I need help! ASAP! Cops welcome...

OUT FOX EM · Jan 27, 2004

Does anyone know of a website with a formula or calculator that can be used to determine speed from length of skid marks? I was in an accident traveling 45 mph when a truck pulled out in front of me and I hit him. I had no time to stop. The car is a 1989 Ford Mustang GT Convertible, loaded with 4 people including myself, no anti-lock brakes. The extra weight will obviously play a role in stopping distance. I have stock brakes (front rotors, rear drums), and there was approximately 8 miles of street driving prior to the accident (brake fade). The other party claims I was speeding because there are skid marks but I wasn't cited by the police officer. Is there a formula I can use to find out for myself how long it should have taken me to stop? I know the police use one...

siege · Jan 27, 2004

this might help...

http://www.harristechnical.com/skid11.htm

93 LX · Jan 27, 2004

If he pulled out into through traffic then it his fault regardless of how fast you were going. The traffic that wants to cross through traffic he must yeild to on comming traffic period!

Allen

ECU5.0 · Jan 27, 2004

93 LX said:
If he pulled out into through traffic then it his fault regardless of how fast you were going. The traffic that wants to cross through traffic he must yeild to on comming traffic period!

Allen

not necessarily true. if someone pulls out in front of you and you hit them towards the back of their car (ie. rear quarter panel) it can be your fault because technically if the car had enough time to get that far into the road you had enough time to brake. but if you hit the car in the front quarter panel or door than it their fault. i had a buddy that was a cop that told me that. i think its kinda crap anyway...just lettin you guys know.

Idwitheld-1` · Jan 27, 2004

OUT FOX EM said:
Does anyone know of a website with a formula or calculator that can be used to determine speed from length of skid marks? I was in an accident traveling 45 mph when a truck pulled out in front of me and I hit him. I had no time to stop. The car is a 1989 Ford Mustang GT Convertible, loaded with 4 people including myself, no anti-lock brakes. The extra weight will obviously play a role in stopping distance. I have stock brakes (front rotors, rear drums), and there was approximately 8 miles of street driving prior to the accident (brake fade). The other party claims I was speeding because there are skid marks but I wasn't cited by the police officer. Is there a formula I can use to find out for myself how long it should have taken me to stop? I know the police use one...

Hey, keep us posted on what your findings are. This is VERY interesting. How's your stang doing? Hopefully no one was hurt.

siege · Jan 27, 2004

if they pull out in front of you (i.e. making a right turn and giong the same direction as you) and you hit them its generally your fault. however if they could not get up to speed, then it would be there's. its some weird thing. this almost happened to my girlfriend. she pulled out and got up to speed and someone hit her from behind (since he was racing...in an 87 vert oddly enough). the original cop there said it was partially her fault because she pulled out...then her dad (a cop as well) decided to tell them how stuff works...especially cause the skids returned "at least 65" and he hit her doing 40 if you weren't cited for it, then there is really nothing to worry about I would think. sure the other guys insurance company might try to say it was your fault, but around here at least, the cops will only site you if they determine that you are at fault. don't know if any of that made sense....

siege · Jan 27, 2004

oh yeah and skid marks don't mean speeding obviously. you can make skid marks at 20 if it came down to it

ECU5.0 · Jan 27, 2004

yeah, definetly....if the cop didnt cite you for anything than you wont be paying squat.

OUT FOX EM · Jan 27, 2004

Thanks for the feedback. As far as injuries, unfortunately yes people were hurt. My baby (the vert) is out of commission as there is severe front end damage, including the block itself.

I hit a Silverado 1500 truck T-bone style as he was cutting across 3 lanes of traffic to go in the OPPOSITE direction. Simple fact is he didn't look to the left to see me coming. He stopped dead in front of me whereupon I braked and tried to swerve around him but when you're locked up you can't steer at all. As far as where I hit him, I hit him on the driver's side door and the extended cab part of the truck (basically in the exact center on the driver's side). He was at a 90 degree angle to the road as he was trying to make a left turn to go back the other way. If I can disprove their speeding theory, they don't even have a toe to stand on.

P.S. I know I wasn't speeding.

goldbomb79 · Jan 27, 2004

eww, that's never good. your poor baby. generally the police measure the skid marks and take info on how many occupants and guesstimations of weight to figure speed. if they didn't right you up for anything chances are they believed you. as for someone pulling out in front of you and hitting them. as long as you didn't rearend them and there are skid marks to show that you were trying to avoid them you usually are scot free. usually, there are those rare instanes where judges see sports cars and become anal about things. let us know how it all turns out

Black331Stang · Jan 28, 2004

from traffic law in college, HIS FAULT, PERIOD. i was gonna ramble on but sinc eu said u t boned him and he cut across then its his fault. no matter how fast u were going he should have looked first judged your speed with how much time he had and judge his decision to go on that. even if u got a ticket for speeding it would still be his fault.
Theres instances where ive seen people driving on the wrong side of the road (elderly, turning too soonto make a left), hit someone head on, driver who got hit (driving normally) had an invalid foreign license. automatically there fault.
Most likely the accident will fall as his fault and u will win. SO THAT MEAN SUE. lol.

good luck and keep us posted

Black331Stang · Jan 28, 2004

and when u sue (if the guy was an ass) sue for all sort of things, not only medical and damage bills, pull the psychological stuff. like everytime u get into a car u get the willies, especially when approaching a driveway u get flashbacks and $hit. thats when the $$millions$$ come into play then u can tip all of us in this thread that helped u lol

and no, im not one of those sue for anything kinda people just so u know. just tryin to cheer him up. yet u could go ahead and take my advice. it wouldnt hurt. lol.

MSM0075 · Jan 28, 2004

Black331Stang said:
and when u sue (if the guy was an ass) sue for all sort of things, not only medical and damage bills, pull the psychological stuff. like everytime u get into a car u get the willies, especially when approaching a driveway u get flashbacks and $hit. thats when the $$millions$$ come into play.....

the sad part is...its true, people really do this kinda stuff.

87gtconv · Jan 28, 2004

What cops do is measure the length of the skid marks to determine speed at lock up!! If you had excessive skid marks I am sure they would have checked the box that says that speed was a factor. If the police report has none of that kind of mitigation you are assumed to be not at fault cause you were going straight through an intersection that you had the right of way!

Maryland Stang · Jan 28, 2004

It doesn't matter whether the cops think he's at fault or not. It's what the insurance companies think happened that counts. Unless a police officer witnesses an accident then anything he reports is considered "hearsay" and does not carry a lot of weight with either the courts or the insurance companies. At that point the facts of the case take over which is why you see the police do a through investigation when serious injury or death is involved.

Cavcloser29 · Jan 28, 2004

I had a beautiful 1993 jeep that slide off the road on a very wet day, granted i made the turn to fast, but i hit a poll going aroun 15-20 mph. Now the cop was unfortunatelly a jerk. He claimed that the skid marks i left in the dirt indicated that i hit the poll more like at 35-40. This was not the case, but still the skid marks did not come into play. I still got a wreckless op. As for my beautiful Jeep, they deemed her totalled because it threw the gears and motor alignment of just a hair. Just my 2 cents worth.

hllon4whls · Jan 28, 2004

Maryland Stang said:
It doesn't matter whether the cops think he's at fault or not. It's what the insurance companies think happened that counts. Unless a police officer witnesses an accident then anything he reports is considered "hearsay" and does not carry a lot of weight with either the courts or the insurance companies. At that point the facts of the case take over which is why you see the police do a through investigation when serious injury or death is involved.

Officers testimony is not only hearsay. They can be considered expert witnesses because of the experiences they get every day.

I would say that since the truck was hit directly in the side, he blocked traffic lane and he was at fault.

chaka · Jan 28, 2004

You have the point of impact on your side since you hit him in the driver's door. If it was more toward the rear of his truck then it would look worse for you. Good luck with it. I know how it is to be in that situation.
Was T-boned by an Ambulance that Barrelled through a red light. No way he was going to be able to stop. EMT's told the cops I ran the red, which was complete BS. I entered the intersection w/ a green light at about 30mph and next thing I know I got plowed. Didn't even have a chance to make a statement since they strapped us all to backboards. ****in crooked power trippin people out there. Still going through all the legal BS to straighten it out.

Hope it all works out. Just make sure you follow the correct steps and paperwork.

Trojan Horse · Jan 28, 2004

Skidmark Calculator-

http://www.martindalecenter.com/Calculators1_3_Auto.html#AUTO-ACC

siege · Jan 28, 2004

this has been said, but when someone makes a left, they pretty much give up all rights. you can make a left and someone can run a red light and slam into you and its still your fault apparantly.

I say go for 2x the value of your car + 3x medical bills (normal pain and suffering payout)..seems fair. don't try to get $300k cause of psychological crap or anything, that sucks..

I need help! ASAP! Cops welcome...

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