.

And if I sound bitchy, it's because reading through this thread kind of irritated me since so many people were all, "It was completely the other driver's fault," when that is not at all true.

[DJCarbine]

That light was red way before you got near the intersection

The other driver may be cited with unsafe lane change, but with the video you may get cited as well. Not going to attempt to armchair lawyer here, but the light was very red. Was your intention to make it through the intersection, or to get your own clear lane at the light? The person that pulled in front of you wanted the clear open lane, its common for people to change lanes nearing a red light for this reason

I think both people are at fault because this could have been avoided if the drivers were not so aggressive

[Rustyspoon]

Originally Posted by stugray

" any vehicle proceeding upon a highway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic"

Did YOU read that. That law (AND the ones in MY state) are for on the HIGHWAY. NOT city streets?

Where I live all roads are considered a highway, even residential. Might want to check your definition.

[stugray]

Originally Posted by Rustyspoon

Where I live all roads are considered a highway, even residential. Might want to check your definition.

In our state "Highways" are "State roads" (i.e they will have a HWY66, etc. sign associated with it.)
The "street" in front of my house does NOT have a "passing lane".


1013. Passing lane -definitions - penalty.

(1) A person shall not drive amotor vehicle in the passing lane of a highway if the speed limit is sixty-fivemiles per hour or more unless such person is passing other motor vehicles thatare in a non-passing lane or turning left, or unless the volume of traffic doesnot permit the motor vehicle to safely merge into a non-passing lane.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by stugray

" any vehicle proceeding upon a highway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic"

Did YOU read that. That law (AND the ones in MY state) are for on the HIGHWAY. NOT city streets?

WHY because on a city street, there are numerous cases where you must stop in the left lane to execute a left turn. Therefore the "Fast lane" rule does not apply on city streets.

Originally Posted by Rustyspoon

Where I live all roads are considered a highway, even residential. Might want to check your definition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway#United_States

California Vehicle Code, Sections 360, 590, define a "highway" as only a way open for use of motor vehicles, but the California Supreme Court has held that "the definition of 'highway' in the Vehicle Code is used for special purposes of that act," and that canals of the Los Angeles neighborhood of Venice, California, are "highways" that are entitled to be maintained with state highway funds.

Do not confuse highway with freeway. City streets can easily be considered a highway if the capacity of the roadway is high enough.

-alex

[stugray]

Originally Posted by mav1178

Do not confuse highway with freeway. City streets can easily be considered a highway if the capacity of the roadway is high enough.

-alex

I think that most of us would agree that the road in the OPs video is NOT the kind where you would consider it to have a "fast lane".
AND that the OP was doing nothing wrong by slowing down such that other traffic was passing him on the right.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by stugray

I think that most of us would agree that the road in the OPs video is NOT the kind where you would consider it to have a "fast lane".
AND that the OP was doing nothing wrong by slowing down such that other traffic was passing him on the right.

I'm not a lawyer nor a judge, that's for a court of law to determine and an officer to cite, if they choose.

-alex

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by stugray

I think that most of us would agree that the road in the OPs video is NOT the kind where you would consider it to have a "fast lane".
AND that the OP was doing nothing wrong by slowing down such that other traffic was passing him on the right.

My rule of thumb is that if there is more than one lane, I keep right. I don't care whether I am "legally required" to or not. It just makes everyone's lives easier and safer when they don't have to weave around slower traffic.

[eSOLOR]

Originally Posted by norcalpb

People in the danville/san ramon area LOVE to come to full stops at yellow lights, it's no surprise this person had the gall to change lanes at 2mph with the light still yellow.

Well, due to the fact that most red light violations in San Ramon are close to $500 minimum, I'd be stopping at yellow lights too.

[stugray]

Originally Posted by mav1178

I'm not a lawyer nor a judge, that's for a court of law to determine and an officer to cite, if they choose.

-alex

There is NOTHING in the video leading up to the incident that would even be called into question TO CITE. The "left lane" or "fast lane" is a moot point so I dont even know what you are talking about.

Even if he WAS violating some "fast lane" law (which he wasnt - since he never passed someone on the right), it has nothing to do with the incident.
AND he cannot even be accused of "parking in the fast lane" even if it was a fast lane.

In FACT if anyone violated the fast lane rule, it was the car that got hit because HE passed on the right.

[Chazbo]

I don't like the exhaust note. You asked bro. That annoying drone gets old and your ears probably won't like it when you're older. Sorry about your car. Dealership bumped my front bumper during first oil change, so body work at 3k miles was no bueno.

[Crows]

I dont think he was trying to run the red light, but rather stop the other driver from changing lanes.
I see this everyday, and I do the same thing the OP did. Im coming up to an intersection, noone in front of me, and someone in the opposite lane wants to get around the car in front of him and have the clear lane. People do this even if they are a much slower driver than the guy in front of them. It pisses my off and I will speed up to stop them, problem is that it does open the possibility of something like this happening

[kolpap]

In no way were you in the blindspot. OP was clearly in line with the left side mirror for a good time before the lane change. Other driver's negligence to check mirrors imho.