Venus Williams accident, I don't understand the legality of this

[sunshinehighway]

Has she actually been charged with anything or been found at fault? I hadn't heard anything about it so i google it and don't really see much about her actually being found at fault. It articles I'm seeing say a sleeve or have quotes..like "at fault" so I'm not really sure what the story really is.

 

[katie01]

Has she actually been charged with anything or been found at fault? I hadn't heard anything about it so i google it and don't really see much about her actually being found at fault. It articles I'm seeing say a sleeve or have quotes..like "at fault" so I'm not really sure what the story really is.

The article said: “[Venus] is at fault for violating the right of way of [the other driver],” the police report reads, according to the gossip website.

But that was just referring to the actual traffic violation, I haven't heard if there were charges filed after the man passed away

 

[SMD]

This makes me wonder about another scenario, where you are trying to turn left on a green light (at an intersection where you're allowed to yield on green to turn left). You pull into the intersection to wait for an opening in oncoming traffic, but oncoming traffic keeps coming, and the oncoming cars go through the yellow or even run the red, so you end up not being able to turn left until it's red (because at this point, halfway into the intersection, you can't back up, you have to go when you can go). I had this happen the other day and the car perpendicular to me, whose light then turned green, laid on the horn at me, but I had no control over oncoming traffic. According to the law, could that car have hit me and then charged me with being at fault because I was in his way, blocking the intersection? I made the left as quickly as I could.

I'm sure there are various local laws, but you're not supposed to pull into the intersection until you can complete the turn. If you're still in the intersection after the light turns red you could be ticketed for an unsafe turn.

 

[Mizzoufan]

We have don't block the intersection on our roads

 

[katie01]

All right, I'm not crazy after all. I live in Illinois, and to paraphrase the police officer in this article, the approach to handling left turns at stop lights changed in the late 1990s. Makes sense, I received my drivers Ed training in the early 1990s.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...ffic-school-northwestern-public-safety-center

 

[Shanti]

Ok, maybe I misunderstood, I took it as her going through the intersection when it was green, but getting stuck there by the cars in front of her, when the light then turned red. Is that technically still called "running a red light"? I always think of running a red light as initially entering that intersection after its already turned red, not when it's green.

It's actually a traffic violation to get stuck in the intersection. You're supposed to look at the traffic ahead, and if there isn't clearance enough for you to get all the way through, you're supposed to wait. That will keep you from getting stuck.

Likewise, running a red light is defined as being in the intesection while the light is red. You can't enter the intersection during the last moment of the light being yellow, then claim innocence to the fact that you were in the intersection during a red light.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think the law is that you are not supposed to enter the intersection unless you can clear it. If cars are backed up into the intersection, you are supposed to stay back and not enter the intersection until you can drive all the way through, even if the light is green.

This scenario happens fairly often, especially in very congested areas. However, it is usually more of an annoyance and really causes gridlock. I

I was always taught that you wait til the intersection was fully clear. Being stuck in the intersection is not a place I'd like to chance being in.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Likewise, running a red light is defined as being in the intesection while the light is red. You can't enter the intersection during the last moment of the light being yellow, then claim innocence to the fact that you were in the intersection during a red light.

So I had an interesting discussion a few weeks ago with my husband.

In my state if the light is yellow when your vehicle has entered the intersection or passed the crosswalk or limit line before the light turned red it's not considered running a red light.

 

[Shanti]

So I had an interesting discussion a few weeks ago with my husband.

In my state if the light is yellow when your vehicle has entered the intersection or passed the crosswalk or limit line before the light turned red it's not considered running a red light.

My state is the opposite, as I described.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My state is the opposite, as I described.

Oh I wasn't implying it as a my state vs your state thing was just making a comment.

I find it interesting TBH that different areas have different rules on a thing we have all encountered-red and yellow lights.

 

[Shanti]

Oh I wasn't implying it as a my state vs your state thing was just making a comment.

Yes, I know. Same here.

 

[katie01]

Oh I wasn't implying it as a my state vs your state thing was just making a comment.

I find it interesting TBH that different areas have different rules on a thing we have all encountered-red and yellow lights.

Me too. How many people actually peruse all the rules of the road books for every state before heading out on a road trip??

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Me too. How many people actually peruse all the rules of the road books for every state before heading out on a road trip??

Probably not too many really.

But I do think there are some basics though.

 

[Squirlz]

So I had an interesting discussion a few weeks ago with my husband.

In my state if the light is yellow when your vehicle has entered the intersection or passed the crosswalk or limit line before the light turned red it's not considered running a red light.

Right. Once you are in the intersection waiting for traffic to clear you still have the right of way.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Right. Once you are in the intersection waiting for traffic to clear you still have the right of way.

Well I wouldn't say waiting for traffic to clear as it should have been clear before you entered the intersection.

It's just that in my state once you have entered the intersection or passed the limit line when the light is yellow it's not considered running a red light. If you are however still in the intersection backed up behind cars and then the light goes red then you are considered blocking the intersection. So you're trading one offense for another.

 

[Kaytie]

You pull into the intersection to wait for an opening in oncoming traffic,

Hmm...possibly if drivers stopped doing this it might decrease gridlock and improve traffic? Nah, what was I thinking?

And yes, people can purposefully stop so you run into to them. It is a scam as old as the hills.

Swoop and squat. Also heard it called bull and cow.

I have never seen a "Don't Block the Box" sign, but I think they would be useful in some of our busy intersections.

Call of visit your city or town council to see how to get these enacted. Maybe even your state government.

 

[morgan98]

Yes, this is true. At some busy intersections around here, there's a box with criss-crossed lines painted on the road in the middle, and a sign that says, "Don't Block the Box".

Still, I'm not sure of the details in this case. Was Venus' vehicle still moving or was it at a standstill when she was hit? Sounds like she passed into the intersection on a green light and then had to stop before she got completely across the intersection. The driver on the cross street would've been at a red light, and then when it turned green in his direction, hit the gas and drove straight into Venus.

Even if you legally have the right of way, why would you drive head on into a stopped vehicle that's directly in your path? You need to always be alert and aware of your surroundings when driving. Being right doesn't matter if it's not safe to proceed. It seems like both parties may be partially at fault, but it is being investigated.

I started to type almost this exact thing at the end of my last post...

Usually when intersections are that crowded with people blocking the center, the whole area is really congested. I too have a hard time understanding how he either did not see her or even got going fast enough for such a serious accident to have occurred.

 

[Mom2FiveKidz]

I'm assuming that "at fault" they mean that her insurance is liable, and not that she's guilty of manslaughter. There's no way that trial would be done by now.

Here's what I don't understand. If Venus broke the law by driving into an intersection that wasn't clear all the way across, why isn't the driver of the other car guilty of the same thing? Obviously, the intersection wasn't clear when they drove into it, because Venus was there.

 

[Mizzoufan]

I'm assuming that "at fault" they mean that her insurance is liable, and not that she's guilty of manslaughter. There's no way that trial would be done by now.

Here's what I don't understand. If Venus broke the law by driving into an intersection that wasn't clear all the way across, why isn't the driver of the other car guilty of the same thing? Obviously, the intersection wasn't clear when they drove into it, because Venus was there.

The other car had the right away. They had the green light.

 

[anniemae]

I just saw this on GMA this morning. What an awful tragedy. I thought they said Venus pulled into the intersection while light was green. Traffic was backed up, so she was forced to stop in the middle of the intersection. Light changed and she was stuck in the middle with red light. Apparently, the traffic cleared ahead of her, and she moved forward, even though the light was red. The other driver, with the green light, advanced forward and hit her. Venus said she never saw the other vehicle. She was driving a suburban I believe and the other driver was in a Hyndai. She was at fault for driving while light was red.

They also mentioned the family of the man who died is trying to get security footage from Venus's cameras (not sure what cameras) but they will not release them. Not sure what that is about.