The Shoulder
The Shoulder
64
swift-elk-142

Was doing a 3-point turn and got hit — who's actually at fault here?

So this happened yesterday and I'm still kind of shaken up about it.

I was trying to do a 3-point turn on my street because I needed to go the opposite direction. I had already made my first move forward and was in the middle of the road in reverse when out of nowhere another car just slammed into the side of mine. Like she had plenty of road — she just didn't slow down at all.

Afterward she gets out and immediately starts screaming at me, blaming me for being in the road. I was stunned and honestly yelled back because I was in shock. Then her boyfriend showed up and it turned into this whole confrontation with multiple people crowding around my car being aggressive and calling me a liar.

Police came. Nobody got a ticket. My car had to be towed because something in the wheel/suspension got messed up from the impact — it literally wouldn't move. Her people actually laughed at that, said I was faking it. The officer tried to move it himself and confirmed it was undriveable. So that felt like a small win at least.

Here's the thing — I have a doorbell/security camera that probably caught the whole thing from across the street. I haven't pulled the footage yet but I'm pretty confident it'll show what really happened.

My questions:

  • Does being mid-3-point-turn automatically make me partially at fault?
  • How does insurance actually figure this stuff out?
  • Should I get a lawyer involved or just let insurance handle it?

This is genuinely my first accident ever and I have no idea how any of this works. Any help appreciated.

12replies

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12 replies

  • 18
    patient-hare-297

    I got hit in a similar situation — I was pulling out of a parking spot slowly and someone flying down the lane nailed me. Insurance tried to split fault at first. The thing that saved me was a nearby business camera that showed how fast the other driver was going. Pull that footage ASAP and back it up somewhere before it overwrites. Seriously, do it tonight if you can.

    • 1
      honest-rider147

      Curious whether you did this on your own or had help with it.

  • 15
    bold-beaver-953

    Okay so I used to work claims and here's the honest breakdown: a 3-point turn on a public road can be tricky because technically you're executing a maneuver that requires yielding to moving traffic. BUT — and this is a big but — if the other driver was speeding and had time/space to stop and didn't, that factors heavily into comparative fault. Insurance will look at both drivers' actions. The camera footage is genuinely your best asset here. Get it, preserve it, and submit it to your own insurer before the other side has a chance to build their narrative.

  • 5
    keen-fox-738

    Please be careful talking to the other driver's insurance without some kind of guidance. They will call you, they will be friendly, and they will ask you to describe what happened. Anything you say can get twisted to push fault onto you. You don't have to give a recorded statement to the other person's insurer — only to your own.

    • 7
      weary-parent187

      This is really helpful — thank you for posting it.

  • 22
    clear-bison-165

    Not legal advice, but this scenario — mid-maneuver impact, disputed fault, potential speeding involved — is exactly the kind of thing where a free consult with a PI attorney is worth your time. Most of them don't charge unless you recover something. The footage could be the difference between 0% and 50% fault being assigned to you, and that matters a lot for what your car repair and any injury claims look like.

    • 2
      hopeful-wanderer829

      This is exactly what I needed to read today. Thank you.

  • 17
    careful-raven-678

    Please go get checked out even if you feel fine right now. I've seen so many people dismiss soreness after an accident as just stress, and then a week later they're dealing with whiplash or soft tissue stuff that's much harder to treat when it's not documented early. An ER or urgent care visit creates a medical record tied to the accident date — that matters if symptoms show up later.

  • 12
    quick-elk-841

    Three things: 1) Get that camera footage backed up right now. 2) File with your own insurance today, don't wait. 3) Write down everything you remember — time, road conditions, where each car was, what was said — while it's fresh. Details fade fast and you'll want notes if this turns into a dispute.

  • 17
    sharp-owl-467

    That sounds so stressful, especially having multiple strangers surrounding you being aggressive after you'd just been in a crash. I'm sorry that happened. Are you doing okay emotionally? Accidents mess with your head even when they seem minor on the surface.

    • 6
      hopeful-traveler972

      This is really helpful — thank you for posting it.

  • 9
    gentle-mole-372

    I don't want to be harsh but I do want to ask — how far into the lane were you when she hit you? Like, were you fully blocking one direction of traffic? And was it a two-lane road or single lane? The answer to that changes the picture a bit. Not saying it's your fault, just that those details will definitely come up.