Hypothetical driving situation

[effowe]

I've been thinking about this for a while. Whenever I am in traffic or on the tollway, if I need to come to a stop, I leave about a cars distance in front of me. After I stop I always keep an eye on the person coming up behind me, and what speed they are going. I do this because if they aren't paying attention and don't see the line of cars stopped in front of them, I figure I would have time to move out of the way to avoid getting rear ended. This has never happened to me, but what would you do in this situation? Would you brace for impact and get rear ended, or move out of the way and let the guy in front get rear ended.

Also, what are the legal ramifications of doing such a thing? Would you be at fault at all by allowing the person in front of you to get rear ended? What if there were fatalities in the crash?

 

[spidey07]

I'd move out of the way and they would plow into the car in front, I've done this twice. If we are slowing down very rapidly then I'll throw on my hazard lights to alert those behind me.

And you would certainly not be at fault.

 

[Nik]

If I had time, I would get the heck out of the way. That being said, if I have time and room to move my stationary car, why does the asshole racing up behind me not decide to swerve to avoid hitting me?

 

[AstroManLuca]

Originally posted by: Nik
If I had time, I would get the heck out of the way. That being said, if I have time and room to move my stationary car, why does the asshole racing up behind me not decide to swerve to avoid hitting me?

Same reason he's not hitting his brakes.

I'd move out of the way. I'm not going to put my own life at risk to possibly save some random stranger in front of me.

 

[nakedfrog]

How fast are we talking, here? My rear bumper cover is already damaged and I don't want to pay so much to replace something for aesthetic purposes.

 

[effowe]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
How fast are we talking, here? My rear bumper cover is already damaged and I don't want to pay so much to replace something for aesthetic purposes.

I'd say pretty fast, as in he's quickly approaching your car and you only have a second or two to react and get your car out of the way.

 

[WobbleWobble]

Originally posted by: effowe

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
How fast are we talking, here? My rear bumper cover is already damaged and I don't want to pay so much to replace something for aesthetic purposes.

I'd say pretty fast, as in he's quickly approaching your car and you only have a second or two to react and get your car out of the way.

I'd stay put. If you only have a second or two, there's no guarantee you'd get out of the lane fast enough. I would think the insurance claim would be a bit more difficult when you're in the process of changing lanes versus staying put.

 

[sactoking]

Move. If you state that you saw him coming and had a couple seconds to react and didn't, you'd be partially at fault (last best chance to avoid). That is, assuming that it would be clear for you to move. If you move and cause another accident, you're at fault for that. If you move and the guy hits the car that used to be in front of you, you're not at fault.

 

[dainthomas]

I probably wouldn't move but I would make the idiot who ran into me buy a new ball mount and possibly receiver hitch for my truck if he was going fast enough to damage that.

 

[l0cke]

I would probably be driving a rear engined car, so I would GTFO that lane.

 

[olds]

I usually do this in a car. You better be doing it on a motorcycle.

 

[Unheard]

I was distracted by the pie option. I'd move out the way.

 

[Mo0o]

Sorry, I can't drive and eat my pie at the same time

 

[imported_Imp]

I'd like to move out of the way, but some people like to brake hard, and make it like they won't stop in time. So, the end result is me just bracing for impact.

Maybe I'll get better at reading people who aren't going to stop after a few years.