Fault When a Waved-Through Left Turn Ends in a Collision

Attorney Answer

Being waved through does not move the duty to yield off you. California puts that duty on the driver making the left turn, and nothing in the statute makes another driver's signal to go a defense. But that is not the whole picture: the driver who came up the side of stopped traffic had duties of their own, and California splits fault between drivers rather than picking one loser — so a share of blame reduces what you recover instead of ending the claim.

The turning rule is Cal. Veh. Code § 21801(a). It requires a driver intending to turn left or complete a U-turn to yield the right-of-way to all vehicles approaching from the opposite direction that are close enough to constitute a hazard at any time during the turning movement. Subdivision (b) is the other half: once the turning driver has yielded as the statute requires and has signaled, drivers approaching from the opposite direction must then yield to the turning vehicle. So the question in your collision is a factual one — was the car that came through the gap close enough to be a hazard when the turn began, or did it become a hazard by what it did next?

That is where the other driver's own duty comes in. Cal. Veh. Code § 22107 provides: "No person shall turn a vehicle from a direct course or move right or left upon a roadway until such movement can be made with reasonable safety and then only after the giving of an appropriate signal in the manner provided in this chapter in the event any other vehicle may be affected by the movement." A driver who pulls out of a stopped line of traffic and moves up a gap on the side is making exactly that kind of movement, and the statute conditions it on being able to make it safely first.

Fault can land on both of you. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1714(a), everyone is responsible for injury occasioned to another by a want of ordinary care. In Daly v. General Motors Corp., 20 Cal. 3d 725 (1978), the California Supreme Court reaffirmed California's pure comparative system: responsibility is assigned in proportion to each party's negligence, and an injured person's recovery is reduced only to the extent that their own lack of reasonable care contributed. Expect the other insurer to argue the § 21801(a) point hard. It does not close the case.

Whether the driver who waved you through bears any responsibility is not something this page can answer. Ask a local attorney about it — and get that driver's name.

What you can do

1. Photograph both vehicles, including the exact points of impact, and the intersection itself showing the lane configuration you describe.

2. Identify the driver who waved you through and any other witness, and keep their contact information. That driver is the single most useful witness in this collision, and they are usually gone within minutes.

3. Request the traffic collision report from the agency that responded.

4. Report the collision to your own insurer, and expect a liability dispute given the left turn.

5. Get medical evaluation if anyone in your car was hurt, and keep every record and bill.

6. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer and do not sign a release before a local attorney has reviewed the file.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone who practices in your area is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 generally allows two years for a claim for injury or death and Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(c)(1) allows three years for damage to a vehicle. Where those periods stand depends on the actual dates and on circumstances a page cannot see, so have a local attorney review them against your facts rather than relying on the general figures.