USA Who would be at fault?

M

mms1361

Active Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2017
Messages
131
Reaction score
33
Country
United States
State AZ.

This morning i got rear ended by an suv. I was on the highways left most lane. The traffic had come to a halt in front of me so i braked up until i had come to a complete stop. Knowing the abundance of stupid drivers here i quickly looked at my rearview mirror. I could see an suv approaching rapidly not even feathering their brakes like if they werent even paying attention to the road. The traffic was problably moving around 20-30 mph, I already knew it was coming. At the very last moment i released my brakes slightly to cushion the blow of the impact. I still had a car infront of me a relatively short distance so i did not let off the brakes completely. Just seconds before the impact occured i heard the other driver screech their tires to a stop. Would there be any reason to find me at fault? I only have forward facing dash video. Id rather settle this out of the insurance but if i have to ill turn to theirs. I just dont want their insurance to come up with an excuse and thereby raise my rates.
 
Laws vary by State however in most States any vehicle which hits you from behind is at fault with very few exceptions allowed. And in most States you are legally required to report any crash you are involved in that happens on a public roadway. Failure to report often leads to loss of rights to claim damages. You need a Lawyer or your insurance company involved, not an internet forum, and you need them right now.

Phil
 
It was daylight?? Your brake lights were working, or taillights if dark? Were the police called?
 
The repair is mostly cosmetic. A lawyer is going to defeat the purpose of filing a claim. Damage is roughly 600 if I had to guess. I'm pretty well informed about vehicles.
 
Did you contact the police and get a police report or accident report?

If you're counting on the other driver to act responsibly, it doesn't always happen.

The people that hit you and say 'don't worry about it, no damage to me, I'll take care of it, no need to call the police' usually have something to hide.
(No license, no insurance, expired tag, etc)
 
Unless they can show your brake lights did not work they should be 100% at fault.
 
They don't need to show the brakelights working if the vehicle was already completely stationary. If your dashcam clearly shows your car was stationary I don't think you should worry about being found at fault. But as you say, trying to avoid the hassle of going through insurance can actually complicate things. Were the police involved afterwards?

A competent driver shouldn't just be focusing on the vehicle immediately in front of them, they should be looking much further ahead, reading the situation and the whole environment. Hitting a completely stationary car isn't all that different from hitting any stationary object, but no one complains about the trees on the side of the road having no brakelights :p
 
mms1361 said:
State AZ.

This morning i got rear ended by an suv. I was on the highways left most lane. The traffic had come to a halt in front of me so i braked up until i had come to a complete stop. Knowing the abundance of stupid drivers here i quickly looked at my rearview mirror. I could see an suv approaching rapidly not even feathering their brakes like if they werent even paying attention to the road. The traffic was problably moving around 20-30 mph, I already knew it was coming. At the very last moment i released my brakes slightly to cushion the blow of the impact. I still had a car infront of me a relatively short distance so i did not let off the brakes completely. Just seconds before the impact occured i heard the other driver screech their tires to a stop. Would there be any reason to find me at fault? I only have forward facing dash video. Id rather settle this out of the insurance but if i have to ill turn to theirs. I just dont want their insurance to come up with an excuse and thereby raise my rates.
Click to expand...

You are never at fault in this situation, period. I believe most all states will just simply require you to exchange information with the other party, and you are only required to report it under certain circumstance such as one with 1,000+ damage or personal injury...
https://www.dmv.com/az/arizona/auto-accidents
My recommendation is to always call the police, take pictures, and obtain a report for the company. However, an accident can be settled between both parties. Just remember if you are trying to settle with an at fault party, he will be your best friend for those 30 minutes and then you may never hear from him afterwards even with his contact information. I know it’s a headache to go through the process but it is necessary.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top