stylett9

iTrader: (9)

Ok, so story goes as follows;

My mom is at a 4 way intersection, but she has stop sign while cross traffic just flows.

It's 5:45 AM in Chino and she's waiting to make a left turn. When she finds an opening in traffic, she proceeds to make a left turn but then hits a bicyclist that was going cross traffic(think of a t-bone accident, like that).

The cops come and file a police report. Unfortunately the way my mom is, she gets panicky and confused and i'm really questioning whether she's going to be represented fairly on the police report.

My question is, what are the road regulations that this bicyclist needs to follow? Does he have right of way? etc.
I already know that he should have been required to have a headlight but i don't know if that's good enough a reason to put fault on him. I'm not necessarily saying it isn't my moms fault, but i just need some solid traffic regulations to determine who was at fault. I checked ca dmv website but the listed regulations aren't very detailed so i'm hoping someone that has somne first hand experiance can chime in.

thanks

TreeFiddyZee

iTrader: (19)

Bicyclists are supposed to follow the same traffic laws as autos.

Sean

Mom is likely to be found at fault.

Pics to determine MILF status?

LT_350Z

was he J-ridin?

Tatelasteil

Basic traffic law: No matter how much you want to, DO NOT RUN OVER THE BICYCLISTS.

UHATEIT

iTrader: (7)

If the cross traffic had the right of way and your mom was at a stop sign she would have to yeild the right of way to cross traffic. I work as a claims adjuster for a car insurance company and I have seen this 2 times before. The car would have to be aware of its surroundings and treat the bike as if it were a walking pedestrian. Maybe they can get something on the bike for not having a light or something like you said.

when you mean t-boned, was the bicyclist on the left and hit the driver side of your mom's car? or was he on the passanger side and she hit him when she got across the traffic?

ginobetterfly

iTrader: (30)

lol

ginobetterfly

iTrader: (30)

that sucks man... my mom curbed my wheels the one and only time she drove the car....

calin

iTrader: (39)

ouch...sorry to hear man. Good luck to your mom
not really sure what the rules are though..

stylett9

iTrader: (9)

lol, she's not milf status. Yeah it looks like she's probably ganna be the one at fault unless they determine that he shoudl have had a light( which in all honesty, i really think he shoudl have). Ohwell. By the time my mom hit him, she hit him with the front left of her car. He went flying off and ended up with a scratch on his knee, and scratch on his palm. He says that his wrist is feeling really soar so he was ganna get X-rays taken, but he didn't need to be taken by ambulence.

visionz

iTrader: (9)

^^^+1 so please don't get mad at them when they are on the left turn lane with the rest of cars trying to make a left. And don't honk at them to let them know you're passing them, just go around them like you would when you're passing slow cars, honking will just startle them and cause more problems.

sorry to hear about this incident. i hope everything turns out okay to all the parties involved.

dvo

iTrader: (26)

bicyclist do have to obey the same laws as cyclists. They have to stop and stop signs. They should not be on the sidewalk or in the crosswalk and with traffic. Cyclists should not be on the opposite side of the road. They are technically supposed to be on the road with autos. pretty much, you're supposed to share the road. I work at a bicycle shop so I've heard all kinds of stories. I one day asked a cop what the laws were and he told me everything that I just told you guys.

edit, as far as the lights go, you need front and rear lights but at 5:45am, there is enough of an argument to go either way regarding the amount of natural light out at that time.

dubtunited

iTrader: (12)

yup...i was pulled over once by a motorcycle cop during my freshman year of high school for failure to stop at a stop sigh on my bike

Zyclone Z

iTrader: (1)

what kinda car does your mom drive? :-DZ

stylett9

iTrader: (9)

thanks for all the input guys. she drives an 03 toyota camry.

SOLO-350Z

iTrader: (26)

If I understand this correctly, your direction of traffic was flowing, and she was turning left once a opening came. That means the cross traffic had a redlight. If this is so, that means he had the right to cross the same way as the traffic was. People walk also on crosswalks when the light is green.

So your mom didn't see him. It's her fault not the guys.

HR Autoparts

iTrader: (165)

Dunno if this helps, but I was hit by a car when i was younger riding my bicycle. The light was green for me to go, but another car turning right (red light for them) hit me as I was crossing. The police ended up saying it was my fault for not walking the bicycle across the intersection, so im not sure if bicycles are okay to ride through the intersection or are supposed to be walked.

stylett9

iTrader: (9)

i think that's for if you are at a cross walk. In this case, while it was an "intersection" there wasn't a designated cross walk.
I'll look into it though. thanks.

Fooshe

iTrader: (42)

UHATEIT is basically right. Having been in the same position and the guy who writes the report, your mom will be mostly at fault...like 90% or so. You can argue that the cyclist should have had a headlight and reflective clothing if he had no light on his bike. Also, there is a requirement for bikes to have reflectors on the wheels, as well as both front and rear of the bike so it can be seen on all 4 sides. This is all assuming he had no headlight or reflective items on his bike or himself. If you need specific codes, I can get them for you.

Now if he was hurt, you can argue lack of safety equipment, it he had none, and the fact that he contributed to his own injury.

Oh, and whomever said that the bike should be on the opposite side of the street (riding against traffic), is 100% wrong.

SS

onedirtyz

iTrader: (3)

ouch, sorry to hear that man. hopefully everything will get taken care of in time and the cyclist won't decide to slap your mama with a lawsuit.