Cy Guy's Journal: Fender Bender (not mine)

I witnessed a fender bender yesterday
I left my name and number for the two drivers - no one else stopped out of the 30 or so cars in the vicinity, including one within 4 feet of the accident
no one was injured, but I'm surprised the driver at aparent fault didn't have a heart attack - he was like 85
this couple were literally "Sunday drivers" aparently coming home from church
the guy said he hadn't had an accident in 20 years
he complained that drivers don't brake to let other drivers make turns anymore
they were hit making a left hand turn through a long line of stopped traffic when they crossed throught the right-turn only lane than wasn't stopped

Here's what I recall in case I need to refresh my memory later:

At about 12:25 PM Sunday December 10th, 2006 I was driving my family Eastbound on MD 410 approaching the onramp for the Baltimore Washington Parkway (satellite view). The traffic on 410 going straight was backed up because of a red light at the 410 overpass, but the right turn only lane was clear. I was in the right most of the straight lanes. From what I could tell the traffic in the straight lanes had left a gap for traffic entering/leaving Eastpine Dr. which was two car lengths in front of me. A red car approaching westbound on 410 saw this gap and made a left hand turn across the eastbound lanes. Just as it was crossing the Right Turn only lane, a black car drove past me and hit head on into the right rear door of the red car. The light at BWP/295 changed and the other cars in the area all proceeded on their way. The two cars directly involved both drove a short way onto Eastpine and parked, as did I.

After ensuring that both drivers and the passenger in the red car were not injured, I offered use of my cell phone which was declined, then I provided my name and phone number to the drivers and noted the time, location, and license plates of the cars involved.

 

Must be different idea of fault

[Marxist Hacker 42]

Or I don't understand your description. At any rate- I'd put the driver of the black car at fault. Standard defensive driving techniques claim that you make allowances for the possible impairment of other drivers.....

Re:

[Cy Guy]

Take a look at the satellite view, the street the red car turned on is East Pine, it isn't a cross street, it just connects to the south side of 410, there is no real intersection there - no stop sign, no light, basically it's no more an intersection than driveway would be. To the East bound black car with no stopped car in front of it, it was basically like any other stretch of road. The red car comes across it's path of travel from a location completely obscured to the black car. While I accept that an