Who Has Right Of Way?

[myownalias]

OK, so my wife got in a wreck today, after another driver slid on ice into the road my wife was driving on and crunch! This is the scenario. In the image below, the grey arrow signifies my car, the red arrow signifies the other car, who has right of way?

rightofway.jpg

The other driver's insurance company is claiming that their driver had the right of way and my wife should have yielded as state law says that at intersections, the driver on the right has the right of way. This is certainly true when two roads cross each other and continue on, however, in this situation, where the side street ends, surely the driver on the road that continues has the right of way, and the driver entering from the T-junction enters the flow of traffic when it is safe to do so? There is no separate rule for T-junctions, so their insurance is using the lack of a rule as the rule as their basis for trying to shift blame onto us, my insurance company sees it the same way I do..

[overboost]

The other car was out of control due to the icy conditions and is therefore at fault.

[myownalias]

I should have been more clear, not that I believe it changes anything, the other car slide out in front of my car and my wife T-boned the other car. It's going to be interesting to see how this pans out, as the other driver entered the thru road from a side road, I would say, he would be at fault, regardless of weather conditions.

My insurance will cover the repairs, otherwise, I will be without a car for likely a month or more, while the other insurance company drags its heels, trying not to pay. I am fully prepared to take this to the courthouse to argue my point, you cannot apply the same logic as a four-way intersection to a T-intersection.

The state of my poor car...

fusion-damage-20180221.jpg

[rob91]

A car that arrives at a junction from a side road should always give way to traffic on the "main" road so in this sense, from what you have said, your wife is blameless for the crash. Sorry to hear of this and I hope for you that she is okay.

[myownalias]

A car that arrives at a junction from a side road should always give way to traffic on the "main" road so in this sense, from what you have said, your wife is blameless for the crash. Sorry to hear of this and I hope for you that she is okay.

Everyone is fine, it was a low-speed crash, my wife was only doing 15mph, due to the icy conditions.

The only thing damaged is the car, total repair cost will be $6,100, of which I am liable for $500, pending apportion of blame, which hopefully goes in my favor, so I get my $500 back.

[sagi58]

Good to hear no one was hurt!

Can't tell if there are any stop signs on the road going east/west;
but, barring them, your wife definitely has the right of way.

Insurance companies are only ever "nice" when they woo your
business; but, when it comes to paying, not so much!!

[myownalias]

Can't tell if there are any stop signs on the road going east/west;
but, barring them, your wife definitely has the right of way.

No stop or yield signs on either road, except at the end of 27th St, nowhere near where the accident happened.

Insurance companies are only ever "nice" when they woo your
business; but, when it comes to paying, not so much!!

My insurance company agreed to pay immediately, as I have full coverage on my car. But, yes, most insurance companies are quick to take your money, but glacial when it comes to paying out.

[sagi58]

...My insurance company agreed to pay immediately, as I have full coverage on my car...

So... you're waiting on the other driver's company?

[myownalias]

...My insurance company agreed to pay immediately, as I have full coverage on my car...

So... you're waiting on the other driver's company?

Yes, the other insurance company are trying to push the blame on my wife, so instead of waiting for several weeks for them to accept liability, I'm having my insurance pay for the car to be fixed to minimize the time I am without my car. Even without the insurance stalling, it's going to take 2 weeks to fix my car. My insurance company is going after the other driver's insurance aggressively as they believe that their driver was at fault based on the information they have.

[darwin dali]

What's your and what's the other insurance company?

[myownalias]

What's your and what's the other insurance company?

I have Progressive and their other driver has American Family Mutual.

[darwin dali]

Progressive is not bad . Dunno about Am. Fam. Mutual - well, I won't sign up with them after your story.

[myownalias]

Progressive is not bad . Dunno about Am. Fam. Mutual - well, I won't sign up with them after your story.

I've been with Progressive since 2010 and thus far have been really happy, they fight your corner when an accident happens. They fought for my wife when she was involved in a wreck back in December, an 18-year-old driver was too close to the car in front, when that car suddenly slowed, said young driver veered into my wife's lane, sideswiping her. That driver's insurance company, Farmers, dragged their heals too, but unlike my car, my wife's car was driveable, so we waited while Progressive fought our corner, saving us and obviously themselves money.

[darwin dali]

Yeah, she can be a tough cookie