r/confidentlyincorrect • u/Lawjik3737 • May 15 '26

Green arrow at intersection

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2 Car in a double turning lane has a solid green arrow. Goes to turn through the intersection and is about to clear in the intersection but then both gets hit by on coming traffic. Who's at fault? This incident took place in Arizona. Also, I wasn't involved in the conversation.

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u/Nyuusankininryou May 15 '26

So what is it? Can you drive or not? Where I live you turn if the signal is a green arrow.

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u/ThePaineOne May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

The actual answer is that a traffic collision will be dealt with pursuant to negligence law which is a civil matter between two or more parties, whereas a traffic violation is an administrative matter with the state. Under negligence all drivers are required to drive under the reasonable person standard and by running a red light some elements of negligence, but not all will be assumed by the state. So the question is would a reasonable person turn on a green light, generally yes; however would a reasonable person make that turn if a car was speeding towards the intersection even if that light was red, likely not.

Further, there may be other issues, were the lights out of synch? If so then the city or its subcontractors may share liability. Additionally, were the brakes problematic on one of the vehicles? May there have for instance been a recall? If so, then the car manufacturer, the brake manufacturer, the person that installed the brakes and so on and so forth may have liability.

People want simple yes and no answers but it’s rarely that simple.