Intersection and Left Turn Crash Claims in Harrisburg, PA Right of Way, Yield Rules and Evidence

How often this happens in Dauphin County

PennDOT's county workbook puts the pattern in numbers. For 2025 it lists 1,069 intersection crashes in Dauphin County, of which 373 were at signalized intersections and 376 at stop-controlled locations, along with 118 crashes involving a driver running a red light. Statewide, the department counted 42,108 intersection crashes in 2024, which it reported as 38.1 percent of all reportable crashes that year. In other words, close to four in ten crashes in Pennsylvania happen where roads meet, and in this county the split between traffic lights and stop signs is nearly even.

The left-turn duty in the Vehicle Code

The rule for turning across traffic is in 75 Pa.C.S. 3322. A driver intending to turn left within an intersection, or into an alley, private road, or driveway, must yield the right of way to a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction that is either already in the intersection or close enough to it to constitute a hazard. The duty is framed around hazard, not around distance in feet or the color of a light. That is why left-turn cases so often become disputes about closing speed and sight lines rather than disputes about the law, and why the physical evidence tends to decide them.

The prima facie rule at a yield sign

Section 3323 deals with stop signs and yield signs, and subsection (c) contains a provision that changes the shape of an argument. Where a driver drives past a yield sign without stopping and then collides with a vehicle in the intersection, or with a pedestrian or vehicle in an adjacent crosswalk, the statute treats that collision as prima facie evidence of a failure to yield. The collision itself becomes proof of the violation, which shifts what the other side has to explain. Anyone dealing with a crash at a yield-controlled approach should note the type of traffic control at that specific leg of the intersection, because the legal consequence differs.

Angle collisions and their severity

Crash type matters to injuries as much as to fault. PennDOT recorded 32,969 angle crashes statewide in 2024 with 247 people fatally injured, making the broadside geometry one of the largest single crash categories in the state's data. Two driver behaviors in the department's 2024 error table sit close to this pattern: improper or careless turning appeared in 13,313 crashes with 78 fatalities, and proceeding without clearance appeared in 8,971 crashes with 53 fatalities. The energy in a side impact reaches the occupant compartment more directly than in most other configurations, which is part of why these files often involve serious injury questions.

What resolves two honest accounts

Both drivers in an intersection crash are frequently sincere and irreconcilable. Documentation is what separates the accounts. The location and direction of the crush on each vehicle indicates the approach angles. Debris fields and final resting positions indicate speed and point of impact. Signal timing plans held by the road authority establish how long a phase lasted, and whether a protected arrow existed at the time. Nearby businesses and residences sometimes hold camera footage on short retention cycles measured in days. Independent witnesses who were behind or beside one of the vehicles often give the most useful account, and their contact information is easy to lose in the first hour.

The paperwork trail that starts at the scene

Investigating officers write intersection geometry into the crash report, and the diagram is often the only contemporaneous drawing anyone makes. Where police investigate the collision, section 3746 requires that each driver involved be given a signed statement showing the accident was reported, and that statement is the practical way to confirm a report exists before a copy can be obtained. Where no officer investigates, section 3747 puts the reporting duty on the driver instead, within a fixed number of days set by the statute.

Reading this page

The rules described here are general statutory duties that apply throughout Pennsylvania, including at the signalized crossings along Front Street, Paxton Street, and the Derry Street corridor. Whether a particular duty was breached in a particular collision depends on facts this page cannot know. Nothing here is advice about an individual case, and questions about one belong with the attorney whose office advertises on this site or another licensed Pennsylvania attorney.