Discussions

If anyone witnessed the vehicle accident at Victoria and 13th yesterday (July 25th) at about 5 pm and can help out with details of how it happened please contact me. It would be greatly appreciated, Thank you.

Just talked to MPI, turns out we don't need a witness. My wife (driving our car) got to the intersection just as the light turned amber and with no time to stop she kept going straight through. A truck going the opposite direction turned left in front of her and they collided. The BPS officer at the scene told my wife he thought she was at fault because she should have stopped. He actually said that's why the stop lines are set back from the intersection. So, you have time to stop if the light turns amber as you approach it. I can see how he might think that, though it does break the laws of physics. We disagreed with who was at fault, because we didn't think it was legal to turn into on coming traffic. The officer was probably doing his job to the best of his ability, but was getting annoyed when we wouldn't agree with him. After talking to MPI today, they confirmed the other driver was 100% at fault and it is definitely not ok to drive into on coming traffic. My wife is sore but will be ok in a few days. The car may be a write off. I hope the officer rethinks his opinion of traffic flow laws and that makes him more helpful at the next accident he attends.

Good to hear it was resolved.  
 
You can legally enter an intersection on an amber light as long as your vehicle can completely clear before the light goes red. If you enter on an amber and the light goes red before you clear you are in violation. As for the vehicle turning they must wait for the on coming traffic to fully clear the intersection before completing the turn. If they are established in the intersection before the light changes they are allowed to complete the turn even on a red and proceeding traffic must wait until they clear. Which in your wifes case sounds like the truck did not do that.  
 
I am sure all BPS officers are well trained and know how the traffic laws work. Having only heard your side its not really fair to comment further. Either way you got it figured out so take care of your wife and have a good weekend!