Sideswiped When a Signaling Car Swerved Back

Attorney Answer

A driver who leaves their lane and strikes a car that is already there normally has the explaining to do, so the odds start in your favor — but a turn signal alone does not decide it, and if you were alongside them when they moved, fault can be shared.

Texas rules of the road require a driver to keep a vehicle in a single marked lane and to move out of that lane only after determining the movement can be made safely, and they require a signal before turning or changing lanes. Those duties are set by specific statutes, and a lawyer can match the right provision to your facts. What is clear is that a signal is a warning of an intended movement. It does not transfer the right of way, and it does not excuse re-entering an occupied lane.

Speed and control are covered. 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 duty runs to both of you: to the other driver aborting a turn, and to you closing on a car that had signaled and slowed.

Texas divides fault rather than picking a winner. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.003 the trier of fact assigns each party 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." If your share is 50 percent or less, § 33.012(a) reduces your damages by that share, and § 33.013(a) makes each defendant liable only for its own percentage, unless that defendant is more than 50 percent responsible or acted in concert in the intentional conduct § 33.013(b) lists. Expect the other insurer to argue that you were passing on the right, or were in their blind spot, or were too close. The physical evidence usually answers that better than either driver's memory.

What you can do

1. Photograph both vehicles before repair, close up and from a distance. On a sideswipe, the height of the damage and the direction the scrape runs often show which car moved into which.

2. Request the officer's crash report if police responded, and read how the officer described the lane positions.

3. Save any dashcam file now, and ask nearby businesses for camera footage quickly, since it is usually overwritten within days.

4. Get the names and phone numbers of any witnesses, including passengers in other cars.

5. Report the crash to your own insurer promptly, and give them the other driver's insurance information.

6. Ask a Texas lawyer which lane-use and signaling provisions apply to your facts, and ask before you give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement. 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 period began for your claim, and whether anything about your facts affects it, is a question for a Texas attorney reviewing your file — not a date to work out from a general rule.