Legal Question in Traffic Law in Virginia

Failure to Yield

My son and a friend were recently involved in an accident. The friend stopped at a stop sign, intending to turn left. The view to the right was partially obstructed, so he moved forward slightly, then stopped again well before the intersection. While stopped, he observed that a truck was moving up the street from the right at a fairly high speed. The truck had no turn signal on but was clearly intending to turn left onto the street where my friend was stopped. My friend blew his horn, at which point the other driver looked up but still hit my friend's car.

At first, the police officer called this a wash and was not going to charge anyone. He had not asked my son or friend anything about the accident, though he had spoken to the truck driver. When I pressed him to get both sides of the story, he then charged my friend with Failure to Yield and charged the truck driver, though I can't recall what this charge was.

Considering that my friend was: 1) At a complete stop and 2) positioned on a side street and not blocking the intersection, does this sound like a valid charge? It seems as thought the officer, when questioned about not getting both sides of the story, may have been simply trying to even things out.


Asked on 6/06/05, 10:04 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Brian Miller Brian M. Miller, Attorney at Law

Re: Failure to Yield

That does sound quite strange. Sounds like a charge that could be beaten if you contest it in traffic court. Of course I recommend your retaining a lawyer for this purpose. Not all officers exercise good judgment when issuing traffic tickets so it is quite possible that your son's friend will prevail if he contests the charge.

Read more
Answered on 6/06/05, 10:33 am
Jonathon Moseley Jonathon A. Moseley

Re: Failure to Yield

Seems to me the crucial question is whether your friend's car was in the main road or not. That is, your friend's car was preparing to turn from the side road into the main road. You say he pulled up. But how far?

When the case is called in court, and he denies the charge, there will be a short mini-trial. At that mini-trial, the key question is going to be whether your friend's car was in the main road or not. If his car was completely and only on the side road, albeit close to the main road, then the truck has no right to sideswipe objects outside the main road on which it is traveling. However, if the judge is convinced by what he hears that your friend's car was partially in the main road, where it was obstructing the truck, then the judge will find your friend guilty of that.

Read more
Answered on 6/10/05, 5:39 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Traffic Law questions and answers in Virginia