Driving into the rear of another car
Driving into the rear of another car
Author
Discussion

BlackST

Original Poster:

9,080 posts

196 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
When a car hits a car infront, is it always the rear cars fault 100% no questions asked?

A person I know was driving behind a car when an ambulance was in the distance, flashing lights and siren.
All of a sudden the car infront slammed on the anchors. The person hit the car in front and cracked the bumper.

In regards to insurance i'm presuming their view is -
rear car hits front car
rear car is to blame

Am I right in thinking the above?
The person whos car has the cracked rear bumper is happy for it to be fixed outside of the insurance however they want a brand new rear bumper from the manufacturer which is looking at £500+.

ismellburning

136 posts

169 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
W/out more detail this would seem to be the driver behind's fault. Leave enough distance for the chap in front to do the unexpected and all that.

Durzel

13,027 posts

199 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
"Person you know" was driving too close, or not paying enough attention enough to react in time. It's been a while since I did my test but I believe my instructor said that you basically had to drive in a manner that would mean you could both anticipate and react to someone doing an emergency stop in front of you, for any reason.

You could argue it's unrealistic to expect that from every car you're behind, but people seldom expect the thing that catches them by surprise.

Snowboy

8,028 posts

182 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
In general the rear car is 100% at fault

There have been a few cases linked in the past where the front car has been found partly to blame - but they are the exceptions.

plasticpig

12,932 posts

256 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
No it isn't always the rear cars fault.

HTP99

25,419 posts

171 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
Shouldn't have been so close or should have been concentrating, it is your friends fault.

4rephill

5,171 posts

209 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
It's not always 100% the car behinds fault!

If it can be proven that the car in front manoeuvred into the path of the vehicle behind at the last second and then slammed on its brakes leaving the car behind no opportunity to stop in time then the car in front will be deemed to be at fault!



radio man

202 posts

205 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
I do know of a case where a car on a roundabout that missed it's exit reversed to try to take that exit and hit the car behind, what a p###k

GTIR

24,741 posts

297 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
I had a car pull out in front of me on a two lane carriageway at night. There was me, him and the truck he'd been sitting behind for at least three miles before decided that was when he needed to pull out, and another car in front of the truck. That was it.

I was on cruise control at 75 (72 true speed) and he was doing 56 (truck speed) and he pulled out as I was two car lengths away forcing me to slam my brakes on so much so that the hazards flashed and ABS kicked in.

Unfortunately as I got about two feet away he decided to brake test me and I then hit his car!

Fortunately in front of the truck was an unmarked Audi plod car who'd seen the whole episode.

The short of it was Mr Prius driver was given points for dangerous driving, even after he tried to blame me for "driving like a loony. He was doing at least 70mph and I was sticking to well below the 60mph limit!"rolleyes and saying I tailgated him and was "braking for a deer" hehe
In my eyes he saw me coming and thought he'd teach me a lessen for speeding. (Although technically I was speeding)

Plod was not happy, mainly because he'd nearly finished his shift, and I was ready to punch the prick Prius driver.

So rear driver not always to blame.

9mm

3,128 posts

241 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
BlackST said:
When a car hits a car infront, is it always the rear cars fault 100% no questions asked?

A person I know was driving behind a car when an ambulance was in the distance, flashing lights and siren.
All of a sudden the car infront slammed on the anchors. The person hit the car in front and cracked the bumper.

In regards to insurance i'm presuming their view is -
rear car hits front car
rear car is to blame

Am I right in thinking the above?
The person whos car has the cracked rear bumper is happy for it to be fixed outside of the insurance however they want a brand new rear bumper from the manufacturer which is looking at £500+.
Assuming no fraud, yes, almost always the following driver's fault.

In the circumstances you describe, your friend has no hope of avoiding blame.

BlackST

Original Poster:

9,080 posts

196 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
Thank you for the replies people.
Basically what I assumed.
I can't say how the person I know was driving as I was not there.
I do agree that enough space should be left in front of you and concentration should be 100%, as that is the way I operate too.
It is a relative that is 'the person' and they offered to purchase a 2nd hand bumper and have it professionally sprayed and fitted but the other car want the bumper brand new from Ford and fitted by them, which is looking at 3x the cost. On an 8 year old car too which isn't in the best condition frown

BlackST

Original Poster:

9,080 posts

196 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
Ok, i've called up the person who owns the car.
They have suggested a cash sum of 'x' amount which my relative is happy with.
Would it be wise to ask for a receipt basically saying that money has been handed over? Any ideas to what to have on the agreement?

HTP99

25,419 posts

171 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
Has the "victim" had his car checked out properly,; I've seen rear enders that from the outside have very little visible damage however have root around in the boot and quite often you see a creased floor?

BlackST

Original Poster:

9,080 posts

196 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
No he hasn't.

aw51 121565

4,773 posts

264 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
OP, what's your friend going to do when more damage is found or (sorry, and) he develops whiplash?

Me, heap big cynic smile .

HTP99

25,419 posts

171 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
This could get messy, I'd just suck it up and go through insurance.

TPS

1,860 posts

244 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
This could work ok but it could also go wrong.

Once the bumper is taken off you could find £2000 worth of rear panel damage etc

There also could be a claim for whiplash on the future.

You need to check your insurance documents bit it's more than likely you should notify your insurance company of this incident.

BlackST

Original Poster:

9,080 posts

196 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
Thanks for the above advice.
The person in question isn't me.
I pay £900 a year. The person I am speaking about pays £2700 a year due to the area we live in so if a claim went against him I think it would render him uninsurable.
Fingers crossed no more damage is found.

speedking31

3,964 posts

167 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
Just get them to sign a disclaimer that this is the full and final amount that they will claim in relation to this incident.

I was passenging in a car as we approached a Y-junction in the M62 motorway. 2 lanes left to go North and 2 lanes right to go South. As we cruised in lane 2 to exit north a confused driver in lane 1 suddenly realised they should be in lane 3 and pulled across our bow. We crashed into their rear but my driver was found to be blameless, eventually.

MarshPhantom

9,658 posts

168 months

Tuesday 13th May 2014
quotequote all
Did this recently, my first crash in a very long time. The car in front of me hit a stationary car in front of him, I hit the brakes but a greasy wet road meant I just slid into the back of the car in front. I then got rear ended by a chap in a van - all fairly minor stuff (no damage to my front bumper) and I didn't really see it as my fault but what can you do.