Legal Question in Traffic Law in Wisconsin

Intersection Accident When Both Vehicles Have

Any vehicle is at fault for entering an intersection on a yellow light, if the vehicle had time to stop safely, after the light turned yellow, but before entering the intersection. "Safely" means without extreme braking maneuvers, sliding, or risking rear end impacts from following cars, and will also depend upon the stopping capabilities of any given vehicle. Speeding up to make a yellow light is also negligent, since, if you had time to speed up, you also probably also had time to stop. However, first slowing down as if stopping also misleads other drivers, making the subsequent "speed up" to make the yellow light even worse. The rules are different if you enter the intersection on a green light but are later trapped there by other vehicles, forcing you already be there when the light turns yellow. Then, you can legally stay in the intersection until the obstructing or oncoming traffic lets you proceed with your left turn. Assuming that both vehicles are equally at fault for entering the intersection on a yellow light, the normal rule that left turning vehicles must yield to oncoming vehicles going straight might carry the day. The adverse vehicle first coming to a stop, however, is sufficiently misleading that it could forfeit its right of way. Only a judge, jury, or arbitrator can make a binding decision on fault here (assuming you are unable to settle with the adverse party), but the more equal the number of violations for both vehiclesthe closer you get to a 50/50 fault allocation. It is, of course, impossible to even vaguely predict a result without a full investigation, which is impossible in this forum. Good Luck!