Say suppose Car A is clear sailing down a 2 lane road going 45-50 mph (close to the speed limit). Then Car B pulls right out in front of Car A from a side road. Car A just barely had enough time to slow down to avoid hitting Car B that pulled out going 20-25 mph. But there’s a traffic light ahead that turns yellow and Car B stops instead of proceeding to go through it, which there was time to. So, Car A is unable to stop in time and rear ends Car B. The distance between the road where the car pulled out and the traffic light is about 50 yards. Car A did everything he could to avoid hitting Car B after he pulled out in front of him and didn’t expect him to stop short for a yellow light. It all happen fast and the driver of Car A believes there was nothing he could have done to avoid this accident. Is Car A still at fault?
This scenario actually happened to me once, but there was no accident. I came within 2-3 feet of his back bumper and couldn’t see his tires or license plate, so that’s how close I was, but at least I didn’t hit him. That’s all what counts, but I’m wondering if I couldn’t stop in time and rear ended him, would I still be at fault? Anybody can answer, but I’ll really like answers from those who work in insurance and police that if you received an accident like this, who would you determine at fault and if a percent of fault is used, include that.
On a side note, 50 yards is 150 feet and a car travels about 70-75 feet a second going about 50 mph. Considering that it takes at least 2 seconds to stop (2 second rule), that’s 150 feet, so that’s how close it was.
Thanks for the answers so far. Lucy, when you say, “regardless of the circumstance minutes before,” it wasn’t minutes, it was seconds before. If it was minutes, that’ll be plenty of time to assure proper distance. But I know it doesn’t look good for Car A and Car B’s insurance would use any excuse to avoid paying. Thanks for your examples Lucy, if I’m reading this correctly, you say the 1st car was starting to pull out but stopped because they saw the 2nd car and then the 2nd car increased speed to get by, but the 1st car’s front bumper was sticking out so he pulled out in front of the 2nd car anyway and the 2nd car hit it in the rear? If the 1st car is going to pull out, he should have pulled out when the 2nd car was a distance away and not wait until it speed up to get by. Sounds like another classical example of an accident caused by a stupid driver that doesn’t take fault: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnQ_nIKXnZK66ugIrsoXtAHty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090314133647AAA8VWD
I was mad that I missed the green light, but if I wasn’t paying attention, I would have hit the car.
If I ever get into an accident that I don’t feel is my fault and the other driver’s insurance doesn’t pay, I can always sue in small claims court. I see accident cases on Judge Judy all the time and just because the insurance doesn’t cover it, the judge may still find an judgment against the defendant.
Please if there are any other insurance workers or cops that want to answer, please do even though I may not like your answer either.
yeah it’s still car “A’s” fault, normally the person that got hit from behind will claim it was the guy behind him’s fault. no matter how stupid they were being. trust me I live in college station (home of the aggies, WHOOP!!) and everyone is a college student, they’re idiots, idk how many times i’ve almost been hit or side swiped, and it would clearly have been they’re fault. one of these days Im gonna let em so I can get a new side panel and a new paint job ; ) they all have daddy’s credit card anyway. well hope that helps
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You say close to the speed limit when describing Car A’s speed. That could make a difference. If the driver of Car B had reason to believe that car A, if it was travelling the speed limit, would not have hit him … he may be able to argue that the accident was your fault because you were violating the rules of the road and had you been operating your vehicle legally, the accident would not have occurred.
If travelling the speed limit likely wouldn’t have changed the outcome, both parties could be at fault. One was speeding, and the other was driving carelessly (pulling out into traffic without sufficent room). That’s only if the driver of Car A is dumb enough to admit to speeding.
In the end, if the driver of Car A (regardless of what really happened) can convince the police that he wasn’t speeding, and the driver of Car B has no way to prove that he was .. Driver B would take fault, legally, even if the accident could have been avoided if driver A was going the speed limit.
Hope that’s clear.
If you rear-end a car, it is almost always deemed to be your fault. In your scenario, it would have been Car A’s fault.
Car B was in the wrong for pulling out in front of car A. Simple as that. When you are going to pull out from a side road, you must give way to cars already on that road.
Whew Eric, you were lucky! This accident happened to a dear friend of mine (she was Car B in this scenario) but that incident resulted in an accident in which the driver of Car A was hospitalized. The driver of Car A was a much older woman who was so old her reflexes were slow and didn’t stop in time for my friend.
In that scenario, which happened in Delaware, both drivers were found at fault. My friend was cited for not yielding to the driver on the main road and the elderly woman for driving too fast.
So, it’s hard to say who is at fault but in most situations the person who rearends another car is found at fault. HOWEVER in some states, even if you are not the “rearendee” you can be found at fault if you were found to have the slightest bit of alcohol in your system.
ok in almost all cases, if you rear end someone regardless of the circumstance minutes before, you are at fault for not keeping an assured clear distance.
as for the yellow light, got to differ. on a yellow, i always stop since could be in intersection when red and could be hit by other cars when it turns green. its like people running the light when it turns yellow and then get hit; the only time i run a yellow if i am in the intersection making a turn and the other way is clear.
i had one situation where a 2 people stopped at intersection with a stop sign. 1st car pulls out and then stops since after starting her turn realized another car coming to avoid being struck. 2nd car behind saw 1st car move and put foot on gas rear-ending 1st car.
the husband (lawyer) argued that the 1st lady pulled out and stopped causing the accident, but i argued his wife had duty to verify it was clear and not paying attention to 1st car. his insurance company paid for our clients cars damages.
it could also be argued that you were upset that this idiot pulled out in front of you almost causing you an accident and you were not thinking clearly and paying attention.
here is one other scenario.
take the situation you had with the idiot pulling out. he does not hit you, but in trying to avoid being hit, you hit something else. you have damages due to avoiding this accident and the other guy who pulled out has none. the other company would deny since there was no contact. that one is an exclusion in the policy, that under some circumstances is not fair, but i have had several and the other guys scott free.
I’d say, it depends on where the damage is on both cars, and exactly how far from the intersection the cars are.
You can’t pull in front of someone, and accellerate to 50mph, then hit the brakes and get to a complete stop, in 75 yards.
As soon as that clown pulled in front of car A, car B should have been hitting the brakes, to allow for enough distance IN CASE the light turned red, or a piano fell from a 19 story building landing in that intersection.
If damage was square to the center of the bumpers of both cars, I’d still fault A.
Clearly, it was the intention of car A to blaze through the intersection, even though the car IN FRONT of them, had a YELLOW light. There’s a problem when you race yellow lights.