Maybe just a bike from now on.

May 2, 2006 12:56 PM

Had a car accident, one witnesssays I ran red light, but I don't think I did. What do I do now?

This happened in Georgia.

Accident was at an intersection. No serious injuries on me, but I don't know about the other driver. Police said he seemed like he'll be fine, was talking and conscious. Our cars are probably totaled. There is one witness who says I ran a red light, but said witness seemed fishy to me, like he was covering for a friend in the neighborhood. Or maybe I was still in shock from accident.

I remember checking the green light earlier up the street and watched it go from red to green and since I do this route everyday, at this time, was confident about the timing of the light. In short I'm 90% certain the light was green.

There was one local resident (different from the witness above) who says he's seen the other driver ran speeding and running the light before. My wife (who wasn't in the car, but a local lady was nice enough to call, so wife showed up later) got his address but he seemed reluctant to say much more.


Did get a ticket for not obeying local traffic laws, but the cop made a point of saying that he had to ticket someone for insurance purposes, so one witness against me was enough for me to get it. he also said to go to court with documentation showing the other guy was taken care of via my insurance and the case would most likely be dismissed. i do have full coverage on the vehicle.

So do I try to fight this or just go with the cop said? Does it matter either way? Do I lawyer up? Investigate, question people? Like was said, pretty sure, but not completely sure it wasn't my fault.


Filed a claim already, based on my local insurance agent's advice, got a body shop to go look at car, got a rental car setup.

posted by anonpeon to society & culture (16 comments total)

Oh yeah, there doesn't seem to be fine on the ticket. Just a court date. is the late of a stated fine a normal thing.
posted by anonpeon at 12:59 PM on May 2, 2006

I would tell the insurance company that I did not go through a red light if I didnt think I did.

the self doubt that you get because someone thinks you did something should not affect your judgement of what you didnt or did do...
posted by Izzmeister at 1:13 PM on May 2, 2006

I was a witness in a near fatal hit and run. I was to testify that the driver ran a red light... Long story short. I could not see the other driver's red light, I only assumed it was red because my light ( at the intersection of two roads) was green. In other words a good lawyer will be able to discredit a lot of "good" witnesses.
posted by Gungho at 1:19 PM on May 2, 2006

It's not really that important. In certain cases, the insurance companies assign fault 100% to one side or the other (rear-ending is the fault of the trailing car, left-turn hits are the fault of the left-turner). In many other cases, they assume you were both at fault, it's a hit against both of your policies, and they just split it in some percentage fashion.

Your state may have laws governing fault distribution, which specify how the insurance companies do this divvying (cuts down on court cases). Here are Ontario's. Check and see.

The police report is not good news for you trying to evade fault. It will count heavily against you. After all, he was on the scene, and presumably did the best he could at figuring out who was responsible.
posted by jellicle at 1:20 PM on May 2, 2006

Don't worry about it. The only way you can get convicted of the red light issue is if the witness shows up and testifies. Highly unlikely, unless they're welding a grudge. The insurance companies will sort it out.
posted by lester at 1:21 PM on May 2, 2006

The process of fighting this depends on what state you are in. This happened to my daughter -- folks behind her said she ran the light, but even if she did it was a delayed green from the other side, and that guy jumped the light. We had evidence of his driving erratically at other times, which we presented. No dice -- the single eyewitness account stood, which in our state meant several years of increased insurance rates. Best of luck.
posted by beagle at 1:22 PM on May 2, 2006

What Lester said... don't give that witness any reason to show up at your court date.

Did the cop cite you for ignoring any particular traffic law?
posted by peeedro at 1:58 PM on May 2, 2006

You seem really vague on a lot of stuff. You don't know if the other driver was injured. Why not? Is he injured or not? You don't know if your cars are totalled or not; why not? They're "probably" totalled. Are they totalled or not; how can they be "probably" totalled? You don't know if you ran a red light or not; you're "90% certain the light was green." Why is that? You're supposed to be looking at the light as it is when you reach the intersection, not how it is from earlier up the street. Sounds to me like you were gunning through the light according to your assumption of what it would be when you reached the intersection, not what it actually was when you got there.

It would be probably wise to get your story nailed down first of all - a lot of what you say is vague enough to work against you.
posted by Nicholas West at 2:55 PM on May 2, 2006

All the other commenters have mentioned only what your insurance company will do (assigning fault to decide whether you have to pay a deductible) or what will happen about the ticket you got. You've got much more to be concerned about: a liability claim for personal injuries by the other guy. You should immediately contact your insurance company and ask them to take steps to investigate the accident in the event of a claim being filed. Very likely they will assign an investigator to do so while memories are still fresh. (You should not do any investigation. Nothing you do will be protected by anything.)

Some companies are more proactive on this kind of stuff than others.

Some other observations:

1. If you are "90% sure" the light was green, your position will have little credibility. That's roughly the equivalent of saying "I'm really not sure what color it was". A strong and credible witness is one who will swear vehemently that the light was green, and pound his fist while doing so.

2. Having posted the details that you have, you have probably given the attorney for the other guy a lot of ammunition in the event that he makes a claim. (See point #1, for example.)
posted by megatherium at 3:13 PM on May 2, 2006

Nicholas - the "probably" stems from the fact that "totaled" status is determined solely by the adjuster, who may not have gotten to look at the car at the time of the original posting.

The other driver may have injury which was not readily apparent at the scene of the accident.

No indictment here - just pointing out what could be.
posted by Thistledown at 4:13 PM on May 2, 2006

Don't be 90% sure, be 100%. I'm not telling you to lie, but seriously... think back to it... was it green? Don't let the nosy neighbor change your position. Be confident or megatherium is right on the money.

Speaking of money, find out how much this will cost in increased insurance. Decide from there if it's worth it to fight. As stated earlier, you might get a personal injury claim but I think they usually go after your insurer harder. Make sure you were covered for whatever they might bring, though. Advice to call the insurer is good; they should lawyer up so you don't have to. They probably are already on it.

Finally, I'm also in Georgia and have seen a number of traffic tickets. The fine is not on the ticket, they'll give it in court. You could call the court to see what it would be if you plead guilty (i.e., mail in your money), but do not do that. Regardless of what the cop at the scene said, regardless of whether you did it or not, paying the fine is an admission of guilt. IANAL, but if the personal injury suit happens, that will hurt you: No matter how sure you are it was green, your official legal position is that you ran a red light.
posted by SuperNova at 6:06 PM on May 2, 2006

peeedro- was cited for failure to obey traffic something (can't read the cops writing)

nicholas- i'm vague because the accident only a few hours before I posted this. i was shook up and didn't get to see much of anythng and the other car ended up some distance from me (about half a block). we both were taken away in separate ambulances.

Honestly, I do NOT remember looking at the light as I reached the intersection, just remember the green car coming outta nowhere on my right. Hence it might be my fault.

SuperNova- already filed a claim. If i'm pretty sure it was green, do I plead guilty or not guility?
posted by anonpeon at 6:53 PM on May 2, 2006

Police officers do not determine legal liability at the scene of an accident. Police officers can choose to give citations to anyone who they believe violated a traffic law. They can also choose not to cite anyone and just file a report of the accident. Police officers give an opinion to fault based on their investigation at the scene and file the informational facts in a public report. In fact police reports are inadmissible evidence in a civil case as long as you plead not guilty to any traffic charges(injuries and property damage resulting from an accident are tort where proximate cause of negligence and therefore liability must be proven). A "guilty" plea would be an admission and therefore goes against your interest. Even if a judge finds you "guilty" the record still reflects that you did not admit guilt because you pled "not guilty".

All you really need to do is report it to your insurance company and provide them with your statement and whatever facts you know. It is up to them to conduct an investigation(which is required by Georgia law). It doesn't matter if the other party appeared injured at the time or becomes injured at a later time, as long as he can prove the injuries are related to the accident with medical documentation. The statute for bodily injury tort in Georgia is two years. Just keep in mind it goes both ways. If you believe you can prove the other driver's actions were the proximate cause of the accident which would make him negligent and therefore liable, you can file a claim against him for your injuries and property damage. Liability in this case should be determined based on the credibility of an eye witness present at the scene of the accident. You should take your chances ... go to court ... plead not guilty ... the witness may not show up. But remember traffic citations do not determine legal liability so even if the case is dismissed against you the other party can bring civil claims against you and vice versa if you choose that path.
posted by oh posey at 7:40 PM on May 2, 2006

I'm just terribly scared at this point and want the other person to be ok and for me to ok.

Is there anyway for me to know beforehand if the other driver is holding a grudge, i.e. preparing charges or showing up at the court date with a lawyer? Should I bring a lawyer to the court date?
posted by anonpeon at 7:50 PM on May 2, 2006

anonpeon, at this point, nothing you can post here is going to materially help you or the other party. Whatever your feelings of guilt or innocence, you have to recognize that dealing with them is something you need to do carefully, so as not to further complicate the situation, or make it worse.

If I understand it what others have said here, the advice you've gotten can be summarized as: Shut up, lawyer up, report what has happened to your insurance company, and refer everything to your insurance company and your own attorney. Do exactly what your attorney advises you to do. Your first responsibility is to yourself, and if you don't exercise discretion and self-control ("play it smart"), you could be living with more adverse results of this for years.

Slow down, get some perspective. Things will look different in a few days. Good luck.
posted by paulsc at 8:38 PM on May 2, 2006

relax. you have done what you needed to do. Your nsurance company will handle any liability issues. Go to court, plead not guilty, and if they continue to press charges, ask for a continuance to consult with a lawyer.
posted by lester at 7:14 AM on May 4, 2006