Fault After Pulling Out From a Texas Stop Sign

Attorney Answer

Stopping at the stop sign is only half of what Texas law asked of you, so a fault fight is not surprising — but on the facts you describe you are not automatically the one at fault. The answer turns on where the two cars actually touched and how fast the other car was moving.

The duty is in Tex. Transp. Code § 545.153(b). After stopping as required at a stop sign, a driver must yield the right-of-way to a vehicle that has entered the intersection from another highway or that is approaching so closely as to be an immediate hazard to that driver's movement. The stop itself is not the defense. The question is whether the other car was close enough to be an immediate hazard at the moment you pulled out. Tex. Transp. Code § 545.151(a)(2) puts it the same way from the other side: after stopping, a driver may proceed when the intersection can be safely entered without interference or collision.

The other driver had duties too. Tex. Transp. Code § 545.351(a) provides that "An operator may not drive at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances then existing," and § 545.351(b)(2) requires a driver to control speed as necessary to avoid colliding with another vehicle that is on or entering the highway in compliance with law. That matters here. You say you had traveled twenty to fifty feet and were already established in the lane. A vehicle that was an immediate hazard when you pulled out is usually not a vehicle that reaches you that far along, and the damage pattern often shows which car overtook which.

Texas does not have to pick one driver. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.003 the trier of fact assigns each person a whole-number percentage of responsibility. Section 33.001 provides that "In an action to which this chapter applies, a claimant may not recover damages if his percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent," and § 33.012(a) reduces damages by the claimant's own percentage when that percentage is 50 percent or less. So "likelihood of fault" is really a number, and the physical evidence usually sets it.

What you can do

1. Get the officer's crash report if police responded, and read how the officer described the positions of the vehicles.

2. Photograph both vehicles before any repair. Note which panel was hit and which way the scrape or crush runs; that direction is often the best evidence of who struck whom.

3. Save any dashcam file immediately, and ask nearby businesses for camera footage soon, before it is overwritten.

4. Write down the names and phone numbers of any witnesses, including anyone who stopped at the scene.

5. Report the crash to your own insurer promptly, since policies require prompt notice, and give them the other driver's information.

6. Ask a Texas lawyer before you give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement or accept the adjuster's fault decision. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) sets two years from the day the cause of action accrues for personal injury and for injury to property. When that clock started for your claim, and whether anything about your facts affects it, is something only a Texas attorney reviewing your situation can tell you. Do not wait to find out.