The facts are not really in dispute. But it’s all in the details which contrast the two versions and mainly on an impassable white line, but which, over around fifty meters, transforms into a discontinuous line with five lines.
A dangerous road in a catastrophic state
“Leaving Virton, the N87, with four lanes, narrows into two lanes, with a speed limit dropping from 120 to 90 km/h, explains Me Louette. Those who use it regularly know how dangerous it is and in a catastrophic state.”
It is at this place that the driver of the van, realizing that she missed the exit to go to Meix-devant-Virton, decides to turn around. “She was careful in making sure she could proceed with the maneuver by checking that there was no one on that long straight, notes Me Carpentier. She moved to the right to make her change of direction quickly in one go, did so by crossing the roadway where the center line is discontinuous and then starting to regain speed in the right direction. It was at this moment that she was hit.”
-Me Louette believes for his part that his client was surprised by an unpredictable obstacle, that he wanted to overtake the vehicle in front of him on the left, and that he was unable to avoid it: “Making a U-turn maneuver at this location is very dangerous, but also prohibited. These few lines in the middle of a long white line for kilometers are not an authorization to overtake or to make a U-turn, it is only to allow farmers who leave their fields to cautiously take the direction of Virton.“
The public prosecutor, represented by division prosecutor Yannick Rosart, clearly lined up behind Me Carpentier’s arguments: “Me Louette’s pleading does not fit with the elements of the case. His client did not control his speed and ran into a predictable obstacle. I ask the court to confirm the first judgment.”
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