accident today..

rank, (re: your responses on post #37)

I don't agree with your assessments. Here is why...

Very pertinent excerpt from the OP's initial post:
"I stopped at this stop light i had to make a left turn at to get to our plant. There was a Pick up next to me a F250 with big mirrors.. So i get green arrow others have RED light.. I make my left like i always do on this turn and somehow i clipped his mirror.."

Let me say,, I've done several years of accident investigation in my past. I'm very careful when considering all details, and also the proper use of terms such as proof, likely, possible, unlikely, not possible, etc, etc. I was not there and I can't see the intersection or vehicles, however the statements I can make do have a basis by the OP's own words & description of events.

As you see in the OP's post, he stated he was stopped at the red light and the pickup was next to him. (again,, likely stopped also)
The pickup STILL had a red light when the OP got a green turn arrow and proceeded to make a left turn.

But you say "I had one merge right into the side of my trailer once for crying out loud. Are you all telling me there is no way the four wheeler was out of his lane or moving? You just cannot say that."

Seems like you are not going with the OP's facts and are just heavily biased because of your prior incident. Since the pickup was alongside the OP's truck, which was stopped, how likely is it that the pickup was moving,, especially moving forward and to his left?
I would say in this scenario, given the OP's statements, extremely unlikely.

As for the "re-creation" not needing to be "murder-case accurate",, sorry to inform you, but yes it does need to be "down to the inch" accurate if it's to be relied on at all. But this is overruled by the fact, as I said before, it doesn't matter if the OP made that turn there 1000 times, it would be impossible in this scenario to accurately recreate his position, tracking, or tailswing.

On the subject of tailswing: Some say on a normal left turn would be unlikely to intrude on the other lane...
However, the truth is, if you turn your steering significantly, from a dead stop or extremely slow speed, tailswing on a 53' with the tandems fully forward is very considerable, and under these conditions, it's easy to swing out a few feet into the next lane.

 

Very true, but how often do you "turn your steering significantly, from a dead stop or extremely slow speed" when making a left hand turn at a normal intersection controlled by stop lights? Is it possible? Sure, but common sense says highly unlikely. So unless the op's town has traffic intersections that are completely different than the rest of the country, I am not putting much weight into the tail swing.

 

Actually, I can prove it to ya, with your vehicle alongside mine, as in the OP's case, but it will cost you a fender or more.
I know many intersections in every state/locale where you could easily turn your wheel to full left at a dead stop or very slow creep. What usually prevents an overhang swing collision is the driver being aware of its possibility, and adjusting for it in your driving habits. Remember, you've got nearly 70' of truck at a stop light, and that cross street/lane you're turning on to is often only 25' ahead (or less) to your left.

To completely forget about overhang is a sure way to find out the hard way.
Common sense it's highly unlikely? May not hold 100% true here.