So, I'm sitting at the light at Huntington Avenue and Ft. Hunt Road. I'm going south on Ft. Hunt Road, Belle Haven C.C. is on my left. I'm in the left lane and I'm the 3rd car in line at the red light and there's another 15 cars behind me. While waiting for the light to change, I see a Land Rover Discovery pull out from the line behind me and race up the right lane and then stop at the red light as the first car in the right hand lane.

For those unfamiliar with this road, 500 feet after you pass through the light Ft. Hunt Road going south (just after Woodmont Road) narrows from two lanes to one lane. The right lane is eliminated so, those in the right lane must merge into the left lane.

So, the light turns green and traffic starts moving. The Discovery doesn't get going very well and falls back so that he is overlapping the second car and me. At no time did he ever signal. As the road begins to narrow the Discovery veers left and sideswipes the ever living shit out of me, missing the car in front of me.

After we got everything whoa-ed up and pulled over to the shoulder, we determined there was no one hurt and then the driver of the Discovery starts yelling at me saying he had the right of way because he had overlap on me and I was supposed to let him in. I fired back by asking him if it occurred to him when he was passing all the cars before the light why nobody was in the right lane. And oh by the way...the car IN the lane has the right-of-way so, if you're merging in you have to yield to the car that's already there.

When FCPD arrived they appeared to agree with me after talking with 3 witnesses and encouraging them to come to court as the driver of the Discovery was cited for making an improper lane change. From my point of view, this appears like an open and shut case and the accused will be found guilty. How dependent is my case on the witnesses appearing? If they don't show, is it my word versus his? He admitted to the officer that he was in the right lane trying to merge into the left lane...

The lane the Discovery was in was the one that went away, so he had no right of way. He's at fault. He's a typical NoVa driver, has no clue what "right of way" even means.

My mother (passed this year, at 85) grew up in DC. She once told me, "I don't like driving on the highway because I never learned how to merge". I managed not to say, "Well, no kidding, look where you learned to drive!"

Did you get the names and contact info of your witnesses?

You may have been in the right but why didn't you just let him in? You wouldn't have lost as much time as you did dealing with all that grief.

Hmm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You may have been in the right but why didn't you
> just let him in? You wouldn't have lost as much
> time as you did dealing with all that grief.

Fuck that, mang! This is EXACTLY the reason NOVA has become such a back world shit hole on the roads! If you let people like this in when they try and pass everyone from a lane that is ending? It just reinforces the behavior. I see this kind of bullshit every morning merging onto the Beltway. You're coming down the ramp, it's bumper to bumper. You've been crawling along patiently waiting for a chance to merge when all of the sudden some douchestick comes blasting down the SHOULDER jumping 50 cars in line, slamming on their brakes and then veering left and merging.

I'm sorry you're late...leave earlier. I'm sorry your bowels are ready to explode...wear a diaper. I'm sorry you think your commute is a priority over all others...there's a line. It's this "NOVA-sense-of-entitlement" that has become way too fucking pervasive in everything that goes on around here.

It's unfortunate there was an accident and fortunately no one was hurt. If the OP had time to burn on this, that's his situation but...I promise you this. The driver of that Discovery will think twice about pulling this shit again.

too much like home work, and i have a pile of work todo

show a diagram

-------------------------------
good idea:

#1 read the VA driver's manual. then you'll know !

#2 if you get a jury what i say doesn't matter

#3 don't worry if fairfax court is invovled your screwed if you were right or wrong

#4 are you telling me the insurance company didn't pay yet ?


are you making an argument it was not an accident on the part of the other driver ?

or is this about lack of insurance by you or the other party. i'm confused.

because i don't give a fuck who was at fault why should i ?

so the most likely assumption is:

accidents happen. accidents are not actionable since they are assumed un-intentional and purely known human error we all share. replacements of damages are needed, ie, so people can work.

but accidental damage without proofs and allot of talk is a highly questionable thing not worthy of court. laws concerning being un-insured for such a predictable event, is more material. did you not know the road can be dangerous due to mistakes when you got on it? was your plan making a poor fool with a mistake your slave and taking their land if your car was dented, if you argued enough?

which is one of many reasons for auto insurance laws.

-------------------------
if your a cluts female driver and should be un-insurable becuase you've wrecked too many valuable automobiles ...

not like a long arument of he says she says is worth court time.

they'll know. there'll be a pile of wrecked cars to look at.

Probably on his phone and noticed the road was just about to go away and failed to check his blind spot.

Like everyone else said you should reward his shit behaviour and let him in. That way he knows he was doing it right.

There may be a sign somewhere that says lane ends merge left or right. Most likely it says merge left. If so he is at fault. Merging traffic must yield to cars already in the left lane. I would try to avoid an accident but if he pulled into you then screw him.

You should do ok in court its pretty obvious from where his damage is, drivers side, to your damage, passenger side, who was in the right lane and who was in the left. Sounds like the office got it right, hope you win in court maybe he will think twice before rushing ahead of everyone else but somehow I doubt it.

If you're worried about witnesses not showing up, then I'd go in prepared as if you had none.

Get a copy of the police report in advance just in case he doesn't show up either. He should have written in the report that the other driver admitted fault. Go to the accident scene and take photos of the signs that say lane ends-merge left. You might also want to consider calling some of the witnesses in advance to see if they're planning on showing up. Knowing that you're relying on them to be there might make them more inclined to not blow you off.

Good luck.

There should be two different trials, and assuming you have collision insurance and didn't get a ticket yourself, neither should cause you to lose any sleep.

The first trial would be the traffic trial on the officer's citation. The parties to that trial are the Commonwealth and the Discovery driver. It is the Commonwealth's job to get the people it needs to win its case there. I the officer felt it was important for the witnesses to be present, then the officer should be making the arrangements to have them summoned.

Some people think the traffic trial decides who has to pay who. It doesn't, at least most of the time. Unless the Discovery driver shows up and pleads guilty the result might not even be admissible. The traffic trial is supposed to be solely on whether the Discovery driver broke the law, and not whether you, he or both of you caused the accident.

The second trial would be the civil trial for damage to the car. If you carry collision insurance then YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY would handle this for you. You would need to report the accident to them along with the locating information for all of the potential witnesses, including the police officer. They will arrange for an attorney to represent you, and the attorney will file the necessary papers to get the case started, and will also have the witnesses summoned to appear at trial if it goes that far. You will need to cooperate with the attorney and of course show up at trial. However that trial will mostly be between the insurance companies over who pays for the damage to the cars, and you only have your insurance deductible at risk.

If you don't have collision insurance, you will probably find out now why you need it. The Discovery driver's insurer is probably going to dick you around about fixing your car, meaning you have to pay to fix it out of pocket and then go against them to get paid back. They might even try to file suit against you before you file against them. If that happens at least you would have insurance coverage under the liability portion of your insurance policy and your insurer will get you an attorney for that part of the lawsuit. Be sure to let your insurer know of the suit as soon as the papers are served on you.

Definitely the Discovery's fault, but you're still stupid for letting that happen...

He did nothing wrong up to that point. Getting in the right left turn lane is not "cheating" or trying to screw you over. It's an open lane...people generally use open lanes...

And you obviously knew there was a merge, yet I'm sure you were still tailing the car in front of you to make sure he didn't get in. Be generous next time, it may get you somewhere...

Hey, ricky, there is no such thing as "Right of Way" in hurting Virginia.

The other driver was cited. That's money. You're sitting pretty like a happy donkey dick.

Borgata. Money.

SIGNAL MOTHERFUCKERS. We can drive 100% defensively, but we cannot read each other's minds. Use them turn signals!

If the police ticketed the overcompensating SUV driver he is at fault. However, if he is going to contest it get the witnesses to show up if at all possible. Also you should discuss the matter with your insurance company if you haven't, as they have a joint interest in making him pay.

As for his yelling at you, well he's the typical idiot in an SUV, not to mention a land rover. You want to know the potential laundry list of why he's an angry person here it is(it's probably some combination of these):

1. He has a teenie weenie problem
2. He's ugly and hates that women laugh at him.
3. He's fat
4. He's bad with money and the debt collectors keep calling and want the ugly gas guzzler back.
5. His wife and kids hate him.
6. He can't even have a wife and kids because of 1,2, and or 3.
7. He has to work a job he hates or 2 because he's a loser with no real skills and is bad with money, but wants to pretend he isn't.
8. He's just a loser in general.
9. He's overcompensating for a bad childhood.
10. He's overcompensating for something else.


NOVADriver Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So, I'm sitting at the light at Huntington Avenue
> and Ft. Hunt Road. I'm going south on Ft. Hunt
> Road, Belle Haven C.C. is on my left. I'm in the
> left lane and I'm the 3rd car in line at the red
> light and there's another 15 cars behind me. While
> waiting for the light to change, I see a Land
> Rover Discovery pull out from the line behind me
> and race up the right lane and then stop at the
> red light as the first car in the right hand
> lane.
>
> For those unfamiliar with this road, 500 feet
> after you pass through the light Ft. Hunt Road
> going south (just after Woodmont Road) narrows
> from two lanes to one lane. The right lane is
> eliminated so, those in the right lane must merge
> into the left lane.
>
> So, the light turns green and traffic starts
> moving. The Discovery doesn't get going very well
> and falls back so that he is overlapping the
> second car and me. At no time did he ever signal.
> As the road begins to narrow the Discovery veers
> left and sideswipes the ever living shit out of
> me, missing the car in front of me.
>
> After we got everything whoa-ed up and pulled over
> to the shoulder, we determined there was no one
> hurt and then the driver of the Discovery starts
> yelling at me saying he had the right of way
> because he had overlap on me and I was supposed to
> let him in. I fired back by asking him if it
> occurred to him when he was passing all the cars
> before the light why nobody was in the right lane.
> And oh by the way...the car IN the lane has the
> right-of-way so, if you're merging in you have to
> yield to the car that's already there.
>
> When FCPD arrived they appeared to agree with me
> after talking with 3 witnesses and encouraging
> them to come to court as the driver of the
> Discovery was cited for making an improper lane
> change. From my point of view, this appears like
> an open and shut case and the accused will be
> found guilty. How dependent is my case on the
> witnesses appearing? If they don't show, is it my
> word versus his? He admitted to the officer that
> he was in the right lane trying to merge into the
> left lane...

+1

Discovery Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Definitely the Discovery's fault, but you're still
> stupid for letting that happen...
>
> He did nothing wrong up to that point. Getting in
> the right left turn lane is not "cheating" or
> trying to screw you over. It's an open
> lane...people generally use open lanes...
>
> And you obviously knew there was a merge, yet I'm
> sure you were still tailing the car in front of
> you to make sure he didn't get in. Be generous
> next time, it may get you somewhere...

In the commonwealth of Virginia nobody has the "right of way" the law only states who does not have it.

Discovery Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Definitely the Discovery's fault, but you're still
> stupid for letting that happen...
>
> He did nothing wrong up to that point. Getting in
> the right left turn lane is not "cheating" or
> trying to screw you over. It's an open
> lane...people generally use open lanes...
>
> And you obviously knew there was a merge, yet I'm
> sure you were still tailing the car in front of
> you to make sure he didn't get in. Be generous
> next time, it may get you somewhere...


This exactly. People around here are so passive-aggressive, they make it a point to block people from merging. You knew he needed to merge, but decided to block him out anyway expecting him to have to slam on his brakes to get behind you, further fucking the traffic behind him so you can get a little smile.

Ralph Pootawn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Discovery Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Definitely the Discovery's fault, but you're
> still
> > stupid for letting that happen...
> >
> > He did nothing wrong up to that point. Getting
> in
> > the right left turn lane is not "cheating" or
> > trying to screw you over. It's an open
> > lane...people generally use open lanes...
> >
> > And you obviously knew there was a merge, yet
> I'm
> > sure you were still tailing the car in front of
> > you to make sure he didn't get in. Be generous
> > next time, it may get you somewhere...
>
>
> This exactly. People around here are so
> passive-aggressive, they make it a point to block
> people from merging. You knew he needed to merge,
> but decided to block him out anyway expecting him
> to have to slam on his brakes to get behind you,
> further fucking the traffic behind him so you can
> get a little smile.

Nah...nah...fuck all that Ralph-dawg!

I know this intersection. There's a fucking sign just beyond the light that says "RIGHT LANE ENDS MERGE LEFT". Now according to the OP, the Discovery didn't signal. I know, I know...that's nothing new in the 703/571. And honestly, it don't make no LEGAL difference really if the muffakah signals or not. The man HAS POSITION in the left lane...if the Discovery was so hot to trot to get left, he needed to get a better jump on the light and take the first car in the left lane off the light and blow his doors off, if mechanically possible. Now it may have been a dickhead move to not let the Discovery in, no question...but, dicks don't go in a court of law, dawg. The man had the lane, the Discovery drove into him. He's under NO LEGAL OBLIGATION to let that muffakin' Discovery in, man! The Discovery CHOSE to get in that right lane so he needs to work AROUND the cars in the through lane to merge in.

Another perfect example of this is on Duke Street westbound near Landmark before I-395. There are two ramps that merge into Duke...one is off South Van Dorn the other is off Landmark Mall. If you're ON those ramps trying to get on Duke...you do NOT just get to barrel the fuck down the ramp and steer left into the through lane. You MAY be able to do that at like 2am when there's no muffakin' traffic but, if there's cars there...you have to slow and possibly stop until it's clear to merge.

Same thing for that Discovery, man...he has to YIELD to the muffakah IN THE LANE he's merging into.

Jammer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ralph Pootawn Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Discovery Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Definitely the Discovery's fault, but you're
> > still
> > > stupid for letting that happen...
> > >
> > > He did nothing wrong up to that point.
> Getting
> > in
> > > the right left turn lane is not "cheating" or
> > > trying to screw you over. It's an open
> > > lane...people generally use open lanes...
> > >
> > > And you obviously knew there was a merge, yet
> > I'm
> > > sure you were still tailing the car in front
> of
> > > you to make sure he didn't get in. Be
> generous
> > > next time, it may get you somewhere...
> >
> >
> > This exactly. People around here are so
> > passive-aggressive, they make it a point to
> block
> > people from merging. You knew he needed to
> merge,
> > but decided to block him out anyway expecting
> him
> > to have to slam on his brakes to get behind
> you,
> > further fucking the traffic behind him so you
> can
> > get a little smile.
>
> Nah...nah...fuck all that Ralph-dawg!
>
> I know this intersection. There's a fucking sign
> just beyond the light that says "RIGHT LANE ENDS
> MERGE LEFT". Now according to the OP, the
> Discovery didn't signal. I know, I know...that's
> nothing new in the 703/571. And honestly, it don't
> make no LEGAL difference really if the muffakah
> signals or not. The man HAS POSITION in the left
> lane...if the Discovery was so hot to trot to get
> left, he needed to get a better jump on the light
> and take the first car in the left lane off the
> light and blow his doors off, if mechanically
> possible. Now it may have been a dickhead move to
> not let the Discovery in, no question...but, dicks
> don't go in a court of law, dawg. The man had the
> lane, the Discovery drove into him. He's under NO
> LEGAL OBLIGATION to let that muffakin' Discovery
> in, man! The Discovery CHOSE to get in that right
> lane so he needs to work AROUND the cars in the
> through lane to merge in.
>
> Another perfect example of this is on Duke Street
> westbound near Landmark before I-395. There are
> two ramps that merge into Duke...one is off South
> Van Dorn the other is off Landmark Mall. If you're
> ON those ramps trying to get on Duke...you do NOT
> just get to barrel the fuck down the ramp and
> steer left into the through lane. You MAY be able
> to do that at like 2am when there's no muffakin'
> traffic but, if there's cars there...you have to
> slow and possibly stop until it's clear to merge.
>
> Same thing for that Discovery, man...he has to
> YIELD to the muffakah IN THE LANE he's merging
> into.

I've even had coworkers admit to it, like its a game.

Funny thing, I was at the same intersection this afternoon and was in the right lane. Lots of cars in both lanes with a few cars ahead of me (in the right lane) and everyone merged smoothly driving south as Ft Hunt became one lane. I was parallel with a truck and let him go ahead of me, but the car behind him sped-up to block my attempt to merge. Although my left flasher was on and I was ahead of that car, he proceeded to nearly tailgate the truck. I attempted to merge and reinforced my effort by using my horn to get the car driver's attention. It turned silly, so I backed off, and I let the car continue to tailgate the truck. Had our two cars hit one another, who would have been at fault?

No such thing as an "accident", you dumb cunt. Someone is always at fault.

generally if your hit behind the drivers door it is their fault, unless you stopped for no reason.


Oooh look Squirrel..

This stupid fucking place has more useless merge lanes than anywhere I have ever been, and I've been everywhere. Seriously. FUCK NOVA AND ITS SHITTY TRAFFIC DESIGN.

Alex306 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Funny thing, I was at the same intersection this
> afternoon and was in the right lane. Lots of cars
> in both lanes with a few cars ahead of me (in the
> right lane) and everyone merged smoothly driving
> south as Ft Hunt became one lane. I was parallel
> with a truck and let him go ahead of me, but the
> car behind him sped-up to block my attempt to
> merge. Although my left flasher was on and I was
> ahead of that car, he proceeded to nearly tailgate
> the truck. I attempted to merge and reinforced my
> effort by using my horn to get the car driver's
> attention. It turned silly, so I backed off, and I
> let the car continue to tailgate the truck. Had
> our two cars hit one another, who would have been
> at fault?

You would have been at fault. The driver occupying the lane has no legal obligation to allow you to merge. You have a duty to find a gap in traffic that allows you to safely merge into that lane of traffic.

Now, you may own a Mercedes, Lexus, BMW or a Discovery Land Rover which you may believe entitles you to drive with your head up your ass and do whatever you please and you would still be wrong.

I have to admit that I have found considerable satisfaction when I see that drivers have disciplined an asshole who moves into one of these disappearing lanes to get ahead of everyone only to get stuck and unable to move at all. I do hope that happened to you and that you will think about that the next time you want to cut ahead of everyone else.

It sounds like the Discovery had a “good” plan, he thought. He would zip up to the front when the light changed and beat all those losers in front of him. That might have worked nicely had he put the pedal to the medal and got on up there, but while he was at the light, he forgot where he was because he was texting. Oops! And because he is a moron and can’t shift himself from 0 to 60 or rather from texting back to driving fast enough to get up there, he just hangs back and... What? just pushes himself in?! I can’t believe he hit you?! He must have still been texting while failing his own plan! They really need to throw the book at him! Make him an example! There’s too many people driving like that. Since you’re going to court, maybe you can get a copy of his phone record and prove he was texting and therefore driving recklessly. I bet any one of the judges will give him hell for being such a stupid, arrogant asshole

Driver Dan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This stupid fucking place has more useless merge
> lanes than anywhere I have ever been, and I've
> been everywhere. Seriously. FUCK NOVA AND ITS
> SHITTY TRAFFIC DESIGN.


Who the hell are you, Driver Dan? No one. Go home to Pennsylvania or where ever your mother is. Get lost.

causeican Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Driver Dan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > This stupid fucking place has more useless
> merge
> > lanes than anywhere I have ever been, and I've
> > been everywhere. Seriously. FUCK NOVA AND ITS
> > SHITTY TRAFFIC DESIGN.
>
>
> Who the hell are you, Driver Dan? No one. Go
> home to Pennsylvania or where ever your mother is.
> Get lost.

I'm Driver Dan. You are a useless waste of internet ink. Fuck off.

adding two to the "potential laundry list of why he's an angry person”:
>he’s wrong (so he’s being an asshole. I mean baby)
>he’s a lawyer (same thing asshole/baby)