Intersection Collisions: Signals, Turns, and Evidence

Sketch the intersection with street names, travel directions, lane markings, stop lines, crosswalks, and each vehicle’s path. Note whether a driver was turning left, continuing straight, entering from a stop sign, or changing lanes near the intersection. Photograph the signals from each approach rather than assuming one view shows what every driver saw. Record weather, glare, construction, and blocked sight lines. Preserve the original camera file, if one exists.

California Vehicle Code section 21800 addresses several uncontrolled and stop-controlled intersection situations; section 21801 addresses left turns across approaching traffic. These rules differ by the type of control and maneuver. The DMV also explains traffic signals and turning instructions. A claimed green light is a lead to investigate, not proof by itself that every other movement was lawful.

Take witness names and a way to contact them. Note camera locations at businesses, transit vehicles, nearby residences, and dashcams, then record whom you contacted and when. A police report may summarize accounts, but it may not contain the underlying video or every witness statement. Where the signal phase is disputed, the attorney can decide whether a preservation request for available signal or traffic-camera records is useful. Do not assume that a municipality keeps every recording.

Preserve treatment records and photos of vehicle contact points. The direction of impact, final position, and debris can help test competing paths, although none is conclusive alone. California DMV’s SR-1 requirement applies within ten days after injury, death, or more than $1,000 property damage, independently of other reports.

An effective consultation should surface facts that favor and challenge your account. Ask how the attorney would test signal timing, sight distance, turn speed, and witness reliability, and what would happen if the video is unavailable. Ask who will lead the matter, how claims involving more than one responsible party are handled, and whether any public-agency issue changes the deadline analysis. California guidance is a starting point; a collision in Nevada or another state needs its own law and reporting review.