The story is often the same: the driver who turns left is at fault nearly every time– even if that’s not indisputably the case. That’s because, ironically, usually no witnesses emerge when a crowded roadway is the scene of the incident.
Few are willing to stop, park, and sacrifice their time to act as a witness in a car accident involving strangers. Or no witnesses saw it in the first place. Even when witnesses come forward, their recollections often conflict. Most of the time, they aren’t truly sure whether or not the stoplight was green or yellow.
Conversely, it’s hard to argue that when one car turns left in front of another, that car was, well, turning. Common sense dictates that the car making a left turn has the best chance to avoid being struck or strike another vehicle. The car it struck was continuing in its path: no surprises there. This triggers a natural conclusion, which is to cite ARS 28-772. Generally, the traffic court’s ruling then casts at least some of the blame on the driver who turned left at the intersection. No surprises there, either.
This statute’s validity is not something we object to as Phoenix auto accident lawyers. But when we take on auto collision injury cases, we understand that the law will be read to the jury verbatim before they make their decision. Hearing the letter of the law may deter the jury from ruling in favor of the car making the left turn– even if the turn was not responsible for the accident taking place.
To learn more about injury claims involving turning left in an auto accident, please refer to our next post.
