Legal Question in Traffic Law in North Carolina

Auto accident. I checked both ways at a stop sign and it was clear, then made a left turn when a car speeding came out of nowhere and hit me. I was at fault and there were no witnesses. Is it possible for me to say that the other driver was negligent and have it deemed that both were at fault?


Asked on 3/28/14, 6:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

First, don't say 'came out of no where'. Things don't come out of no where. Saying it came out of no where is tantamount to admitting you didn't see the car which is itself a traffic violation NCGS 20-154(a) "The driver of any vehicle upon a highway or public vehicular area before starting, stopping or turning from a direct line shall first see that such movement can be made in safety...". Second, there were at least two witnesses, yourself and the other driver - possibly more if there were passengers. As to the possibility of saying the other driver was negligent, if you mean lying about it - yeah, don't do that but if you are referring to the fact they were speeding - sure, you can do that and if they were in fact speeding then they were negligent. The only benefit to doing that would be that in North Carolina, the doctrine of contributory negligence essentially bars an someone from recovering any compensation if it can be proven that they acted negligently and contributed to the accident in any way.

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Answered on 3/28/14, 8:48 pm


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