I'm not sure who was wrong

[Summerfly413]

I was driving home after taking a walk at a nature preserve in my county. I came to an intersection and was waiting to make a right turn, watching the traffic. I see a car on the road I'm waiting to turn on, but going in the opposite direction. They're in the turn lane, so they're going to make a turn onto the road I'm coming from.

So there's a break in traffic and I go to make my right turn, and just about get hit by the car in the turning lane because they were making a u-turn.

I stopped and let them go once I saw they were making a u-turn and not a left turn like I thought they were. It was really annoying.

I think I was *technically* wrong because I had the red light(you can turn right on red), but how am I supposed to know someone is going to do a u-turn(no posted signs that you can't) instead of a left turn?

Made a picture because I never know if my discriptions are confusing and I just like to The green car is me.

[Lachrymose]

Right on red would always yield to green as far as I know, as long as it was a legal u-turn.

[NightWatch]

My understanding is when you are turning left on a green arrow, you have the right of way, and that would make you wrong. However, if it was a regular green light, that tells the person turning left that they may turn only if the intersection is clear. That includes making u-turns. So it would be his fault for not looking to verify he was clear in that case.

[Chanlin]

This is touch and go, both drivers in this case are responsible for making sure their turn is clear. Summer is responsible because they had a red light, the guy making the U turn is responsible because he is making a left turn ( U-Turn) on a regular green light (assuming that was the case) and because he was making a U turn not a regular turn.

In any case a cop would likely determine fault by whose front end was crunched - AKA who went first and who wasn't looking - In any case you both had an opportunity to avoid a collision and you did which is good.

This is why you never assume someone is doing something, even with their turn signal on

I've been rear ended before for people behind me assuming I am going when I had to stop because it wasn't safe to go.

EDIT:

Florida traffic laws allow for both right on red and U turns as long as it is safe to do so and does not impede the flow of normal traffic. Under law since the person making the U turn had a green light the LAW would say Summer was in the wrong because the right on red law for Florida states that any vehicle obeying a legal traffic signal posted at the intersection has the right of way. - of course though IANAL

316.1515 Limitations on turning around.--The driver of any vehicle shall not turn the vehicle so as to proceed in the opposite direction upon any street unless such movement can be made in safety and without interfering with other traffic and unless such movement is not prohibited by posted traffic control signs. A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a moving violation as provided in chapter 318.

a. The driver of a vehicle which is stopped at a clearly marked stop line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection, or, if none then at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway before entering the intersection in obedience to a steady red signal may make a right turn, but shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and other traffic proceeding as directed by the signal at the intersection, except that municipal and county authorities may prohibit any such right turn against a steady red signal at any intersection, which prohibition shall be effective when a sign giving notice thereof is erected in a location visible to traffic approaching the intersection.

both of the above are taken from http://public.findlaw.com/traffic-ti...affic-law.html

[blas]

If there are no U turns allowed, then the other driver would have been at fault.

Around here, U turns are pretty much forbodden, yet people do it all the time and they don't care if they get in anyone's way.

That has happened to me before, turning right on a red and some tard who was supposed to turn left decided to whip a U-ie and almost kill me. And it was a damn plow.

[Summerfly413]

Thanks Chanlin that was good to know.

I'm glad I stopped

I sure didn't want to get in a head-on collsion just trying to drive home.

There wasn't a "No U-turn" sign for the other driver

[IvorTangrean]

U turns seem very common in Florida, on my honeymoon was the first time I had ever seen a u-turn lane. It looked like a turning lane but faced a brick wall.

[Andara Bledin]

My understanding is when you are turning left on a green arrow, you have the right of way, and that would make you wrong. However, if it was a regular green light, that tells the person turning left that they may turn only if the intersection is clear. That includes making u-turns. So it would be his fault for not looking to verify he was clear in that case.

Nope.

Since there was a signal, the person with the green light has right of way over the person with the red light pretty much every time.

The person with the red light would only be in the right if the person with the green was performing an illegal maneuver (eg. the state prohibits u-turns except where a sign indicated it was allowed or a sign specifically prohibited u-turns at that intersection).

As a note, you should always check that people turning left aren't trying to turn around when making a right turn on a red.

^-.-^