A green light does not give a driver an absolute right to proceed to the junction.
A leading case illustrating this is Radburn V Kemp courts will look at the approach taken in this case when deciding liability. In this case a cyclist had proceeded through a green light and was in the middle of the junction, before the cyclist could take his exit, the lights changed and the lights in the opposite direction changed to green.
A driver coming from this direction drove through the green light and hit the cyclist waiting at the junction. The court held the driver 100% to blame even though he had a green light.
The general rule made from this case is: ‘there is no absolute right to enter a junction just because your light has changed to green.’ A driver has no business entering a junction on a green light unless the driver is satisfied it is safe to do so. Further, when the driver enters the junction, he or she should proceed with care to save injuring others are already on the junction.
Thus, your case is not necessarily cast iron just because your light was on green. You do not have 100% priority of the road; when your light turns green you should double check and ensure it is safe to proceed and then give way/slow down to anyone already on the junction. If you were to collide with a cyclist/vehicle/pedestrian already on the road when you proceed through the lights, the courts could find you to blame for any injury/loss caused even if your light was on green.
Further, if the boot was on the other foot and you were actually hit by a driver that went through a green light, then despite what most people think you still might be able to pursue a claim.
These type of cases are always decided on the particular facts of the individual case, so best advice is to call injury lawyers to provide you with a free telephone assessment on your claim.
