Brooklyn Car Accident Right of Way Question (Erin: cars, location)
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This question goes out to those NYC folks who are intimately familiar with NYC Traffic laws. Over the weekend my wife was in a car accident in Brooklyn. Somewhere in the vicinity of Kings Highway and Ave H.
If vehicle 1 is traveling on a road that also has a service road and makes a right turn when the traffic light is green AND vehicle 2 is traveling (straight) on this service road who has the right of way?
As long as the car in the service lane does not have a stop sign, then the car in the service lane has right of way. This is why there are off ramps (they still have to yield to cars in the service lane) between main intersections so situations like this don't occur. But there is a sign at each interesection that states "No Right Turn" from main road.
Common sense would say that car 2 has the right of way. Even if a right turn at that location wasn't illegal to begin with, traffic going straight generally has right of way over traffic turning, unless the turning traffic specifically has a green turn arrow.
I think generally the person ENTERING or crossing the traffic flow must always cede the right of way to the one continuing IN the traffic flow. (Not unlike pulling out of your driveway.)
So the Service Road going straight ahead has the right of way.
Sorry about the accident...a good way to ruin a weekend.
Doesn't matter in the end so much as NY is a no-fault state.
Except for when it ISN'T.
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