POLL: whos at fault in this accident, drawing included

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PlatinumGold

Lifer
Aug 11, 2000
23,168
0
71
Originally posted by: rh71
It's B's fault, though I think A should've been more aware of their surroundings and swerve out of that lane. Unless B jumped into the center lane in less than 1 second to avoid an accident of their own... then of course A can't react in time.

People need to be aware of their surroundings at all times. I have a wide after-market rearview mirror that I glance at every 5-10 seconds to watch for upcoming cars and open lanes. Gotta use this when there are cars around and especially near intersections/on-off-ramps/driveways. Basically... driving requires anticipation.

rolleye.gif


the question is WHO'S Fault is it. the answer is B.

all this preaching is a bit sickening.
 
Jan 31, 2002
40,819
2
0
Talk about a coincidence. I was about to post a thread about the same thing, because it nearly happened to me today. Had the dumb bitch not swerved back into her lane, I would have been planted right in the side of her minivan. :Q

- M4H
 

glugglug

Diamond Member
Jun 9, 2002
5,340
1
81
B is at fault.

You are supposed to check the blind spots by turning your head not just looking in the mirror before changing lanes.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,853
1,048
126
Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
Originally posted by: rh71
It's B's fault, though I think A should've been more aware of their surroundings and swerve out of that lane. Unless B jumped into the center lane in less than 1 second to avoid an accident of their own... then of course A can't react in time.

People need to be aware of their surroundings at all times. I have a wide after-market rearview mirror that I glance at every 5-10 seconds to watch for upcoming cars and open lanes. Gotta use this when there are cars around and especially near intersections/on-off-ramps/driveways. Basically... driving requires anticipation.

rolleye.gif


the question is WHO'S Fault is it. the answer is B.

all this preaching is a bit sickening.
Methods to avoid accidents is worth preaching. I don't care if I get $2k to fix my car because it was all the other guy's fault. I don't want to be in that situation and be put through the trouble.

You didn't have to read beyond my first sentence.
rolleye.gif
 

arcenite

Lifer
Dec 9, 2001
10,658
3
81
Originally posted by: tizodq
B is at fault, but A should be watching the surrounding traffic just to make sure people like B don't see them. Thats why I never try to be in people's blindspot.

IF there was a car on all sides of A, there's nothing he coulda done but prayed.
 

gunblade

Golden Member
Nov 18, 2002
1,470
0
71
I think A should honk when B is about to take the turn. But it is B's fault regardless.
 
Jan 31, 2002
40,819
2
0
Originally posted by: aRCeNiTe
Originally posted by: tizodq
B is at fault, but A should be watching the surrounding traffic just to make sure people like B don't see them. Thats why I never try to be in people's blindspot.

IF there was a car on all sides of A, there's nothing he coulda done but prayed.

Thankfully neither of the two cutoffs were in that case for me. Thankfully the second time around I had the option of eating snowbank - but the first time, if I'd snowbanked myself I would have been nailed by a Ford truck. :confused:

- M4H
 

Yax

Platinum Member
Feb 11, 2003
2,866
0
0
Originally posted by: rh71
It's B's fault, though I think A should've been more aware of their surroundings and swerve out of that lane. Unless B jumped into the center lane in less than 1 second to avoid an accident of their own... then of course A can't react in time.

People need to be aware of their surroundings at all times. I have a wide after-market rearview mirror that I glance at every 5-10 seconds to watch for upcoming cars and open lanes. Gotta use this when there are cars around and especially near intersections/on-off-ramps/driveways. Basically... driving requires anticipation.

Geez, that's stupid. But keep in mind that if you swerve and he misses you but you hit something else and he continues to drive on, you are now at fault for the accident you were in. That's happened to two people I know already. The cops simply said, there's no proof the other person did anything wrong. When I got into my accident, it was similar situation, but I didn't have time to swerve so she hit me and sent us spinning. She was found to be at fault.
 

DainBramaged

Lifer
Jun 19, 2003
23,449
38
91
Originally posted by: MystikMango
Driver A is at fault. Drivers should always be aware of what is in front of them.

Briver B can always argue that he looked, signaled and changed lanes, and that you were driving at a higher rate of speed.

Thats pretty funny. I hope you are not serious.
 

PlatinumGold

Lifer
Aug 11, 2000
23,168
0
71
Originally posted by: rh71
Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
Originally posted by: rh71
It's B's fault, though I think A should've been more aware of their surroundings and swerve out of that lane. Unless B jumped into the center lane in less than 1 second to avoid an accident of their own... then of course A can't react in time.

People need to be aware of their surroundings at all times. I have a wide after-market rearview mirror that I glance at every 5-10 seconds to watch for upcoming cars and open lanes. Gotta use this when there are cars around and especially near intersections/on-off-ramps/driveways. Basically... driving requires anticipation.

rolleye.gif


the question is WHO'S Fault is it. the answer is B.

all this preaching is a bit sickening.
Methods to avoid accidents is worth preaching. I don't care if I get $2k to fix my car because it was all the other guy's fault. I don't want to be in that situation and be put through the trouble.

You didn't have to read beyond my first sentence.
rolleye.gif

You assume way too much.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,853
1,048
126
Originally posted by: cheapbidder01
Originally posted by: rh71
It's B's fault, though I think A should've been more aware of their surroundings and swerve out of that lane. Unless B jumped into the center lane in less than 1 second to avoid an accident of their own... then of course A can't react in time.

People need to be aware of their surroundings at all times. I have a wide after-market rearview mirror that I glance at every 5-10 seconds to watch for upcoming cars and open lanes. Gotta use this when there are cars around and especially near intersections/on-off-ramps/driveways. Basically... driving requires anticipation.

Geez, that's stupid. But keep in mind that if you swerve and he misses you but you hit something else and he continues to drive on, you are now at fault for the accident you were in. That's happened to two people I know already. The cops simply said, there's no proof the other person did anything wrong. When I got into my accident, it was similar situation, but I didn't have time to swerve so she hit me and sent us spinning. She was found to be at fault.
So... what... let yourself be hit as you see him coming over ? Is that really your first instinct ? Unbelievable.

 

PlatinumGold

Lifer
Aug 11, 2000
23,168
0
71
Originally posted by: rh71
Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
You assume way too much.
What would you have done in the same situation ?

i would have reacted based on the situation. condition of road, weather, amount of traffic, speed of traffic.

also, there are other alternatives besides swerving, accellerating if you see him hedge in time, honking to let him know you are there, slowing down and letting him in.

but the question was, who was at fault and the answer is, B.
 

kenshorin

Golden Member
Apr 14, 2001
1,160
0
0
Originally posted by: MystikMango
Driver A is at fault. Drivers should always be aware of what is in front of them.

Briver B can always argue that he looked, signaled and changed lanes, and that you were driving at a higher rate of speed.

Looking, signalling, and then changing lanes doesn't give them the right of way. Right of way belongs to the person who is in that lane already.
 

kenshorin

Golden Member
Apr 14, 2001
1,160
0
0
Originally posted by: cheapbidder01
Originally posted by: rh71
It's B's fault, though I think A should've been more aware of their surroundings and swerve out of that lane. Unless B jumped into the center lane in less than 1 second to avoid an accident of their own... then of course A can't react in time.

People need to be aware of their surroundings at all times. I have a wide after-market rearview mirror that I glance at every 5-10 seconds to watch for upcoming cars and open lanes. Gotta use this when there are cars around and especially near intersections/on-off-ramps/driveways. Basically... driving requires anticipation.

Geez, that's stupid. But keep in mind that if you swerve and he misses you but you hit something else and he continues to drive on, you are now at fault for the accident you were in. That's happened to two people I know already. The cops simply said, there's no proof the other person did anything wrong. When I got into my accident, it was similar situation, but I didn't have time to swerve so she hit me and sent us spinning. She was found to be at fault.

Yep happened to me too... I was driving in the right lane on a two lane road, and this guy in the left lane was stuck behind some people turning left, and he got impatient and tried to swing around them by going into right lane, cut me off... instinctively I swerved to avoid and ended up catching a snowdrift and hitting a telephone pole. He just drove off, that bastard! I jumped out of my car and chased him down the fvckin street because he ended up stopping at a red light... I was like, wtf? You cut me off! He denied the whole thing, and the cops said there was no evidence of it, even though the cop believed me because I was livid... cop told me I shoulda just plowed him. But because I tried to do the right thing and avoid, no evidence of him cutting me off.
 

gwlam12

Diamond Member
Apr 4, 2001
6,946
1
71
someone did that to me when i was on the freeway, except he was right NEXT to me. im sure glad there was no car next to me when i swerved.
 

Thraxen

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2001
4,683
1
81
I would say B UNLESS A hit B in the rear bumper, then it is A.

I don't think you can say that would be necessarily true. The reason being that this is lane change, therefore you can't argue that A had to maintain an appropriate following distance. It would be very possible for B to move into A's lane and cause A to hit B's bumper. Think about it... many cars have front bumbers that stick out further in the middle, so it would be possible for B to swerve straight over and make contact with the center of A's bumper. Or what if B is going much slower than A? Again, following distance can't be applied in a lane change.
 

MillionaireNextDoor

Platinum Member
Nov 16, 2000
2,918
1
0
If someone wants to hit your car, let him hit it.

I was almost hit by a car backing up at a parking lot in order to give room to another car backing out of a parking spot. If I hadn't blown my horn, I probably would've gotten $$ towards a new bumper. This was in LA.

Of course, I still wouldn't have repaired it until need be. :)
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,853
1,048
126
Originally posted by: kenshorin
Originally posted by: cheapbidder01
Originally posted by: rh71
It's B's fault, though I think A should've been more aware of their surroundings and swerve out of that lane. Unless B jumped into the center lane in less than 1 second to avoid an accident of their own... then of course A can't react in time.

People need to be aware of their surroundings at all times. I have a wide after-market rearview mirror that I glance at every 5-10 seconds to watch for upcoming cars and open lanes. Gotta use this when there are cars around and especially near intersections/on-off-ramps/driveways. Basically... driving requires anticipation.

Geez, that's stupid. But keep in mind that if you swerve and he misses you but you hit something else and he continues to drive on, you are now at fault for the accident you were in. That's happened to two people I know already. The cops simply said, there's no proof the other person did anything wrong. When I got into my accident, it was similar situation, but I didn't have time to swerve so she hit me and sent us spinning. She was found to be at fault.

Yep happened to me too... I was driving in the right lane on a two lane road, and this guy in the left lane was stuck behind some people turning left, and he got impatient and tried to swing around them by going into right lane, cut me off... instinctively I swerved to avoid and ended up catching a snowdrift and hitting a telephone pole. He just drove off, that bastard! I jumped out of my car and chased him down the fvckin street because he ended up stopping at a red light... I was like, wtf? You cut me off! He denied the whole thing, and the cops said there was no evidence of it, even though the cop believed me because I was livid... cop told me I shoulda just plowed him. But because I tried to do the right thing and avoid, no evidence of him cutting me off.
Ever drive in Manhattan ? You need to expect things like that when you see cars in the left lane stuck behind a turning car. In Manhattan, there are no snowdrifts... there are only pedestrians and aggressive taxis. You need to keep your foot on the brake as you pass... because it was only a 2-lane road.
 

KarenMarie

Elite Member
Sep 20, 2003
14,372
6
81
car A is driving along, and car B swerves in front of him. He gets hit. With the info supplied, car A did nothing wrong.

A long time ago, when vehicles got in an accident, the insurances companies actually actually cared enough to try to find out what really happened. Today it is much more cost effective to try to place a blanket rule and cut losses from there. Which ever car does the hitting, is at fault and whichever was hit was the 'victim'. For a while, I think there was something about ...if you hit another vehicle from the front quarterpanel and after, you were at fault. But if it was the quarterpanel or before, then it was looked into further. Not too sure about this, cause I have not been in an accident in over 25yrs.

:)
 

silverpig

Lifer
Jul 29, 2001
27,709
11
81
Originally posted by: rh71
Originally posted by: dxkj
Originally posted by: rh71
It's B's fault, though I think A should've been more aware of their surroundings and swerve out of that lane. Unless B jumped into the center lane in less than 1 second to avoid an accident of their own... then of course A can't react in time.

People need to be aware of their surroundings at all times. I have a wide after-market rearview mirror that I glance at every 5-10 seconds to watch for upcoming cars and open lanes. Gotta use this when there are cars around and especially near intersections/on-off-ramps/driveways. Basically... driving requires anticipation.

Bad advice IMO. Never swerve suddenly out of your lane just because someone is swerving at you. Break, yes, Swerve off the road at high speeds, or on to the shoulder? Not a good idea, and that picture shows one lane over being the fast lane, very bad idea to swerve into that suddenly.
See, the thing is you're expecting to do it anyway... if you're prepared and have been checking your mirrors the whole time. Whenever I'm driving beside a car, I am prepared to get out of my lane to avoid them. Braking is not my idea of avoiding accidents unless it's a 2-lane road and I've got nowhere to go. All this sounds like a lot of work and on-the-fly thinking, but it sounds more complex than it really is. I'm a pretty aggressive driver, so I'd rather do something to get out of a situation rather than brake and hope something doesn't happen (like maybe get rear-ended too). Again, know what's around you so you can get out.

Swerving is bad. I keep an eye on what's around me so that I CAN if I HAVE to, but even before that, I make sure I'm not in anyone's blind spot so that this kind of thing doesn't happen.