My 17 yr old son (only had his license 6 weeks) was in an accident while driving his friend’s car. He was in the car by himself – Making a left turn at a light. He was 2/3 of the way through the intersection when another driver hit him – on the front passenger corner of the car – just before the tire. Damage to the car he was driving includes headlight, quarter panel, bumper, radiator, etc. Damage to the other car is very similar — except to the drivers-side front. The police officer gave my son a ticket and said he failed to yield the right of way – since he was the one making the turn. But… if a driver is already 2/3 of the way through the turn/intersection (That’s where the car needed to be towed from so it is easy to see where he was when he was hit.) – (The other driver was able to continue driving and pulled over once she was through the intersection.) — then doesn’t the driver making the turn have the right away at that point??? I have many questions … Is there anything we can do to protest the police report? My son will plead “not guilty” to the ticket, but if the police report says he’s at fault…. isn’t that what the insurance companies will look at?? What will impact will this have on my son’s friend’s insurance? Will it have any impact on my insurance?

My 17 yr old son (only had his license 6 weeks) was in an accident while driving his friend’s car. He was in the car by himself — Making a left turn at a light. He was 2/3 of the way through the intersection when another driver hit him — on the front passenger corner of the car — just before the tire. Damage to the car he was driving includes headlight, quarter panel, bumper, radiator, etc. Damage to the other car is very similar — except to the drivers-side front. The police officer gave my son a ticket and said he failed to yield the right of way — since he was the one making the turn. But… if a driver is already 2/3 of the way through the turn/intersection (That’s where the car needed to be towed from so it is easy to see where he was when he was hit.) — (The other driver was able to continue driving and pulled over once she was through the intersection.) — then doesn’t the driver making the turn have the right away at that point???

I have many questions … Is there anything we can do to protest the police report? My son will plead “not guilty” to the ticket, but if the police report says he’s at fault.… isn’t that what the insurance companies will look at?? What will impact will this have on my son’s friend’s insurance? Will it have any impact on my insurance?

Generally, a left turning car has a legal obligation to NOT make the left turn unless it is safe to do so. In other words, the left turning car has the duty to yield the right of way to a car that is proceeding straight through the intersection. But as I said, this is the general rule and occasionally there are limited exceptions to the general rule. That’s why I would recommend that your son consult with an attorney who handles traffic tickets. Because our office normally limits our practice to representing the injured, we don’t normally handle traffic tickets unless a ticket was erroneously issued to one of our injured clients.

As to your insurance questions, those would best be answered by your insurance agent as every insurance company has different rules and policies as to how they treat accidents. For instance, many companies do not increase insurance premiums for the first accident or the first ticket. So, the best bet is to check with your agent to see how your company treats these things.

Good luck and I am glad your son wasn’t seriously injured.

Jim
_________________________________
James B. Reed
NY & PA Injury & Malpractice Lawyer
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
Mailto: jreed@zifflaw.com
Office: (607)733‑8866
Toll-Free: 800-ZIFFLAW (943‑3529)
Web: www.zifflaw.com
Blogs: NYInjuryLawBlog.com and
NYBikeAccidentBlog.com

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