kgdykes@watbun.UUCP (05/26/86)
>From: ehrhart@sri-spam.UUCP > >But what are the legal ramifications if you have an accident while >splitting lanes ? Imagine this scenario and what you would do: > >There you are cruising down a three lane highway at Friday afternoon >at 5:00 PM on your way to the Honda dealer to put a down payment on >a 1985 Nighthawk 700s. You are going about 20-25 MPH splitting lanes >between traffic moving about 15 MPH. All of a sudden a guy in an out >of state $300 beater car changes lanes right in front of you. You >crash into his driver's side door, carroming off and going down. You >land on your butt, the bike's got a couple of broke turn signals and >handlebars bent a bit from landing on one side. Damage to the car is >almost unnegligable. > >Now for the toughie for all you experts out there. Who is at fault ? > >Tim Ehrhart 415-859-5842 > > Well here in Ontario,Canada we do have a law against lane splitting, however, in that accident BOTH parties would be charged by the officer and if either or both wish to claim insurance on the *other persons* policy, they would have to go to court and contest their charge. The charges would be 1) lane splitting 2) improper lane change (you must not do so until it is safe to do so -- ie: look before you leap) If we didnt have the lane-split law, I would guess that the car is at fault. I assume most states have similar "improper lane change" laws. - Ken Dykes Software Development Group, U. of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. N2L 3G1 (+1 519) 885 1211 {ihnp4,decvax,allegra,utzoo}!watmath!watbun!kgdykes