Crash video.... Opinions?

[rebelcowboysnb]

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This line, at least the way its used in Ga law means that even though you wont get a ticket for speeding, crossing the double yellow, an whatever else an even though they should yield to you, if you crash you are still 100% at fault if you breaking a normal traffic law contributed to the crash.

 

[Iowa Roo Mom]

I feel I must know this important bit of info before releasing my opinion for the general public....

What kind of call was the LEO responding to?

(I have no sound)

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

It never says. I want to know that too.

Sense you have no sound I will tell you the cop turns the siren on at around about 1.5 seconds before the crash.

 

[Desert Rooster]

Driver of other car was at fault, was probably on the phone

 

[aubreynoramarie]

I honestly feel that everyone knows youre supposed to move to the RIGHT shoulder and come to a stop when you see the lights. Its a common law and language of the road that prevents these kinds of mishaps from happening. My guess is that the driver assumed he would make the turn before the cop got near him and would avoid having to spend an extra 3 seconds on the side of the road.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Heres a better video of it.

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The cop was not deemed at fault an the other driver did get a ticket.
I do not agree. The cop said that he assumed the car would give him right of way. You do not do that. You have to assume they will not until you see that they have. I see nothing in that video that would have made be believe he saw me an it was safe to pass him. An even if he did he was coming by him way to fast for that situation. Siren off is not even legal here for this reason.

I may think different if the cop had his siren on an the car did not have a left blinker on but even the I would not call the cops driving "due regard for the safety"

 

[Iowa Roo Mom]

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The selection in bold tells me that the law does not protect the driver of an emergency vehicle from the consequences of an unreasonable exercise of the right of way granted...

We don't know the nature of the call the officer was responding to. It could have been a plethora of things, from a fight, to a domestic, to a shooting, to a hostage situation, to an armed robbery, to a motor vehicle accident, to a structure fire, to a fellow officer in serious danger, the possibiliteis are endless...

Even still, I think it is clear that the motorist failed to yeild to an emergency vehicle, therefore causing the accident. I personally feel that if the driver of the emergency vehicle has to "drive with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway", then the driver of the emergency vehicle also has the the right to presume the vehicle that he/she is attempting to pass is abiding by the laws of said highway. If indeed that person was abiding by the law, he/she would not have turned, and the accident would not have happened.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

So do you think 1.5 seconds of siren blast before passing someone is enough warning to expect them to react correctly?

 

[Iowa Roo Mom]

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Well, as per the law stated above...

(1) A person commits the offense of failure to yield to an emergency vehicle or ambulance if an ambulance or emergency vehicle that is using a visual or audible signal in a manner described under ORS 820.300 and 820.320 approaches the vehicle the person is operating and the person does not do all of the following:

Sounds like he/she was not required to have both the siren and lights on, simply one or the other.

My personal opinion is that the person in the vehicle ahead of the officer, given the lighting conditions (dusk), should have been able to clearly see the flashing lights of the emergency vehicle, whether or not the siren was on.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I think that is a pretty dumb law cause its not unusual for people to never see lights coming up behind them. That's why a siren was invented an required equipment.

The turning left thing is not that uncommon ether. Its something I expect when driving emergency traffic. If I assumed every car I ran up on was going to yield right of way to me like this cop did I would have killed a lot of people. When the public trusts you to drive that fast in a police car or my case a 10 ton fire truck you dont get to assume anything. That assumption has put lots of "good guys" behind bars for manslaughter over the years. Some of which I use to worked with.