Title: January 3, 2007
Q. I was driving on Highline and needed to turn left at Steuber. I had my left signal on, but I hit a patch of black ice and my car began skidding. I realized that I needed to pump the brakes until my car was fully stopped. I went a few feet past Steuber, but was able to finally stop to make my left turn. The car behind me hit my car as I was trying to maneuver my left turn. Who is at fault?
A. More than likely, the person who was driving the car behind you. He/she should not have been so close to you as to hit your car, especially if you had your left signal on. He/she knew that you were making a left turn and should not have been driving so fast as to defeat what you were trying to do. However, it is possible that both your insurance companies may ascertain that your maneuver was a significant contributing factor to the accident. You also needed to correctly assess the slippery conditions of the road and allow for potential problems, thereby lowering your speed to enable you to turn left in a safe manner, black ice or not.
Q. I found out that I live next door to a man who was found guilty of being a child molester. His name was obtained through Megan’s law/National Sex Offenders Registry. I do not want my children to be targeted by this man and I am afraid to continue living next to him. What can I do?
A. Short of having a petition signed by your entire neighborhood requesting that this man be moved to another location and for legal reasons that must be sufficient to make him move, there is not much you can do. Obviously, this man has to live somewhere, and it is usually next to someone else. Unless he starts acting suspiciously and reverts back to his old habits, you will have to accept the reality that he has the right to live anywhere he wants as long as he does not prey on children. If you simply cannot accept this fact, you need to move elsewhere. I realize that a legal system that allows someone to get hurt before a suspect is arrested and tried may not seem to be fair or just, however that is how such a system of “innocence is presumed until proven guilty” works.
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 14 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661)825-8880
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