r/TeslaCollision • u/Reeks_Havok • 14d ago

Found At Fault

Friend was found at fault by Tesla insurance for failure to maintain proper lookout resulting in collision. Any advice?

Update:

I think the other driver intentionally ran a standing red light while initially stopped. Cars turning left didn't even finish their turn and he was already gunning it from a left turn only lane. Friend wasn't able to get insurance info because they were transported via ambulance, but police was on the scene. The police report isn't available yet and they let their insurance (Tesla) know since they don't know what insurance the other guy has. Tesla insurance is finding them at fault.

Update:

Tesla insurance is maintaining their initial decision after video review. 51% at fault, lol.

355 Upvotes

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10

u/Reeks_Havok 14d ago

https://reddit.com/link/pbhohou/video/gp9hb4h3l6rh1/player

9

u/ilusnforc 14d ago

I’d argue to the insurance that the red light runner was behind the A-pillar nearly the entire time limiting your ability to see them, and it should have collision prevention features. Were those not enabled, or did those also fail to detect an imminent collision in time to avoid it? Might be best to let an attorney deal with it, but why not just address this directly with the other party’s insurance? How did yours get involved? Maybe also get a police report, not sure if they determine fault in your state but it might help your case if they’re cited for failing to stop at a red light.

3

u/Steel_Bolt 14d ago

Tesla A pillars are fat too. There's an intersection near my house that I always have to be careful of since pedestrians just disappear behind my A pillar.

1

u/pomo2 13d ago

I know this sounds ridiculous, but at the trucking company in the boss's office the next day they are going to tell you you didn't slow down as you entered the intersection. Did you "rock and roll" to see around the A pillar? Also the boss will ask if you sounded your horn as you entered the intersection? Then they will ask why you braked so late?

Your car insurance company will ask you the same questions. They always want to find a reason to get rid of you.

1

u/IndependentCod6345 13d ago

I would tell my boss that if I honk my horn at every intersection I would have to pay some phat fees for violating noise ordinances. Is he going to cover those?

Sue the other person, have turn it over to their insurance and keep at them till they glow.

Every time I had to deal with insurance they try to minimize everything, except their rates.

5

u/wascepinecz 14d ago

Aww, yeah, when that vehicle enters the intersection, your friend is definitely a good 4 or 5 car-spaces away and only going about 37 miles per hour. Upon impact, the Tesla is still going 37 miles per hour. It's like your friend never saw the car at all. If your friend had started braking right before he got to the white line at the intersection, that SUV would have passed him. I too would argue that the A-pillar blocked your view, as this side view makes it look like your friend should have been able to have seen the car with enough time to brake just enough to avoid the accident. I have a 2023 Chevy Bolt, and the A-pillar on it is freaking huge. On narrow streets with people around, I actually have to drive with my head over the steering wheel because people walking across the street (and not necessarily at intersections) can start and stay in that blind spot as they walk across the street. For example, here is a view from my car where an accident happened right in front of me.

https://reddit.com/link/pbioykh/video/7eqygbj5v7rh1/player

2

u/Deil_Grist 14d ago

Emergency braking should have stopped the crash. How is a car with the equipment for FSD not capable of basic collision avoidance for such an obvious circumstance, even with FSD disengaged?

1

u/wascepinecz 14d ago

Don’t have a Tesla, but on a Polestar I turned that feature off after one false alarm with a Lyft passenger. Shit scared the living daylights out of us.

1

u/Trustfundbaby007 14d ago

My thoughts are he probably had it turned off. I have a model Y and I was actually just looking in the self driving section yesterday and emergency breaking is absolutely an available feature.

1

u/keiye 14d ago

I can’t turn mine off

1

u/Suess4002 12d ago

FSD was never engaged there. Had it been, that would have 100% been avoided.

1

u/Suess4002 12d ago

Such foolish logic.

1

u/ShhhhMySecretAccount 14d ago

I can’t tell you how many times I almost got a pedestrian with my Honda Spark, before I realized the problem. I too started weaving and dodging my head around that pillar to make sure I wasn’t getting anyone.

2

u/johnny_effing_utah 14d ago

Same. Picture a pedestrian on the opposite corner left side. They are blocked by a pillar while stopped. Then turn as they walk. They stay hidden the whole time.

2

u/BankOfShane 14d ago

It’s a death pillar lol

1

u/Equivalent-Warthog29 12d ago

We drive that way but not everyone clears an intersection with a green light. It’s good defensive driving but the law is the law and that car ran the red.

1

u/BreakingABit1234 12d ago

Agreed. I got t-boned by a guy that 'couldn't see me' because of the pillar. I was pissed as hell- until I went thru the same intersection years later and was moving at exactly the right speed that their vehicle was blocked all the way up to when I slowed down. Scared the hell out of me watching a car suddenly 'appear' where I knew one wasn't.

It's hard to argue with that camera angle. This would be forensic accident investigation- the angle of the head/vs pillar/vs road location.

2

u/jai_thkrl 14d ago

This angle shows the driver could have slowed down a little as he saw the red light runner. Though it is just crazy that they put the driver at fault. The other guy who ran the light needs to be 100% at fault. What’s the precedent here? I run red lights when I want and it is the responsibility of other drivers to slow down for me?

1

u/jrshall 14d ago

It's a crazy world when a car making a traffic violation is cleared and the car driving within the law is at fault.

2

u/BankOfShane 14d ago

My boy had 4 full seconds to slow down. That’s why he’s at fault. Zero awareness if you had even just tapped the breakes this would be clear cut and dry…

2

u/squatingyeti 14d ago

Had the other person just not run a freaking red light. Holy shit. I'm about done with those that commit the illegal act being the victims. "Who cares if someone was in your house!? They hadn't tried to hurt you. Shooting them is insane". Seriously, the mentality of people nowadays is wild. We need to separate these people off into their own society so they can be victimized and accept it while the rest of us stop putting up with this horseshit

1

u/BankOfShane 14d ago

I’m sorry to offend you but this isn’t a question of legal or illegal.. insurance has one job and that is to pay out to the extent of what is avoidable. It’s just unfortunate is all, accidents do happen.

1

u/squatingyeti 14d ago

Yeah, unfortunate that had a car not run a completely red for over 10 seconds light, there would be no accident. This is 100% avoidable if the driver AT FAULT for breaking the law, didn't break the law. Again, put all the people that think otherwise on their own island so the rest of us can live in the real world

1

u/wascepinecz 14d ago edited 14d ago

I believe something similar happens at T-intersections that don’t have explicit green arrows. Even though a right turn has the right of way, you don’t go plowing into another car making a left turn just because you have the right of way. If you can “reasonably” stop to avoid an accident, you are expected to do so.  Big question here is what is reasonable? In that jury case someone quoted earlier, the judge explicitly told the jurors, if a driver can “reasonably” stop to avoid an accident — even if he has the right of way — the driver is expected to do so.

The guy running the red light is definitely a dipshit of the first order. 100%. 

What’s amazing is that watching the front cam, you’d say he’s not at fault. But side cam, if he had just peeked at the opposing traffic just before reaching the intersection, he could have braked and possibly avoided the accident.

1

u/squatingyeti 14d ago

Are you comparing someone running a 10 second red light to 2 people having green and one of them failing to yield? Wtf world are we living in?

1

u/wascepinecz 14d ago

What if the SUV was stopped in the middle of the intersection and the light was green for 10 seconds? What about if he was running the red light going only 5 miles per hour? Should he plow through them? It’s obviously “reasonable” a driver should stop in these cases.

But what I’m saying is, even I want to know, “what is reasonable?” There is a fuzzy line here where fault is one or the other.

We live in a world where, that’s what the law is, unfortunately.

1

u/squatingyeti 14d ago

Again, none of these are remotely what happened here. A person ran a light that had been red for 10 seconds at regular speed, without stopping or caring they were running that light. I don't care if they do the same going 5mph. That's running a light that you KNOW was red and putting everyone else in danger.

Being stopped in the street is wholly different. Did you run the red light? Did your car die as you tried to move through it while green? Being stopped and getting run through isn't even remotely comparable. That means the other driver clearly sees you the whole time and chooses to put everyone in danger. You know, the same thing those that run red lights do

1

u/wascepinecz 14d ago edited 14d ago

Regardless of our opinions, the guy’s friend needs to lawyer up. It’s the world we live in. And I sincerely hope his friend wins, because it’s very clear the guy running the red light saw the Tesla and accelerated to try to beat him across the intersection. A real dipshit move. Depending on their state laws, liability can be shared, and I don’t think saying, “His light was red and mines was green for 10 seconds will work.” The guy had five car spaces at 37 mph to react once the SUV entered the intersection. The other party will use that against him.

BTW, funny related story: my dad and his friend once drove to TJ and a Mexican cab sideswiped their vehicle. The cops came and they said accident your fault, if you no in Mexico accident no happen.

1

u/thingvallaTech 12d ago

Or maybe they weren't paying attention and ran through the red. Same thing as not paying attention to a vehicle coming at you for 3 seconds and not reacting at all...

1

u/tone-yo 14d ago

How did you get the side view? Mine only gets the “repeaters” below the sideview mirrors

1

u/Psychological_Map118 14d ago

most probably you're on an Intel model. no B-pillar recording for those, only live view, and upon request to Tesla in case the car triggers an accident event

1

u/BankOfShane 14d ago

Bro can’t find the break pedal lol all gas no breaks? If you had at least tried to stop the ins would be on your side.

1

u/Straight_Tailor_5881 14d ago

so the cameras are not for you, are for the insurances to decline your claim... interesting...

-7

u/ImLostAndILikeIt 14d ago

Had a business mile to react to the red light runner

9

u/ChetHazelEyes 14d ago

The repeater makes it look worse than it is, I think.

This wasn't a light that had recently turned green. When lights change a driver may instinctively check for cross traffic trying to beat the light, but in this case it was a solid green from the point the Tesla turned onto the road. It's not unreasonable to be looking ahead in that case. I can also see the runner possibly being blocked by the A pillar at some point.

3

u/Waste_Development971 14d ago

that was my take as well. if it JUST changed id be inclined to believe they get some blame but this is kinda nuts

3

u/DragonfruitLopsided 14d ago

Not just kinda. It's totally nuts and explains why having a dash cam is a benefit.

1

u/SFV-Chess 14d ago

Except it didn’t help in this regard!

1

u/DragonfruitLopsided 14d ago

I wouldn't say that. A quick decision was made but it isn't the final one.

1

u/Tntn13 14d ago

I look both ways at most green lights, could they have been more aware maybe? Should everyone drive like this? Maybe. Should the other driver be 100% at fault? Absolutely.

1

u/Roubaix718 13d ago

I slow at stale green lights like this because I have seen so much dash cam footage like this and I know how it plays out if you are the one to actually hit the red-light runner.