Fender Bender?

Question

Had a fender bender today. the car in front was yielding to oncoming traffic because she was waiting to turn left. The car behind her didnt realize she was turning and slammed on her breaks stopping inches from the car.

I didnt notice she had slammed on her breaks till too late, i slammed mine and hit her going about 5 MPH. The driver of the car turning left said that the car behind her had to be going at least 50 MPH (speed limit being 35). The driver in the very front said i could use her as a witness. Even though i hit the car in front of me, i was doing the speed limit and i was 1-2 car lengths behind the car i hit. Is it all my fault or partially my fault. i mean the went from doing 50 MPH to 0 MPH in a mater of seconds.

Answer 1

You will be at fault for failure to control your speed and you might also be ticked for following to close..............

Answer 2

doesnt matter.  if you rear end someone and they are not in reverse, its your fault.  

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Answer 3

No, sorry - it was your fault.  If you rear-end someone and the other driver isn't backing up, you are to blame in all circumstances.  You should always be able to keep from hitting the vehicle in front of you, no matter how hard they hit their brakes.

Answer 4

Depending on what state it happend in depends on what will happen to you- did they call the police and make a report?

I live in MIchigan and here you would get the ticked for hitting the person in front of you everyone else would be classified under '' no fault"

good luck!

Answer 5

Anytime you hit someone from behind, unless they are backing at the same time, it is your fault.

Answer 6

The speed of the other vehicle is completely irrelevant.

If you were both travelling in the same lane, and you hit her in the rear, you are the only one at fault. You were either following too closely ( tailgating), speeding, not paying attention, or some combination of those things.

"didnt notice she had slammed on her breaks"  (brakes?)

is not paying proper attention.

i was 1-2 car lengths behind "

is following too closely.

The current rule is a MINIMUM following distance is 2 seconds behind the car in front of you (the car in front of you passes a stationary object, like a sign post, AT LEAST 2 seconds before you do).

At 35mph, you are travelling at 51.3 feet per second. 51 feet is considerably more than 2 car lengths (about 30-35feet). In this case you had less than 1 second to see the danger, analyze it, decide what to do, and do it.

The previous system, taught in driver's ed classes until the early 90s, was 1.5 - 2 car lengths for every 10mph of speed (in this case, since you said you were doing 35mph, the proper following distance would have been 5-7 car lengths.

"i mean the went from doing 50 MPH to 0 MPH in a mater of seconds."

I don't know if you're talking about yourself or the other vehicle here since you've already said you were at the 35mph limit. If you mean the other vehicle that is totally irrelevant. You are responsible for having proper control of your vehicle at all times and being aware of your driving environment at all times.

"The driver of the car turning left said that the car behind her had to be going at least 50 MPH (speed limit being 35). The driver in the very front said i could use her as a witness. "

Why would you want her as a witness. Is she qualified to testify in court as as expert as to the other vehicle's speed? If she's not a police officer specifically trained for speed enforcement she's not going to have such a qualification.

In either case, why would you want that information brought out? Your claim is that you were doing 35mph. Bringing out that the other vehicle was doing 50 only makes you look worse by comparison. That the other guy was able to stop from a much higher speed only proves how you were following at an unsafe distance and/or were driving recklessly by not paying attention.

Learn from it. Be glad you didn't hurt anybody.

Answer 7

It is your fault ,pay attention to at least 2 cars ahead of you.