Am I "The Enemy" now?

[iwannadie]

Would you have proceeded through the stop sign if you were on a bike, with the possibility of a car wiping you out as he came around the corner?

would you then sit at the stop sign forever? what would you do on a bike back up and do a uturn to avoid going through that intersection?

[Renegade]

You did everything you could, Tech. When you stopped at the T-intersection you checked both ways and made concessions for traffic going 25mph. By going 45mph, the other guy rendered your precaution null and void. It is reasonable and lawful to expect appoaching traffic to be doing the speed limit. Therefore you are not at fault.

if things went down the way you say they did then it wasn't really your fault.

Not true on both accounts, at least in america. Even if the other car is drunk driving and speeding without a liscense, you are still at fault because you had the stop sign and they had right of way. Sure, speed is a contributing factor, but, again in America, you would be found guilty of "failure to yield to right of way". Been there, done that, and the opposing car was speeding about the same amount.

These guys are doing you a disservice telling you you're not at fault. And there's no way to know how fast he was going, really. We can guess, but you didn't see him until he was already on the brakes and horn, and decelerating rapidly. No telling how fast he was going.

Ditto,

It's unfortunate, but bad intersections exist.

If you have the stop-sign or any signal, it's your job to make sure it's clear before moving forward. It doesn't mean you just have to stop and make a reasonable 'attempt' to see if it's clear. But you know that.

Speed may have contributed to the accident overall because of limited visibility, but the ultimate responsibility would fall on the person who doesn't or didn't have the right of way.

It sucks you were in an accident. Thankfully no one was seriously injured.

I don't mean to judge or come down on you, just don't want you to have a false sense of security that it wasn't your fault.

That's why the call them 'accidents'

[TechTMW]

Aye, funny how when it's an "accident" there's always someone to blame!

It's OK though. I have full coverage, so it will pay for any damages to the vehicles and any medical costs if necessary. I hope this guy can accept that and move on but chances are he probably won't. It's a hell of alort more than he would have gotten had I not been carrying Insurance either!

I know my responsibility in the accident. Although I believe there were mitigating factors in assigning blame, I doubt the "law" will see it that way. All I can do is press on.

And since I didn't see the scooter in the first place - to the question "Would you have pulled out in front of a car" - Yes I probably would have, considering I didn't see him. But that's one reason why I love motorcycles - you don't have all that hood and cage in front of you , so you can edge out into an intersection and crane your neck to see the road - you don't have to push 2 tons of steel out into the street to do it.

[9000white]

i was driving a tractor and trailer here and stopped for a stop sign --then pulled out and a woman turned out of a side street and ran into the side of the trailer--there were 4 women in it 2 in front and 2 in back --the 2 in front were turned to the back talking to the others in the back seat and never even saw me.i was charged for the accident because according to the cop anytime somebody hits you after you leave from a stop sign it is your fault.

[Aggroton]

it was always my understanding whomever does the hitting is at fault...not being in proper control of your vehicle.

[Renegade]

There's moral/ethical fault, and fault as the law see's it. The two often aren't the same...

I wasn't there, like I said, I'm in no position to judge.

I'm glad you are OK, and have insurance.

It's all good.

[Mintbread]

would you then sit at the stop sign forever? what would you do on a bike back up and do a uturn to avoid going through that intersection?

I take it your screen name is not just you trying to be clever.

[iwannadie]

would you then sit at the stop sign forever? what would you do on a bike back up and do a uturn to avoid going through that intersection?

I take it your screen name is not just you trying to be clever.

whatever. but according to you theres no way to go through the intersection safely, so i dont see what else you would do? if your at a stop sign and cant see to your left for on coming traffic, how do you proceed through with no risk of a car hitting you? explain it to me?

the only thing you can do is proceed with caution and take the risk theres no car coming, or if there is a car coming they are going a decent speed that they can slow down in time.

[isaac]

Go back there right now and take a LOT of pictures of that intersection. Show how blocked it is. Show it from the perspective of someone who's stopped at the stop bar. Use it to your advantage. Even if they do try to find you guilty, make it a living hell for them. Oh, and if that speeding mentally challenged with no gear on tries to sue you, spit on his parents' graves - they really go for that kind of thing in Italy.

[mattf]

you come to a stop sign, fully stop and check proceeding through the intersection with caution. thats all he can do and its not his fault...any number of things can take away resposibility in this situation.

no judge jury would find him soley at fault in that situation. thats when they start to look at past driving records and more details about the situation...

In America, the law is quite clear in this regard. I say again, I've been there and was found solely at fault. Everything you've written is speculation. No matter, this happened in Italy, where American law doesn't matter.