Fender -Bender at Walmart! Traffic Question

[clarabelle]

I witnessed a wreck at walmart a little while ago.

I am not sure I can explain this well -but there is a "main" section to the parking lot. At the end of those rows there is a parallel "road" marked by arrows. There are no stop signs nor does it say stop on the pavement at the end of each row.
Most people stop at the end of the rows because they are turning one way or another to leave the parking lot.

However today the lady did not stop at the end of the rows -because she was going into the other section across the "road".

Does that make sense? Anyway she got T-boned. Harder than what I would have thought could happen in a parking lot. She got out of her car screaming about how she did NOT have a stop sign.

So who do you think was at fault??
No one seemed hurt BTW.

 

[sbell111]

They're both at fault, but in general, the person who hits someone else is at fault. Of course, he is going to make the (probably good) argument that in the absence of signage, the person who is crossing a 'road' should yield to traffic on the 'road'.

 

[DizBelle]

Couldn't the T-bone-er also say that they did NOT have a stop sign either? On private property, I'm not sure if any traffic laws (for public streets) apply. I would think that the insurance companies just have to duke it out.

For me, I'd say that the driver in the parking rows would have to yield to the drivers on the main aisles. I would guess that the main "road" in your scenario is a main aisle.

 

[LoraJ]

I don't understand the layout if the road is parallel. Do you mean perpendicular?
And neither had a stop sign?

If neither had a stop sign, I think the woman crossing the road with arrows should have yielded to oncoming traffic.

 

[JerseyMamaBear]

because walmart is on private property, even if they did have stop signs, they are usually (usually being the key word here, it all varries from state to state )not enforceable unless the township had them commissioned by the DOT. Now, she is tech. at fault since her lane of travel ended, or was broken by another lane of travel. She is expected to stop, even in the absence of a stop sign.

 

[clarabelle]

I don't understand the layout if the road is parallel. Do you mean perpendicular?
And neither had a stop sign?

If neither had a stop sign, I think the woman crossing the road with arrows should have yielded to oncoming traffic.

Yes -I did mean perpendicular. Sorry


The "road" I was talking about is the main aisle. I just didn't know how to describe it. So the woman who got hit was crossing the main aisle without stopping at the end of the row. The person who hit her was driving in the main aisle to the exit. They were getting in each others faces -while a Walmart security guy watched when I was leaving.
The whole thing made me uncomfortable

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

No stop signs or "STOP" on the pavement, but what about a heavy white line that could indicate that someone should stop before proceding?

In any event, it sounds like it would be pure common sense that the driver that was T-boned was coming from a secondary lane and would be in the wrong.

 

[clarabelle]

Yeah
That is kind of what I thought to -it just feels like you should stop there -sign or not.
I was just curious what everyone thought

 

[Youarehere]

Also siding with the boner, not the bonee.

 

[Tina]

There's not a stop sign at the end of my driveway, but if I come blasting out into the street into oncoming traffic, I'm at fault. She should have stopped.

 

[clarabelle]

good point

 

[DVC-Don]

Other than handicap parking spaces, there are no laws in the parking lots. It's like the wild west.

 

[golfgal]

At uncontrolled intersections all drivers have the responsibility to look out for every other drivers and should treat the intersection as a yield sign. Both drivers will probably be assigned some fault. Hopefully they got a police report or it will get very messy. Chances are that the woman pulling into the main road will be assigned more fault but the other driver will be assigned some as well.

 

[clarabelle]

Thanks golf gal

 

[clarabelle]

It felt like the wild west too Don. I was a little worried someone was going to pull out a gun. The police were called.