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I caused a major accident once. Closed the highway. Medic copters flying in. I was in my early 20s, two days before Christmas, on my way to the laundromat. I was inching out to make a left, you know how people inch out when the light is green, and if the traffic flow never stops, they wait until the light turns red and then scoot across the oncoming lane? That's what I did. 2 lanes stopped. One lane I didn't see coming, a flash of white, and then blammo. I felt horrible. I remember a lawyer friend of mine at the time said "That's why they call them accidents." Since then, I don't inch out on left turns anymore. I stop at the line, and I wait, and make sure traffic is clear and that I have the right of way.

Your lawyer is a fool if he told you that. An accident is getting hit by a meteor. You should have yielded and made sure it was clear for you to left turn before proceeding. It doesn't matter if you were at the limit line or rolled into the intersection to wait, you must yield to on-coming traffic...

The only way here to be found not at fault, is to have witnesses state that the on-coming vehicle blew the red light. But the fact is, you have to watch, because the red light means nothing in real life, and if ya left turn in front of an on coming vehicle, you could be dead in an instant.

Intersections are death traps. The grave yards are full of those that lost their lives in intersections.

I don't think you can call getting hit by a meteor an accident. I'm calling it an accident as in a mistake or error. The best ballplayers make errors. Everyone makes errors. Hell, I'm sure even old Chet Atkins hit a clam once or twice.

And just because it's an accident doesn't mean you aren't at fault. You are. Obviously I wouldn't have put myself in front of a speeding car intentionally. And my driving was not impaired. 3 out of 4 lanes had come to a stop, I was hanging out there, and I simply didn't see the car coming in the fast lane. I saw a blur of white and that was that.

I was following the normal way people made a left there. I learned the hard way that it was incorrect procedure, and never made the same mistake again. I was at fault. And it was a mistake, or bad procedure, if you will.