Car Accident - Whose Fault?

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Sabbz

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Hey Guys,

My girlfriend was in a car accident this morning. She was doing around 50-60km (speedlimit), when someone reversed from their driveway. He was nearly into the road before my girlfriend managed to swerve, clipping the back of his car with the entire length of her car.

I know that she could not have been going faster than the speedlimit because a) she doesn't drive that fast and b) she pulled off from a 4-way stop and the driveway was about 100m from it - not near enough time to "drive like a maniac" as the guy accused her of doing.

In a situation like this, whose fault it? I'm guessing it is the other guys fault because he was reversing into a street whose users obviously have right of way. But I'm not entirely sure.

Thanks for any help guys,

Ciao :)
 
I thought in accidents there is not really blame placed on anyone?

But it does sound like the moron should have looked before reversing.
 
I think if he bumped her then its his fault, generally how it works...
If she bumped him... its her fault.
 
Well, it was his home driveway (which is connected to the street) that he was reversing out of. She was driving along the road and he reversed into her - she had to swerve to avoid a full on collison - It's her right of way regardless of how it happened, so I think it's his fault - but I just wanted to make sure :)
 
If he reversed into her, then he is the guilty party and it's a 100% recovery.

If he was stationary, and she swerved too late, then she is the guilty party & her insurance company can negotiate with his as to the recovery percentage.

If she has an eye-witness than can testify that he reversed, even better. No way that he'll admit to causing the accident.
 
Yip.
If theres damage to the front of her car, he can and will blame her. (if he's one of those..)
 
In these cases, it's difficult for the involved people (or their loved ones) to argue who was at fault. I would've taken a bunch of cell-phone photos on the spot, exchanged details and then allow due process to take its course.

For your g/f's sake, I hope that "right-of-way" carries some weight and that the other guy had reversed too far without properly checking for traffic first.
 
lcbxx said:
If he reversed into her, then he is the guilty party and it's a 100% recovery.

If he was stationary, and she swerved too late, then she is the guilty party & her insurance company can negotiate with his as to the recovery percentage.

If she has an eye-witness than can testify that he reversed, even better. No way that he'll admit to causing the accident.
Click to expand...

He admitted it to me, he goes: "I was reversing into the street and she hit me" - except unlucky for him, he could see she was coming as the street was empty of cars.
 
Just rememeber, like ALL insurance companies advise, NEVER admit guilt on the scene.
Even if it is your fault.
 
They might say that your g/f was speeding as if she was going at a legal speed she would have had time to brake.
Also are her tyres bald? Is her car licensed? Does she have a valid drivers license?

Just look at it from all the angles first!
 
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JK8 said:
Yip.
If theres damage to the front of her car, he can and will blame her. (if he's one of those..)
Click to expand...

No damage, at all, to the front - its all along the side of the car, from the back of the front fender across the doors to the front of the rear portion.
 
Sabbz said:
He admitted it to me, he goes: "I was reversing into the street and she hit me" - except unlucky for him, he could see she was coming as the street was empty of cars.
Click to expand...

See what he said?
 
Sabbz said:
No damage, at all, to the front - its all along the side of the car, from the back of the front fender across the doors to the front of the rear portion.
Click to expand...

Thats ok then... did he reverse into the oncoming lane?
 
remybfg10k said:
They might say that your g/f was speeding as if she was going at a legal speed she would have had time to brake.
Also are her tyres bald? Is her car licensed? Does she have a valid car license?

Just look at it from all the angles first!
Click to expand...

Her tyres are fine. She said she saw him, but he wasn't in the road at the time and took no further notice of him then the next thing she knows she had to swerve out of the way. Her car is licensed yes and it is valid.
 
JK8 said:
Thats ok then... did he reverse into the oncoming lane?
Click to expand...

I'm guessing he was attempting to reverse into the same lane that my gf was travelling, because after we finished up that's the way he left. I'm not sure though as he had moved his car back into his driveway - which im sure isn't allowed.
 
JK8 said:
See what he said?
Click to expand...

I did, but she had to swerve out of the way of him but that only means that he should of seen her and waited for her to pass. The fact that he didn't tells me that he wasn't paying attention.
 
Your girlfriend won't be found as the guilty party as she had the right of way - only technicalities to worry about ie. Road worthyness and wasn't talking on a cellphone etc
 
If the damage was ONLY on the side of the car (as opposed to the front or rear), that means that both vehicles had to be moving at the moment of impact (assuming, of course, that your gf's car was moving AWAY from the other car, not TOWARD it, which it was). That's ok for you gf, because she was travelling along the road.

Basically, either he was reversing out and "taking a chance" banking on that she'd slow down and eventually stop (even though it's her right of way), or he was too slow and ended up T-boning her car with his car's rear. Either way, it doesn't look good for him
 
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