Regardless of what the Tesla driver claims, the matter is slowing making its way through the local courts.
Presumed Northern California resident and Redditor /u/CheeeseBoi3000 shared his friend’s Tesla dashcam footage earlier this week to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing the shocking moment an acquaintance who he let borrow his car T-boned another car at full speed.
It’s not that she got in an accident that’s the issue, it’s the fact that she maintains she did nothing wrong despite video evidence to the contrary.
/u/CheeeseBoi3000’s thread and video is posted below. You decide if she has any kind of defense or if she’s full of s***.
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As mentioned, this happened in Rancho Cordova, CA off Hazel Ave where cars exit off of US 50 just before Folsom Blvd (Exact location on Google Maps linked here)
This bird’s-eye view should make the video a bit more clear.
According to OP, his friend let his neighbor, whom he never formerly met, borrow a spare Tesla he had (don’t ask me why they have a spare Tesla, they’re just baller like that.)
“I don’t even know why he let her borrow his car. The only thing I can think of is that she’s an ‘exotic dancer/model/internet entrepreneur’. And a neighbor. Never met her. And his wife is not happy about this whole thing. (But it was his extra Tesla.),” /u/OP explains.
As the Tesla’s cameras shows, she was travelling on Hazel Ave as she approached a set of red lights allowing traffic off of US 50 to exit onto Hazel Ave going the opposite direction.
Although the video does not show, it looks awfully like she didn’t slow at all, for the approaching red lights.
In her defense, she crossed the white line just as her lights turned green so, technically, she didn’t run a red light.
Regardless, an SUV turning left ran their red light and was still in the intersection as the Tesla approached.
The tesla driver T-bones the other SUV at full speed, causing major damage to both vehicles.
“”See!? It was green when I crossed the line!” That was her stance,” /u/OP recounts.
It’s not so cut and dry.
As other Redditors have commented, a green light doesn’t give you the right to barrel through traffic with reckless regard, far from it.
According to the California DMV handbook,
“A green traffic signal light means GO. You should still stop for any vehicle, bicyclist, or pedestrian in the intersection. “
/u/RustyMcKnight puts it a little more clearly.
“Green means proceed when clear. It was not clear.”
While some fault can be doled out to the other SUV for running their red, most of the blame lies with the Tesla driver as she had the last good chance to prevent the accident in the first place.
Let’s hope the local court system comes to the same conclusion because that lady and her explanation are delusional.
Honestly, it looks 50-50 , for the sake of argument, if she crossed the line after it turned green, regardless of her speed, let’s say she was going to speed limit, technically, she didn’t do anything wrong. I am assuming the other driver and let’s delve deeper into this the other driver went on a yellow that turned red. It’s really a perfect storm. I get what’s being said, and I can understand another reader not happy with the driver already going the speed limit when they know the lights changing, I get it but unless there’s something in the books that says this is wrong I don’t think she did anything wrong . Common sense wrong? Yea. Lawfully wrong? Fine line leaning toward no.