My Car Accident, Friday Dec 22nd, 5:35pm Part 1 -The Intersection

Hi friends! Ok, I have a lot of recapping to do of the past two months. I figured I'd start with covering the car accident I had on Friday, Dec. 22nd, 5:35pm. I am sharing this with you, my friends, as I have with so much else of my life, but as well as this is the only way I can figure out to get the digital pictures I have of the intersection and accident to Geico, my insurance company. Apparently, they have a small size limit on the emails they accept and I have been unable to get them to my Claim Agent. I figure she can just come here and do a right click download of each picture. (That said, I have been a Geico customer since I have started driving and their service has always been excellent. And their response to this accident continues to show that.) So if this reads like a deposition, I apologize. Again, I am writing this with the intent that Geico can just print this out as my statement.

Anyway, the accident occured at approxiamately 5:35pm on Friday, December 22nd, 2006 at the interestion of South Wing Viaduct and Paterson Pland Rd in Union City, NJ. (Link here to Google Maps.) It was dark, and while it had rained earlier, it was just misty out. Not quite a drizzle, but not a dry night either. This didn't present a factor in the accident as the roads were not slick. I just mention it to present the facts of the evening. I was making the right turn from South Wing Viaduct on to Paterson Plank Rd. You will see from Google Maps that the intersection forms the letter "T". If you select either the Satellite or Hybrid View, you will see that this "T" intersection is right in front of my girlfriend's apartment building. This fact is a silver lining as I immediately called her to come down with her digital camera.

My car was located at the front of the line of cars in the right lane of South Wing Viaduct. Located very much in the same place as the car in this photo. (Click photo to enlarge, then right click and "Save as" to save photo.)














As well as this photo, which gives similar indication to the line of traffic behind me.















The big difference between these photos and that night, besides the obvious lack of sunlight, was that there were no cars, coming from the opposite direction, in the intersection. The left turn signal was not working that day, something my girlfriend noted when she when drove through intersection shortly before my accident. Both sides had their respective lights turn green at the same time. Also, note in these pictures that the intersection has a "No Turn On Red" sign. Now three cars before made the turn on red. I did not. As a resident of New York City since 2002, we are not allowed to make right turns on red on ANY interestion. So this has now become habit; much to the annoyance of others when I visit Long Island.

I initiated my right turn when the light turned green. My car was the FIRST to enter the intersection. This is important to note. (More details later.) When I entered the intersection, NO cars from the opposite direction had even moved forward. My 2000 Chevy Metro has a Gross Vehicular Weight (GVW) of 1,896lbs. When you add in my 175lbs, that brings us to a total of 2071lbs. This is significant as the car that hit me, a Nissan Pathfinder, has a GVW of 4,612lbs. With driver and passenger, with an average weight of 140 each, that brings its total weight to 4,892lbs. The basic physics of acceleration state that even if we both hit our gas pedals at the same time, my lighter car would enter the intersection first. However, this isn't even an issue according to New Jersey State Traffic Law. From Title 39:4-90 of New Jersey Traffic Law

39:4-90. Right of way at intersections

The driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection shall yield the right of way to a vehicle which has entered the intersection. When 2 vehicles enter an intersection at the same time the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right of way to the driver of the vehicle on the right.

The driver of a vehicle within an intersection intending to turn to the left shall yield to a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard, but the driver having so yielded, and having given a signal when and as required by law, may make the left turn; and other vehicles approaching the intersection from the opposite direction shall yield to the driver making the left turn

(emphasis added here is mine)



Further more, the driver of the Pathfinder has a New Jersey License and this fact is something he would had to have known when taking the knowledge portion of his road test. Here is a link to the New Jersey State Department of Motor Vehicle's Driver's Manual. The information regarding yielding to oncoming traffic when making a left turn is in Chapter 4, pages 31, 36-37.

"Always stop at a multi-way stop or stop intersection. Always yield
to the driver on the right if arriving simultaneously at a controlled
intersection with regulatory signs, such as a four-way stop. Always
yield to any driver already at or in an intersection."


The driver of the Pathfinder was first in line in the left turn lane of Paterson Plank Rd, northbound, seeking to make a left onto Paterson Plank Rd, westbound. Here is a picture of where he would have been located.














(Click on Image to Enlarge, Right Click, then "Save As" to download.)

It is important to note two things here. One, he has the greater distance to travel. And two, as shown by the next two photos, he would have seen me enter the intersection first, AND had me in his field of vision for the much the entire turn until he tried to pass me (and beat me to the turn and lane ahead). Then I would have been in his blind spot.















(Click on images to enlarge, Right Click, then "Save as" to download.)















Here is a photo of the merge to westbound. Again, I point out that I was already in the crosswalk when hit by the Pathfinder, just a little bit ahead of the SUV pictured here.
















Here are photos of the merge from the opposite direction. (That apartment building in the background is where my girlfriend lives.)
















(click on images to enlarge, right click, then "save as" to download.")
















The Pathfinder was much in the same position as this van. However, since there were cars in the opposite lanes, he was a number of feet over towards the left (driver's right) of where the van appears in this photo. And unlike this photo, there wasn't empty space there. My Metro was there. For the driver to get his Pathfinder to that location, after entering the intersection after me AND having his vehicle weigh 2.5 times more than mine, he really must have been speeding. It is only at just prior to the point of impact, and during the impact that he would have lost sight of me in his blind spot. For the majority of the turn, I would have been in his field of vision . He assumed, as he told me, from prior times going through this intersection that I would have yielded to him. However, this is in direct contradiction to NJ Traffic Law, as shown above, MUCH LESS THE TRAFFIC LAW OF ANY STATE IN THE U.S.A. Also, I would not have seen him at that point, because he was in my blind spot. I had finished the turn and I was no longer looking to my left, I was looking straight ahead.

Here is another photo of the merge where a vehicle is at the same spot as the above van. It will probably enter the lane of the oncoming traffic. However, what is supposed to happen, BY LAW is that the driver of that car is supposed to yield to the driver of that pickup truck.














The next post (Part 2) shows the damage to the vehicles from the night of the accident. These further illustrate the fact that the Pathfinder hit my Metro and not the other way around.

My Car Accident, Friday, Dec. 22nd, Part 2 - The Damage

This post, the second following Part 1, will show the damage to my car, the location of my car right after impact, and how the other driver's claim that my Metro hit the Pathfinder is physically impossible. If you have not read Part 1, do so before reading this post.

This first photo shows the location of my car immediately after impact. The force of the impact pushed me onto the curb. As you can see, I am past the crosswalk. (The white line in the upper right of the photo.) My vehicle had completed the right turn and was in the crosswalk heading straight.















(With all images click on image to enlarge, then right click and "save as" to download.)

These two photos clearly show the directional damage. The smudgey stuff that you see on my bumper is tire residue. If you enlarge the picture you will see that the smudges start on the left side (car's left) of the bumper, and move in a rightward direction, to the front. Had I hit the Pathfinder and turned away, the direction of the smudges would be in the opposite direction.
















Also, note that curved line on the bottom of smudge, that was caused by the Pathfinder's lug nut cover. I know this because I found another Nissan Pathfinder, same model, and measured it with a tape measure.
















The next three photos were taken of my car the next day in daylight. You can clearly see the force direction of the damage. The damage travels from the left side to the front right. Had I hit the Pathfinder, I would have a nice dent in my bumper as well as damage breaking off, on the left side, going in the direction towards the back of the car - in accordance with Newton's Third Law of Motion, "The Law of Reciprocal Actions", which dictates that "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Also, had I hit him, it would have been human nature to turn away from the other vehicle, which would again cause damage going in the direction of front to back on the left side.

However, this is not what the pictures clearly show.















(If you enlarge the above photo, you can really see the directional nature of the tire smudges.)















In the above two photos, as with the ones taken the night before, notice that the headlight is pushed towards the right of the car. Had I hit the Pathfinder, as the driver alleges,it would have been pushed back and to the left (car's left). Again, it would be an "equal and opposite reaction."















The dent and scrape above the bumper were caused by the right back-SIDE bumper, and wheel-well's edge of the Pathfinder. You can see that on the pictures below of the Pathfinder.

These photos show the damage to the Pathfinder and the height difference between the Pathfinder and the Metro.














On this photo, notice the missing lug nut cover on the tire and the scuffing on the back SIDE bumper. That is where his vehicle hit my Metro. The night of the accident, I picked up the lug nut cover and handed it to the other driver. If he denies this in Claims Court, under oath, he will be lying. Also, The driver will probably claim that I caused the noticeable dent you can see above. However, as you can see from the next photo, it is physically impossible for my Metro to reach that high, nor does the Metro have anything "pointy" enough on it to do that kind of damage. So that dent has to be from a prior incident.

Furthermore, in a rear impact accident between a Metro and a Pathfinder, I would end up under the bumper due to the height and mass differences.

















If you enlarge this picture and zoom in on his back SIDE bumper, near the tire, you can seen the scuffing that the Pathfinder endured. As you can see, there isn't barely any damage. While true, in any accident between two vehicles in which one has 2.5 times as much mass as the other the smaller vehicle is going to take on a vastly greater amount of damage, the direction of the damage also indicates the direction of the accident. If I had really hit him, as the other driver alleges, there would be some directional damage on his vehicle, as per physics. But as we can clearly see there is not white paint or plastic residue, from my Metro, on his car.

Now, the police report from the night is vague as to who hit who and does not place any fault. Perhaps this is because New Jersey is a "No Fault" State. Furthermore, what the police officer wrote down that I said versus what I did actually say to him are quite different. My girlfriend was standing right next to me when I explained myself and will testify, under oath, that what I said and what is written below are two different things. On the report, I am listed as Driver 1 and the Pathfinder is Driver 2. The report writes:

"Driver #1 stated while negotiating a right turn onto Paterson Plank Road when he collided with Veh(sic)#2. Driver #2 stated while negotiating a left turn onto Paterson Plank Road when he was suddenly struck by veh(sic)#1."

I was "negotiating a right turn"?!!! You have to be kidding me!! I told the officer that I had completed it, which can be plainly seen by the pictures in this post and the last. I never stated that I "collided with" the other vehicle. I vehemently stated, repeatedly I might add, that the Pathfinder hit me. Furthermore, I reminded the police officer of Traffic Law THAT THE DRIVER MAKING THE RIGHT TURN HAS THE RIGHT OF WAY!

And as you can see from the last post, the other driver wasn't "suddenly struck" by me. He had me in view for most of the turn. So it should have come as NO BIG SURPRISE that he would hit me as he tried to cut me off!

BOTTOM LINE: By law, he should have never entered the intersection until he had clearance from all the cars coming from South Wing Viaduct, myself and all those behind behind me included.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and the last. I will gladly testify all this under oath in a court of law as well as present these photos along with the physics formulas to prove the nature of the accident.

This is what you get when the son of a police officer, who fastidiously read his father's law books, who also happens to have a degree in mathematics gets into an accident. It further helps that my mentoring professor's area of focus was the breaking points of metal and plastics as it applies to accidents and the strength of vehicles and airplanes.

Happy New Year!! (Resolutions)

I realize that I have been a bad blogger the last few months of 2006. I got really busy and the commute from LI to Astoria was killing me as it sucked out my will to create. The downward cycle then just fed on itself. I would start posts, but never finish them. I have a folder on my computer with at least 10 half finished posts.

As I wrote in the Winter Solstice post, the last months of 2006 were extremely stressful. I had to move out of my apartment, get my stuff in storage, commute from Long Island (where I thankfully stayed with a great friend), and have my band break up, get back together, break up again and then finally get back together. (We’ll see how long that lasts.) I felt like I wasn’t settled and I couldn’t get much done. Thankfully, I moved into a new apartment this weekend that is twenty minutes from my job and adequately holds all my stuff. (To family and friends who want the address, I’ll email you soon.)

• So for 2007, I resolve to change that. I’ll post with greater frequency. I can’t promise greater quality. Though, if you are reading my blog, odds are that you don’t think I write too much crap. . . .that often.

• In acknowledgment that I have fallen out of contact with a lot of my good friends, I resolve to stay in touch more. I’ll call more, write more and definitely try to visit.

• I resolve in 2007 to get out of my day-job as soon as I can afford to do so. The people are nice and all, but it’s served its purpose. I am intended for greater things than to be an administrative assistant.

• To that end, I resolve to get back into shape. I know everyone and their mother makes that resolution. However, I need to do it for where I see my career going and to keep up my stage performance.

• I resolve to get my own music recorded and out there on the net.

I think that’s it for the resolutions right now. I’m sure I’ll have more by the end of the week as I get further settled from my move.