Discussion
There was a crash near my house the other day.
I only know the basic details.
On an A road with a 60 limit a car is turning right into a driveway. Lets call this car A.
The crash occured when car B coming the other way hit car A broadside and pushed it 20 yards and into a ditch onto its roof.
I can not see any way in which car A is not at fault.
It's a straight road, there are no side roads or curves to hide car B.
Even if car B had been speeding or on their phone I still can't see how car A isn't at fault.
However; one of neighbours knows the driver of car A and wants them to be innocent.
Can anyone think of any way at all to make Car A less at fault.
Or at least find some mitigating circumstance?
I can't.
The sun was off to the side, the weather was clear.
I only know the basic details.
On an A road with a 60 limit a car is turning right into a driveway. Lets call this car A.
The crash occured when car B coming the other way hit car A broadside and pushed it 20 yards and into a ditch onto its roof.
I can not see any way in which car A is not at fault.
It's a straight road, there are no side roads or curves to hide car B.
Even if car B had been speeding or on their phone I still can't see how car A isn't at fault.
However; one of neighbours knows the driver of car A and wants them to be innocent.
Can anyone think of any way at all to make Car A less at fault.
Or at least find some mitigating circumstance?
I can't.
The sun was off to the side, the weather was clear.
Edited by Snowboy on Tuesday 17th June 08:52
My opinion based on the information supplied:-
Unless car A waited until the very last minute and then pulled straight into the path of car B, then blame must be shared; though not necessarily equally.
The only way A could possibly claim no fault is if B flashed him in then deliberately rammed him.
Unless car A waited until the very last minute and then pulled straight into the path of car B, then blame must be shared; though not necessarily equally.
The only way A could possibly claim no fault is if B flashed him in then deliberately rammed him.
I guess it's down to how late car A made the turn. If he saw the car coming but thought 'I'll make it' when he should have waited leaving car B no chance of avoiding the prang then it's pretty clear cut. On the other hand, if car A had plenty of room, got half way across and had some kinda issues causing him to slow or stop, it would be down to B to stop safely. Problem is proving it either way.
What if the driver of car A looked and saw that vehicle B was a long way down the road. Let's say it is a 30mph residential road.
Car B is being driven at a speed that is higher than what driver A is reasonable going to expect so the turn is made.
Driver B can't make the stop and diver A is t-boned.
I agree that driver A is partly culpable but is it reasonable to make an assessment of speed at distance when it is reasonable not to have done so because of the distance at which the movement of vehicle B was assessed as the turn was made. The age and visual acuity of driver A is material here.
The distance vehicle A has been moved by vehicle B indicates that at the point of collision there was still some speed and momentum carried into the collision so it is not unreasonable to consider a high or unlawful speed may have contributed.
That scenario would attribute the majority, not all, of the blame to driver B IMHO.
Of course Driver A may not have looked, driver B was proceeding perfectly reasonably and a lawful and reasonable speed with no time to brake pushed vehicle A onto its roof.
Let's hope your Internet quest is not a search for a fable to apportion blame away from the driver who was at fault.
Car B is being driven at a speed that is higher than what driver A is reasonable going to expect so the turn is made.
Driver B can't make the stop and diver A is t-boned.
I agree that driver A is partly culpable but is it reasonable to make an assessment of speed at distance when it is reasonable not to have done so because of the distance at which the movement of vehicle B was assessed as the turn was made. The age and visual acuity of driver A is material here.
The distance vehicle A has been moved by vehicle B indicates that at the point of collision there was still some speed and momentum carried into the collision so it is not unreasonable to consider a high or unlawful speed may have contributed.
That scenario would attribute the majority, not all, of the blame to driver B IMHO.
Of course Driver A may not have looked, driver B was proceeding perfectly reasonably and a lawful and reasonable speed with no time to brake pushed vehicle A onto its roof.
Let's hope your Internet quest is not a search for a fable to apportion blame away from the driver who was at fault.
johnny fotze said:
From the information supplied:-
Unless car A waited until the very last minute and then pulled straight into the path of car B, then blame must be shared; though not necessarily equally.
The only way A could possibly claim no fault is if B flashed him in then deliberately rammed him.
Even then the responsibility would be divided because A is regarded in law as exercising his judgement in turning across the traffic. I actually saw a very similar accident when a woman turned across an approaching car and a major crash occurred. She actually said to the police "he could have stopped". He could not possibly have done so I doubt if he had time to even hit his brakes she literally turned in front of him. She was prosecuted for DDC and was found guilty. I think this accident is down to the driver crossing the traffic.Unless car A waited until the very last minute and then pulled straight into the path of car B, then blame must be shared; though not necessarily equally.
The only way A could possibly claim no fault is if B flashed him in then deliberately rammed him.
james_tigerwoods said:
If Car A was turning across the path of Car B to get in to the drive, wouldn't Car A be at fault?
That's what I think.However, when talking to my neighbour I'd like to be able to offer some words or suggestions that don't make driver A look too bad when I'm asked for an opinion.
Driver A is in hospital so I'd rather be kind than brutally honest.
Car B still has a duty to avoid an accident as much as possible.
So even if Car A made a dodgy call on how fast Car B was going, or just didn't see Car B, Car B still needs to slam on the brakes ASAP to avoid sharing SOME of the blame.
In other words, if someone pulls out in front of you, you can't just ram them with impunity.
You have to brake.
However, most people do try to avoid crashes so it would be pretty odd if Car B hadn't braked!!
So even if Car A made a dodgy call on how fast Car B was going, or just didn't see Car B, Car B still needs to slam on the brakes ASAP to avoid sharing SOME of the blame.
In other words, if someone pulls out in front of you, you can't just ram them with impunity.
You have to brake.
However, most people do try to avoid crashes so it would be pretty odd if Car B hadn't braked!!
Snowboy said:
james_tigerwoods said:
If Car A was turning across the path of Car B to get in to the drive, wouldn't Car A be at fault?
That's what I think.However, when talking to my neighbour I'd like to be able to offer some words or suggestions that don't make driver A look too bad when I'm asked for an opinion.
Driver A is in hospital so I'd rather be kind than brutally honest.
Snowboy said:
That's what I think.
However, when talking to my neighbour I'd like to be able to offer some words or suggestions that don't make driver A look too bad when I'm asked for an opinion.
Driver A is in hospital so I'd rather be kind than brutally honest.
Honesty is the best policy.However, when talking to my neighbour I'd like to be able to offer some words or suggestions that don't make driver A look too bad when I'm asked for an opinion.
Driver A is in hospital so I'd rather be kind than brutally honest.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
If car B flashed him, that doesn't mean he can go, it means car B is warning car A of his presence. So can A still at fault.
Indeed. All a flash means is "I'm here!".I know we all also use it to signal to another driver that we've seen and will make room for them....
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