Merging Accident - whose at fault?

Question

Hypothetical question:

I'm car A, who is about to merge off an on-ramp into the Left-hand lane of a motorway, traveling more than 60km/h. Car B (in the left-hand lane of the motorway) has their front bumper in line with my back bumper but i must merge otherwise i have to either stop (illegal) blocking the on-ramp until there is an opening, or run into the left-hand barrier risking a serious accident to myself and possibly the car behind me. But if i merge i will collide with car B because they will not let me in. So my question is if i collide with car B - "BY LAW" - whose at fault?

Answer 1

You are at fault.  It's called failure to clear.  It means that you did not allow the car to pass yours before pulling into traffic.  

Answer 2

You will be found at fault. If you are going from the minor lane to the major lane, as you were, the traffic on the major lane has priority. I accept that he should have had the courtesy to slow down slightly to let you in, but he is under no legal obligation to do so.  

Answer 3

You are at fault. Car B has no legal obligation to change lanes and let you in.  

When you are merging from an on ramp - it is your obligation to look down the highway at what its coming and for an opening - not just look right beside you and adjuster your speed accordingly.

If you need additional information on how to merge properly: http://www.wikihow.com/Merge-Onto-the-Hi...

Answer 4

You need to adjust your speed, (either speed up or slow down, keeping within the on-ramp/motorway speed limit.) untill there is a clear path to merge into the next lane, what your doing is in-fact changing lanes, the person next to you, although considerate, does not need to slow down or speed up to allow you to merge!

Answer 5

The obligation is on you to merge safely.

You can do this by allowing the car already on the freeway to pass you. But there are further obligations.

These are the unwritten rules.

1. You must match the speed of the traffic you are merging with, up to the designated speed limit;

2. You must attempt to time your run so you will fit into a gap;

3. you must NEVER STOP except in dire emergency! This creates an extremely dangerous situation for every vehicle behind you and/ or those already on the freeway.

60 Km/H doesn't sound like it's a reasonable merge speed to me, the merge speed is commonly the posted speed for the freeway. This  is the speed you should try to attain, or you go to the speed of the traffic you are merging with.

It is illegal, on the other hand, for a vehicle you are trying to merge near, to impede you. But this would be hard to prove without witnesses, if there were an accident.

I know it can become difficult at times, but if you use common sense, you will rarely have a problem.

If you are trying to merge on to a freeway where the traffic is doing 100 KpH and you are only doing 60, you will of course, create some ire in your fellow motorists!

Answer 6

"BY LAW"   YOU are at fault. The other driver is already on the roadway. YOU are Merging, therefor YOU have to YIELD.

If his front bumper is in line with your back bumper, you either need to speed up, signal and merge, OR slow down until he passes you and then signal and merge.

Answer 7

You (car A) is at fault.  The other cars on the roadway have the right of way and you must Yield to them.  They may have a courtesy obligation but  no LEGAL obligation to "let you in".  This is one of my pet peeves because Many, many people merging do not understand they do not have the right of way.