OHTA.ca

Hello and thank you for reading. Your help would be much appreciated.

This past week, while driving on a one lane in each direction road, I needed to make a left turn onto a driveway. I noticed the sedan behind me was still 5 or 6 car spaces away so I signaled and slowed down. There was no oncoming traffic so I made my turn. Just as I turned the corner of my SUV to the left, it turns out the car behind me had actually crossed over the solid yellow line onto the opposing lane onto the left in order to cut me. Hence, it resulted in my front left corner of the bumper to fall off plus other damages. The result of her car was dented front right corner, blown up front right tire, and a long scratch along the right side of her car's body. She finally slowed down and stopped 3 apartments away. While I was still shocked, I managed to roll down my window to stop the oncoming car as a witness. I then shifted my car slightly onto the bicycle lane on the right to avoid further accidents from both sides of traffic. I then got out of my car and picked up the bumper from the middle of the road.. which I'm sure is why I'm here today.

I went over to the girl and asked her if she knew she wasn't allowed to cross the yellow line. She admitted she was wrong and apologized. I was copying down her insurance information when her friend made a call to the police. The witness that I managed to pull over then told me that it seems as if I was "backing up onto the driveway on the RIGHT" however, she wasn't exactly sure. Of course, the girls were extremely giddy that they had a witness to help them. The police came soon afterwards over to where their car was parked. He asked me what had happened and I told him that I had wanted to make a left turn onto the driveway but they went onto the opposing lane and tried to cut me - resulting in the crash. Without hearing their side of the story, he had simply told me I was at fault.

So, he went back to his cruiser, called a tow truck for me, and issued me a ticket. The other driver didn't get a ticket. When I asked him why I was the one to receive the ticket and not them, he said that I was driving on the bicycle lane and so the girls didn't need to cross the yellow line to pass me. Keep in mine that I drove a SUV and the girls drove a sedan. To put two cars on a lane plus a little bicycle lane is impossible - much less a SUV and a sedan. And so I argued with him on how he could even come up with that because it was absolutely ridiculous. He then went on to say something along the lines of "So what if they were driving on the opposite lane? You should've checked your blind spot before making the turn to account for any cars that might be going the opposite way on the opposing lane."

So basically, the police was trying to come up with the most impossible scenarios to help the girls. I still don't have a clue of the girls' story nor what the police officer actually wrote down in his report. The girls have also registered the witness with their insurance company. I had just wanted to make a left turn onto the driveway - it was that simple. But now I'm getting screwed on all sides. If there's a slight chance in hell that I might be able to get out from this mess, please let me know.

Unlike some other Provinces and States, its NOT illegal in Ontario to pass on a solid yellow line. The centre lines on roadways are considered more for reference and are not legally enforceable. There are some laws that limit where you can pass (i.e. no passing within 30 meters of a bridge, tunnel or railway crossing), but its otherwise lawful unless there are signs stating otherwise.

Unfortunately, I would have to say the officer was correct in finding you at fault based on the Highway Traffic Act. I dont necessarily agree with the law, but youre supposed to check for and yield to overtaking vehicles before turning. I personally think its one of the sections that could use updating, but thats the law as it stands.

Its slightly better news under the insurance fault determination rules. In your situation fault is split evenly between you and the other driver, so you shouldn't be held 100% responsible for the damages.

Stanton wrote:Unlike some other Provinces and States, its NOT illegal in Ontario to pass on a solid yellow line. The centre lines on roadways are considered more for reference and are not legally enforceable. There are some laws that limit where you can pass (i.e. no passing within 30 meters of a bridge, tunnel or railway crossing), but its otherwise lawful unless there are signs stating otherwise.

Unfortunately, I would have to say the officer was correct in finding you at fault based on the Highway Traffic Act. I dont necessarily agree with the law, but youre supposed to check for and yield to overtaking vehicles before turning. I personally think its one of the sections that could use updating, but thats the law as it stands.

Its slightly better news under the insurance fault determination rules. In your situation fault is split evenly between you and the other driver, so you shouldn't be held 100% responsible for the damages.

Thank you for your prompt reply. I just looked up insurance fault determination rules and I am extremely frustrated that I will be partly liable for the negligent actions of the other driver. She had sped up past me onto the opposing lane on the left while I was conducting a left turn. Any reasonable driver would never expect the driver from a couple cars behind to actually do that. She was in such a hurry that she couldn't slow down for a few seconds and felt the need to pass me on the side that I was turning on? Absolutely absurd that I will have to pay for her stupidity.

I'm not exactly sure of what the other driver's story to the police nor the insurance is since she had been extremely quiet. But her friend (who I assume clearly has experience in car collisions) told the story as if I had originally been parked on the bicycle lane and was making a turn onto the road again (to match it along the lines of what the witness believed she saw as "backing in"). Since I had shifted both my bumper and car off onto the bicycle lane, it was hard for me to prove that I was actually in the middle and that worked to her advantage. It was a stupid move - but after getting hit so hard, the first thing on my mind was to get out of the way so others wouldn't get hurt. However, there was actually a slightly smaller piece of the bumper that I didn't pick up from the middle and my passenger managed to get a picture of that. If I could prove her story was fabricated with the photo (ie. my bumper couldn't have been in the middle had I been on the side), would that decrease my liability at all?

I don't see any way in which the positioning of the vehicles would make any difference. The accident was still caused by another vehicle overtaking you while you turned into a private driveway.