Two cars turning right collide when one changes lanes

Attorney Answer

Fault turns on which of you left your lane. Alabama requires a driver to stay within a single lane and leave it only after making sure the move is safe, and to make a right turn as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the road. If you stayed in your lane and the other driver moved into you, that unsafe move is the likely cause. But Alabama applies contributory negligence: if the other side proves your own carelessness helped cause the crash, you recover nothing, unless the other driver's conduct was wanton.

Staying in your lane. Ala. Code § 32-5A-88:

Whenever any roadway has been divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for traffic the following rules in addition to all others consistent herewith shall apply:

(1) A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from such lane until the driver has first ascertained that such movement can be made with safety.

Turning right. Ala. Code § 32-5A-130:

The driver of a vehicle intending to turn shall do so as follows:

(1) RIGHT TURNS. Both the approach for a right turn and a right turn shall be made as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.

That rule is written for turns at intersections, and where signs or markings direct a different course, such as two lanes that may both turn right, the markings control. Ala. Code § 32-5A-133(a) adds the signal:

(a) No person shall turn a vehicle or move right or left upon a roadway unless and until such movement can be made with reasonable safety nor without giving an appropriate signal in the manner hereinafter provided.

What a broken traffic rule proves. A violation does not automatically decide fault. Treating it as negligence in itself requires, among other things, that the statute was meant to protect people like you against this kind of harm, which the judge decides: Fox v. Bartholf, 374 So. 2d 294 (Ala. 1979). Otherwise it is evidence a jury weighs, together with whether the violation was negligent in the circumstances and whether it caused the crash: Sparks v. Alabama Power Co., 679 So. 2d 678 (Ala. 1996).

Alabama's contributory-negligence rule. If the other side proves that your own carelessness helped cause the crash, you recover nothing: not a reduced amount, nothing (Knight v. Alabama Power Co., 580 So. 2d 576 (Ala. 1991)). The same case holds that it is no defense to wanton conduct. And it is a high bar for the defense: the Supreme Court of Alabama has held that simple heedlessness is not enough to decide it as a matter of law, and that it is ordinarily a question for the jury (Lafarge North America, Inc. v. Nord, 86 So. 3d 326 (Ala. 2011)). In a crash where one vehicle may have changed lanes in front of another, both drivers' conduct has gone to the jury: Hinkle v. Burgreen Contracting Co., 678 So. 2d 797 (Ala. Civ. App. 1996).

What you can do

1. Get the crash report and read what the officer recorded about each car's lane and position.

2. Photograph where each car was damaged; the side and angle of the damage show who moved into whom.

3. Keep the names of anyone who saw the turn, and any dashcam or nearby camera footage.

4. Tell your own insurer promptly, and do not give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement before you have spoken to a lawyer.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Alabama attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l):

(l) All actions for any injury to the person or rights of another not arising from contract and not specifically enumerated in this section must be brought within two years.