Wife involved in Auto Accident

[JDWhite98GT]

I applogize if this is the wrong section to be posting this.

Location: Intersection of Route 22 and Eastern Entrance of Harford Community College, Bel Air, Maryland.
Time: Approximately 9:20 AM

My wife was traveling westbound on route 22 in Bel Air in a 2005 Ford Expedition. As she passed through the traffic light (refer to pic Accident1) where rt.22 intersects with the eastern entrance of Harford Community College, another motorist in a blue Honda Civic Hatchback proceeded to make a right hand turn from the eastern entrance onto rt.22 westbound. It is hard to see in the photo(accident1) but there is a very short merge lane. Iwas told that the Honda, using the merge lane to accelerate, attempted to cut her off but with her taveling aprox 45-50 mph (the posted speed limit is 45), the Honda did not have ample time/space to reach a passing speed, ran out of road and had to side swipe her SUV and cut off another motorist behind her in order to merge onto rt.22.
(Please view picture Accident2)
My wife immediately pulled over to the side of the road but the Honda continued westbound on rt.22. She quickly followed and observed the Honda make a righ-hand turn into Oak Grove Baptist Church; she followed and called 911. Before the police arrived, another car came to the scene, a small truck. I, again, was told by my wife that the 2 drivers seemed to be friends and the truck was never at the scene of the accident. The driver of the Honda and the truck both left the scene and the Honda returned with a new passenger moments before a MD state trooper arrived. The truck also returned soon after. Statements and insurance info were exchanged and a witness statement was taken from the small truck driver. The officer did not aknowledge the fact that the Honda driver left the scene and also told my wife that he will not write a report...a favor for her, becasue the Honda driver has a witness. He went on to say, that with the witness and the driver stating that you would not allow him to merge, she will have no leg to stand on in court. The officer said that there was not much he could do and that it would be best for the insurance companies to battle this one out.

My question is, was this proper procedure? Is it my wife's fault for aknowledging her "Right of Way" and casuing the Honda driver to hit her? I thought it was ok to assume that if another driver hits your car in the rear quarter area or farther back that more than likely they are at fault. Why did the officer not care that the Honda left the scene? Is there anything we can be proactive about other than pestering the insurance companies?
Thanks for reading:beer:
-John

 

[RDJ]

Make sure she passes this EXACT information to the insurance company and make sure it gets passed to the accident investigator, it could make a difference in how they handle the claim. after you call your insurance agent, get the number of the investigator that is handling the case and pass the information you posted directly to him/her.
if you haven't already, get pics of the SUV and the honda civic damage areas. I am assuming that no one else stopped so it is going to be her word against his and the pics of the damages may tip the scale in your favor.

 

[JDWhite98GT]

So I should copy and paste this into Word, change it to my Wife's words and email it to her insurance company?

 

[RDJ]

So I should copy and paste this into Word, change it to my Wife's words and email it to her insurance company?

no. Have your WIFE write out her statement EXACTLY as it happened. you have to file an insurance claim and it should be attached to that. but make sure you follow up with a phone call to the adjuster/investigator to verify that they have received it.

I had a similar experience when I rear-ended a girl in a pick-up. Something her mother said to me set off alarm bells and I called my insurance adjuster and relayed the information to them and what I surmised was the real situation. I told them it was up to them but my recommendation was that they do a serious investigation of the driver and it was up to them but I would not pay the claim except for an initial doctors visit. they tried to sue me for a boat load of cash and because I got with the attorney handling the case for the insurance company directly and made sure he had exactly what I had said before and then followed up they lost.

 

[JDWhite98GT]

ok I see. Yea I'm not into getting money out of this and my wife's car has but a scratch on it, the Honda on the other hand had some pretty serious damage. I just want to make sure that this does not come back on us/our insurance company to pay for any damages to his car since it was obviously his fault.

 

[ROUSHS2]

As an insurance broker I can tell you right now there will be no "investigation". It sounds like the damage to both vehicles was minor and it's a helluva a lot cheaper to pay the claim then pay lawyers to fight it in court. The claims adjuster's for your insurance company and the civics will determine fault based off the police report. It's her word against the driver and a witness. Unfortunately you will probably be found at fault and your insurance company will pay out minus your collision deductible.

 

[RDJ]

As an insurance broker I can tell you right now there will be no "investigation". It sounds like the damage to both vehicles was minor and it's a helluva a lot cheaper to pay the claim then pay lawyers to fight it in court. The claims adjuster's for your insurance company and the civics will determine fault based off the police report. It's her word against the driver and a witness. Unfortunately you will probably be found at fault and your insurance company will pay out minus your collision deductible.

remind me to never get insurance from you or the companies that you represent.

 

[BAMM BAMM]

It doesn't sound like your wife is at fault to me....... She's already established in her lane and it's the Honda's responsibility to safely merge into traffic...... Doesn't matter if they have a witness or not.....

 

[Iceman II]

Hum, I guess they must have some different merging rules up there? In my book the Honda must yield the right of way and enter the roadway when its safe to do so. A lot of folks think (Honda) think the other folks are supposed to let them in, but thats not the case.

 

[JDWhite98GT]

remind me to never get insurance from you or the companies that you represent.

X's 2
that makes no sense what so ever. There was no police report done and the investigation is up to the insurance companies. I have no idea why you would feel we were at fault when the little scratch on my wifes suv is on the side of the rear bumper and her rear wheel...both scratches can be buffed out. We are bringing the truck to a dealer, of which our insurance company suggested tomorrow. My wife and I have both decided that we can live with the scratch. Again, my fear is that with no police report, the Honda driver may somehow weasle his way into getting his car fixed through out insurance, ultimately raising our rates.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

Was the merge lane have signage indicating a yield to flowing traffic?

The insurance company will determine fault based on a percentage...

-Did your wife see the vehicle approaching on her right (or should she have seen)?
-Did your wife take any available evasive action to prevent the collision?
-The same factors would be considered for the other driver.
-Right of way would also be a factor; however more times than not, both parties of the collision are at fault to some degree.

A determination would then be established.

What percentage of the accident was due to the other driver...
What percentage of the accident was due to your wife...

Having the right of way never negates exercising good defensive driving skills.

 

[PSUCOBRA96]

Report the incident to your insurance company and that your wife called 911 to report a hit and run. Maryland drivers are required to stop at the scene of an accident even when there is no bodily injury or death (off topic but many times how can you know if there is an injury unless you stop). Second based on the above street it looks like the civic should have a yield sign. The fact that your wife's vehicle was hit in the rear is also a factor in your favor. The conversation of the 911 call should be recorded stating the hit in run. Some further information if your interested. Unfortunately we are one of the jurisdictions that still follows the rule of contributory negligence, meaning that if both parties in this case could be found to be negligent therefore no one would recover for damages. Although, this does not bar recovery 100 percent as the last clear chance doctrine does allow for a plaintiff to recover in certain circumstances.

§ 21-403. Vehicle entering stop or yield intersection or through highway.

(a) Signs authorized.- Preferential right-of-way at an intersection may be indicated by stop signs or yield signs placed in accordance with the Maryland Vehicle Law.

(b) Stopping at entrance to through highway.- If the driver of a vehicle approaches a through highway, the driver shall:

(1) Stop at the entrance to the through highway; and

(2) Yield the right-of-way to any other vehicle approaching on the through highway.

(c) Stopping in obedience to stop signs.- If a stop sign is placed at the entrance to an intersecting highway, even if the intersecting highway is not part of a through highway, the driver of a vehicle approaching the intersecting highway shall:
(1) Stop in obedience to the stop sign; and

(2) Yield the right-of-way to any other vehicle approaching on the intersecting highway.

(d) Approaching intersection marked by yield sign.- If a "yield" sign facing the driver of a vehicle is placed on the approach to an intersection, the driver shall:

(1) Approach the intersection with caution;

(2) Yield the right-of-way to any other vehicle approaching on the other highway; and

(3) If necessary, stop in order to yield this right-of-way.

[An. Code 1957, art. 661/2, § 11-403; 1977, ch. 14, § 2.]

 

[svtcop]

Based upon your description of the events and your explanation of the damage areas it seems that the Civic driver would be at fault.

Your wife was clearly established in her lane and had the right of way, the civic MUST yield when merging into another lane. Your wife would have no duty to yield when she has the right of way. I'm curious as to what the statements of the "witnesses" said.

It doesn't make sense to me that the officer would have told her that. Unless MD has laws regarding merging traffic that I could not find. Thank God I'm in Ohio where things make sense. (at least to me anyway) :shrug:

We would complete a traffic crash report (OH1) under these circumstances: property damage exceeding $500., Injury or fatality. Not sure of MD requirements for crash reporting though.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

Just noticed the wife's vehicle was clipped at the back... It does seem to favor her version of the incident.

 

[silver03svt]

Your insurance company also needs to know the shady going ons after the crash...of how it went from a 2 vehicle incident to an incedent with witnesses magically appearing like lucky charms for the other party.