WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT LEFT-HANDED TURNS

If you’re involved in an accident, one of the first things you’ll want to acknowledge is how the accident took place. Did someone pull out in front of you? If so, was that person making a left-hand turn? As a cyclist, you can be harder to see, but drivers should still be wary when turning left against traffic.

In most cases involving a person making a left-hand turn, that person is going to be responsible for the accident. Around 50 percent of the crashes that take place at intersections in Canada involve vehicles that are turning left, according to a study from 2007. This is such a prevalent problem that the Insurance Bureau of Canada considers all left turns that result in an accident against the company policy. This has been the case since the release of the Insurance Act of 1990.

When an insurance company has to determine fault, accident reports have to be used. If two drivers commit a traffic violation, then the insurance company can make adjustments. However, if a driver looks to be solely at fault for a collision, that insurance company will now have to be liable for all aspects of the collision, from the costs of injuries to lost wages for the victim.

Witness testimonies may be used if they’re readily available as well, so if you have someone willing to speak to the insurance company to say the other driver made the wrong move, then that can help your claim move forward. The more evidence you have on your behalf the better, when it comes to proving that another person is at fault for a crash.

Source: FindLaw Canada, “Left-turn accidents: what to know,” accessed April 27, 2016