[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

On the issue of driving, I wasn't sure whether to post this here or the strange news thread, but seeing as though we just had a short discussion about traffic laws... how about this beauty?

APCIA says veto "dangerous" House Bill | Insurance Business America

Basically, Utah is about to pass a law that makes it legal for someone turning left at an intersection to not yield to incoming traffic if that vehicle runs a red light or stop sign. I mean, WTF?

Yes, I agree, the bastards running red lights and stop signs should be punished, not law-abiding citizens. So you know what we'll do about it? Make it legal for you to turn directly into oncoming traffic, potentially (and likely) killing you and them. THAT'LL SHOW 'EM!

I can only assume this is a really poor way to ensure that in this type of collision, the person turning left isn't ticketed or faulted for the accident. But it's really, really stupid. It encourages accidents. And if that is the intent, there's a better way to absolve them of liability or breaking a traffic law than saying "you don't have to yield the right of way to the vehicle coming directly at you if you decide to turn, so have at it!"

This is the section of law that would be added:


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My reading of that is you are not required to take evasive actions to protect the illegal driving of the other person. I suspect this is a response to people swerving to avoid drivers that run a stop sign for example and then run into a third car while the car that ran the stop sign goes on their merry way. In other words, while we would like you to try and avoid the car who ran the stop sign, we would prefer you hit that car as opposed to bringing a third car into the mix.