Right Turn on Green Light Accidents: Your Rights in Florida Explained
Making a right turn on a green light seems like one of the easiest actions you can take as a driver. However, Florida’s busy roads can make this action anything but simple. If you suffered injuries in this type of accident, you may have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Proving fault on the part of the other driver who hit you is a key aspect of winning a financial award. If you made a legal right turn and the other driver failed to follow green light right-of-way laws, your car accident lawyers can investigate and seek evidence that shows the other driver is at fault.
Understanding Florida’s Right Turn on Green Light Rules
The right-turn traffic laws in Florida differ from proving fault when a vehicle makes a left turn on a green light. You have to follow the rules for the specific type of turn that you’re making.
Stay in Your Lane
When making right turns at an intersection with a stoplight, you have to make the right turn tight to the curb or the right edge of the road. Florida state law requires you to stay in your lane when making the turn. You cannot make a wide turn and drift left into other lanes of traffic.
Pay Attention to the Right of Way
Making safe right turns at an intersection requires you to pay attention to the right of way. If you are making a right turn on a green light:
- You have the right of way versus oncoming traffic that has a red light.
- You must yield to any pedestrians or cyclists where you are turning, regardless of whether a crosswalk is present.
- If the intersection prohibits making right turns, even if you have a green light, you cannot make this turn.
Safely Turning
Even when you have the green light on a right turn, you may want to take caution before entering the intersection. Another driver may ignore a red light and enter the intersection. Look all ways as you are executing your right turn to make sure you see any hazards and can stop in time.
Determining Fault After a Right-Turn Crash
If you end up in an injury accident after making a right turn, you might have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, you must prove that the other driver is completely or primarily at fault for the crash to have the chance to try to win your claim.
If you made your right turn with the green light at an intersection, the other driver likely caused the accident. If police officers who investigate the crash give the other driver a traffic ticket for failure to yield or a similar infraction, this helps you prove that the other driver is at fault.
If the other driver’s insurance company accuses you of causing the crash, your car accident attorney can try to show the car crash was not your fault. Your Florida personal injury attorneys can investigate the accident and look for evidence that shows you followed green light turn rules and did nothing wrong. Google Maps is a great place to start investigating the crash scene.
Lyons & Snyder Has a Track Record of Success Helping Injured People
After you suffer injuries in a car accident involving a right turn on a green light at an intersection or a similar situation, Lyons & Snyder is ready to help. We have a track record of success in helping our clients and are committed to aggressively defending your rights.
For a free consultation, call us at 954-462-8035 today or contact us on our website.
