Oi! You don't have right-of-way!

[Pagan]

You two are simply incourrigible, aren'tcha? That's it! *rolls up sleeves*

*passes out Nanaimo bars*

What? EQ does cookies, so I can't pass those out.

Us? Incorrigible? *bats her big green eyes at Broomjockey* We're just wee innocent lasses (at least I am)!

[Kogarashi]

I nearly got T-boned on the way to the grocery store today. I did not need that adrenaline rush, thank you!

In order to get to our preferred grocery store, I have to take the highway. In order to get to the highway, I have to drive through several blocks of residential areas with traffic lights every other block or so. Streets are narrow with cars parked on one side, and people love to ignore the No Right on Red signs liberally scattered throughout the area (they're there for a reason, folks!). Because of the narrow streets, stop lines are set a good car length or more back from the corner to give longer vehicles like transit buses room to turn (this is also to leave room for the crosswalks).

So I'm approaching this one light. A block away, my light is green. Half a block away, still green. Up to the stop line, still green. So the cross-traffic has had a red light for quite some time.

Right as I enter the intersection, I see this minivan come barreling up, past the stop line and halfway across the crosswalk before it slams to a stop. Panicking, I hit the brakes too, though my reflexes have never been sharp enough to hit the horn when stuff like this happens. Growing up in rural New York, I've never needed to develop that particular reflex.

So the van stopped in time and I continue through the intersection, and glance over to see the van's driver, a woman older than me but not elderly, just kind of staring agog at me as I continue driving with my right of way and everything. As if I blew through the red and cut her off or something, rather than her nearly running a red light and hitting a bright red vehicle almost as large and surely as solid as hers.

Newsflash, lady! Red means stop, green means go.

She turned right on red (illegal at that intersection) and ended up behind me, tailgating me until we reached the highway's on-ramps and she went southbound while I went north. My two-year-old got to listen to me half-yelling at the lady the rest of the way to the highway.

[MadMike]

I think in most cases, a "black box" type set up would be sufficient, something to measure speed, tire direction, etc. for the past 15 minutes or so.

Yeah, and if it also recorded audio, the post-accident recording might sound something like this:

"Woah! Look at the tits on her!" CRASH!

Back on topic, I was on my way home one afternoon, and these three very stupid teenage boys were crossing the street, and horsing around and playfully shoving each other while they crossed. By the time I got close to them, they were on the other side of the road, but then the one shoved the other right into the path of my car. Idiots!

Another incident was when I was driving down a four-lane road that's basically a mini-expressway that leads across the river and into the city. These two grown men were riding bikes along the shoulder, and then one of them blindly veers right into my lane. I had to slam on the brakes and yank the wheel to the side to avoid hitting him. Thankfully, no one was in the other lane at the time. Then he looked at me like I wasn't supposed to be there. I gave him an earful before I took off again.

[protege]

Back on topic, I was on my way home one afternoon, and these three very stupid teenage boys were crossing the street, and horsing around and playfully shoving each other while they crossed. By the time I got close to them, they were on the other side of the road, but then the one shoved the other right into the path of my car. Idiots!

I had someone do that...when I was driving my grandmother's car. Grandma's ride was a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera 4-door sedan. Not a big car, but getting hit by it would seriously hurt. Anyway, as I'm approaching them, they were minding their own business. As I'm about to pass, one of the kids pushes the other one into the street...right in front of me Good thing I was able to stop...otherwise, I'd have knocked him into next month...while the car would have escaped unscathed

[Reyneth]

We think these geniuses actually want to get hit so they can get lots of money (why is it that auto drivers are immediately considered responsible when a non-driver is hit for doing something stupid?).

They are not automatically found liable. Especially if the driver's insurance company's adjuster is worth their salt and does a proper investigation.

Unfortunately, in quite a few states even if the pedestrian is clearly at-fault, the insurance company needs to cover their medical bills.