Well guys, I’m glad to be alive but I’m sad to say that my Prius didn’t make it.
No, this has nothing to do with Eddie or the mechanic who did work on it.
Last night, I got into a car accident on the way home at an intersection that did not have a stop sign on either side.
What happened (my perspective)
I was driving through SE Hawthorne Blvd to get onto I-205 to get home. The area I was in was residential and had uncontrolled traffic (no stop signs). I didn’t know about the uncontrolled traffic part.
As I was heading toward SE 86th Ave, I did not see a stop sign facing me on 85th Ave. So I anticipated there would be one facing me at the next intersection. As I was approaching the 86th Ave, I slowed down (yellow arrow, 10-15 mph). I didn’t see a stop sign, so I looked to my left and then my right to check for another car. I didn’t see any so I accelerated to normal residential speed (green yellow, 20-25 mph). As I entered the intersection, another car struck my Prius on the front driver side above the wheel.
What happened (other party’s perspective)
I was informed by my insurance company of the other party’s statement. They claim I sped through the intersection and accelerated into their car.
My initial thoughts upon hearing the other party’s statement was along the line of “Yeah that makes sense…I was recklessly racing through an intersection with the fast and furious Toyota Prius Hybrid. Not an attempt by the other party to avoid having their insurance rate go up at all.”
But to be fair, I can see why they might have come to this conclusion.
I visited the scene of the accident the this morning and discovered why I never saw the other car. There was a tree obstructing my view (see the map above). On the evening of the accident, I never saw this tree. Also, it didn’t help that the other car was a dark green truck that blended in well with the dark.
Now it’s up to the insurance companies to deal with it.
I’m hopeful not to be found at fault for this because according to Oregon driving laws in a situation where two vehicles approach an intersection with uncontrolled traffics I have the right of way. The other car should of acknowledged me and yielded.
I’ll update you guys how this all works out in a future post.
Portland is littered with these blind intersections, between parked cars, construction, storage pods on the street, and stop signs covered by tree branches… I’m not surprised you got into an accident like this, and I’m terrified that it’s going to happen to me one of these days.
Thanks for your comment Sarah. There are a lot of these blind intersections on the east side of Portland, especially east of 82nd Ave. But I think this will change as more people move to Portland and the city invest more money to improve those areas.