Issue: What duties does a left-turning motorist owe to other drivers under New York law?
| Area of Law: | Personal Injury & Negligence |
| Keywords: | Left-turning motorist duty; Yield the right of way; Negligence |
| Jurisdiction: | New York |
| Cited Cases: | 318 N.Y.S.2d 178; 686 N.Y.S.2d 832; 554 N.Y.S.2d 294; 550 N.Y.S.2d 169; 608 N.Y.S.2d 577; 723 A.D. 2d 283; 698 N.Y.S.2d 54; 693 N.Y.S.2d 622; 259 A.D.2d 673; 120 A.D.2d 574; 708 N.Y.S.2d 720; 128 A.D.2d 862; 38 A.D.2d 923; 694 N.Y.S.2d 780; 711 N.Y.S.2d 54; 263 A.D. 2d 495; 222 A.D.2d 783; 293 N.E.2d 561; 46 A.D.2d 383; 570 N.Y.S.2d 629; 618 N.Y.S.2d 733; 181 A.D.2d 672; 691 N.Y.S.2d 599; 173 A.D.2d 754; 266 A.D.2d 494; 362 N.Y.S.2d 552 |
| Cited Statutes: | N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 1141 |
| Date: | 01/01/2001 |
New York statutory law prescribes the principal duty of a left-turning motorist: a car turning left must yield the right of way to “any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.” N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 1141. “Violation of the statute constitutes negligence per se.” Ciatto v. Lieberman, 266 A.D.2d 494, 495, 698 N.Y.S.2d 54, 55 (2d Dep’t 1999). A driver is also under the more general duty “‘to see that which under the facts and circumstances he should have seen by the proper use of his senses.'” Lester v. Joliocofur, 120 A.D.2d 574, 575, 502 N.Y.S.2d 61, 62 (2d Dep’t 1986). As the cases discussed below illustrate, under some circumstances, the courts may properly find that the turning driver was negligent as a matter of law and that the oncoming driver was free from fault.
In Wasserman v. Wong, 181 A.D.2d 672, 581 N.Y.S.2d 221 (2d Dep’t 1992), the court reversed a judgment issued in favor of the defendant oncoming driver after the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff left-turning driver assessing her comparative fault at 15%. The evidence showed that the plaintiff came to a stop in the left-turn lane, waited, then made her turn, at which time the right side of her vehicle was hit by the defendant who was proceeding in the opposite direction. The court noted that the jury could have […]