who's at fault?
so on my way back from battle with the county over a tax assessment issue today, i saw an interesting scenario....
- two joggers running in downtown traffic cross a street corner. they are running with traffic, yet the pedestrian signal is clearly red...they're crossing out of turn so to speak.
- one car heading in their direction, starts turning onto the the street in which the runners are crossing
- one of the runners acts all beligerantly - arms flailing, high-pitch screams, etc.
- said runner did have some dandy-fine running shorts. you know, the ones that have a nice slit up the side so you see a little extra leg. however, it was a dude.
- i roll down my window to hear the exchange....hyper running dude says to his running partner, "i would have SO beaten that guys ass if he'd hit me."
so, if a runner would have been hit....would the driver really be at fault since the runners were crossing at a time when the big red hand said not to?
posted by Buck Super Stereo @ 12:25 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
This is why we pay our Claim Reps and Attorneys very good money.
In a situation like this, we need more information:
-How far into the intersection were the joggers
-I'm assuming it was light out
Anyway, in a case like this, the car is at fault despite the sign showing that the joggers should not of crossed. It is the responsiblity of the driver to slow down and pay attention when entering an intersection. The pedistrian always has the right of way no matter what.
That is not saying that the car is 100% at fault. Most states have what we call comparative negliegence, meaning that we can apply fault to certain parties. In this situation I would apply 70% to the car and 30% to the joggers. If the joggers jumped into the intersection at the last second, then they might be 40% at fault.
Remember that vehicle code and insurance law is there to protect the idiots in our country. This is a prime example.
I'm just wondering how much strength you'd really have to beat anyone's ass after getting run over, cuz if I'm taking one runner out? I'm taking two.
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