I think you should have been able to argue wreckless driving in your case... not that it is really important now though.

 

Thanks for all the input. Yah, it was a solid white line all the way, and it was on a very large road, so the lanes were very long. It wasn't like I cut over last minute on a short lane, and yes, I was fully in the lane before he hit me. Anyway, I think its too close to call, and the damage is barely noticable to fight over or get insurance involved. Prob just a little touch up paint will do fine. Does anyone have any experience getting their bumpers painted? Particularly, Ivory Pearl? How much does that run?

 

Well It really depend on how the officer wrote it up , becuase that is what the Ins. Company will see. If both cars were not damaged to bad i would call the other driver and see if you can work something out ( peacefully ) with out going thru. Ins. Givin the situation both your ins. MAY go up next year If you clame it. If you both come to the conclusion that it is both your faults, walk away and use it a a life experiance. If less then then 1K of damage on His car i would just give him the money & Walk off a little pissed off.

 

If you change lanes in front of someone and they do not have enough time and room to slow or stop to avoid hitting you, you have made an illegal lane change. Despite what many people think just because you get rear ended, does not mean you bear no liability.

Every accident must be investigated and decided on a case by case basis. you must look at all the facts to make a good and proper liability decision.

As far as the lines(solid or broken), I haven't seen any laws in the state of California that state you can not change lanes over a solid white line. My speculation is that these solid white lines are there to aid a driver in distinguishing lanes that can travel straight through an intersection and turning lane. In either case, if you change lanes in a safe manner, then an accident should not happen and the point is moot.

 

Actually, an officer's opinion is just that....an opinion. Police reports can help point an investigation in the right direction, but there are plenty of things left out in the report that can be quite relevant. Their descriptions can be quite vague as well. But if any party actually uses a police report as their sole argument, they will probably have a weak case. Technically, an police report is considered hearsay and in a trial, may or may not be admitted as evidence. I have not actually seen how it plays out in court myself(most attorney probably won't even bother). My guess is that you will need the officer to appear to confirm he wrote the report, testify to what he reported and be available for cross-examination. And at that, unless he saw the accidnt occur, he would only be testifying to what he was told. At best, it may bring up credibility issues if a statement he took contradicts a statement the same person is now giving. Claims adjusters are taught to conduct theitr own investigations. To make decisions based solely on a police report would probably end up leading to a very bad case someday. I mainly use police reports to obtain information about the parties involved, confirm that what I am told matches the information in the report, and for insight about the loss location. I've seen plenty of cases where I'm told one thing but the police report provides me with where to find evidence that may prove ourt insured wrong. And I've handles many cases where my own investigation proves the police report to be wrong or at least not 100% accurate. My point being that you can not rely on a police report, in that of itself to decide liability.

 

Where you at, Wrah? Im in cincy. I heard a friend of a friend got a ticket for crossing the white line. Definitely not something to test if a cops behind you. If the guy admitted he wasnt looking, you should never say you did something wrong unless you know you messed up.

I got my first car, a 96 Escort, and wrecked it a week later pulling out of McDonalds. I was turning right and some dumb@ss in a conversion van was turning left out of the parking lot and I couldnt see all the way down the road. It was a 35 mpg road and I could see a decent amount of road (I drove my new car very cautiously) for that speed so I pulled out and a grandma in a 70s land yacht that had to be going over 50 nailed me in my drivers door. I was 17 at the time, so I was scared w/ the new car and all and traded insurance info. She had a little red paint on her headlight & bumper and I was out a door. She didnt even want to pull over.

Looking back I would say if you encounter someone that doesnt want to swap info or call the cops, they probably know they did something wrong. Btw, the lady called her insurance about a month later and wanted $400 for the headlight and my paint on her bumper removed.