The Shoulder
The Shoulder
59
Car accidentsbrave-crane-294

First accident in 12 years — got tagged making a left turn and now I'm the bad guy?

Still processing this honestly. I've been driving since I was 17, zero incidents, and then last month everything changed in about two seconds.

I was making a left at an intersection I've gone through probably a hundred times. Light went yellow, I checked both directions — the oncoming lane had a pickup that was clearly slowing, plenty of gap behind it. I started my turn. What I didn't count on was the sedan behind that pickup deciding the yellow was basically an invitation to floor it and shoot around the slower truck.

No time to react. No screech of tires from either of us. Just impact.

Thankfully nobody was airlifted anywhere. But I ended up with two cracked ribs and a pretty gnarly seat belt bruise across my chest because my airbag never went off — which honestly still confuses me. The other driver walked away totally fine.

Here's what's eating at me: I got cited at the scene, and now the insurance companies are calling it my fault. I understand technically I'm the one who turned into oncoming traffic, but that car was not visible behind the truck when I committed to the turn. It came out of nowhere fast.

I just keep replaying it. If I had a dashcam, would it even have helped my case? Would it have shown how fast that car was going? I ordered one the day after the accident — way too late obviously, lesson absolutely learned.

If anyone has been through something similar — especially the at-fault determination piece — I'd really love to hear how it went for you. Do I just accept this and move on, or is there something worth pushing back on?

12replies

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12 replies

  • 7
    bright-marmot-699

    This is almost identical to what happened to me a couple years back. Left turn, I thought I had the gap, someone accelerated hard from behind a larger vehicle I couldn't see around. I got the ticket too. What I'll say is — the ticket and the insurance fault determination are two separate battles. Don't assume one automatically decides the other, especially if you end up needing to pursue anything for your injuries.

    • 8
      kind-passenger199

      How long did it end up taking in your case?

    • 1
      weathered-road-soul360

      Took me three tries but they finally budged. Don't give up.

  • 7
    candid-crane-658

    Be really careful what you say to the other driver's insurance company right now. Like, don't volunteer anything beyond the basics. Adjusters are good at getting you to say things that cement fault in ways that close doors for you later. You don't have to be rude — just short. 'I'm still gathering information' is a complete sentence.

  • 13
    cool-hare-474

    I used to work claims and honestly, left-turn accidents almost always get defaulted to the turning driver in the first pass because the liability framework is pretty rigid. But 'first pass' isn't always the final word. If there's any witness statement, traffic cam footage, or even the damage patterns on the vehicles suggesting the other car was going well above the speed limit, that can shift the picture. Worth asking whether any of that was ever actually looked at.

  • 13
    gentle-marten-413

    Hey — can I ask how you're doing physically? Cracked ribs are no joke, and a lot of people underestimate the recovery. Breathing deeply hurts, sleeping hurts, sneezing is basically a nightmare. Please make sure you're following up with your doctor consistently and documenting every appointment. That paper trail matters more than people realize if your case goes anywhere.

  • 8
    bright-grouse-247

    Not legal advice, but the combination of a non-deployment airbag and cracked ribs is actually something an attorney would probably want to look at. Airbag failures can open a separate line of inquiry beyond just the fault question. If you haven't at least had a free consult with a PI lawyer, it might be worth an hour of your time before you sign or settle anything. Most won't charge for that initial conversation.

    • 7
      keen-marten-524

      You walked away from a collision hard enough to crack two ribs. I know that doesn't feel like a win right now, but it kind of is. And now you've got a dashcam, you know how deceptive gaps behind larger vehicles can be, and you're asking the right questions before anything gets finalized. That's not nothing.

  • 8
    calm-bison-763

    Dashcam. Yes, you know, you already bought one. But also — get your hands on any intersection camera footage ASAP if you haven't already. Cities often overwrite that footage within 30 days. If there's any chance of contesting the speed of that other car, that window is closing fast.

    • 5
      silent-swan-524

      I'm so sorry this happened to you. You did everything you thought was right and still got hurt. That's a really hard thing to sit with. I hope your ribs heal up quickly and that you're being gentle with yourself mentally too — first accidents shake people up more than they admit.

  • 16
    brave-lynx-264

    Genuine question: was the pickup actually stopped or just slowing? Because if it was still moving when you initiated the turn that might complicate the 'I had a clear gap' argument. Not trying to pile on — just thinking about how the other side is probably going to frame it.

    • 8
      mellow-overpass902

      Exactly my experience. Persistence paid off in the end.