St

LouisaM.A

Stupid

L1011

Let your insurers know about her previous history and they may be very, very interested. Its basically insurance fraud even if she isn't getting judged "at fault" due to being the front car... although they might not be able to do anything.

Cionád

1. I don't see how her being female matters tbh.

2. You shouldn't have been driving so close to her.

Tipsy Mac

If you have not left enough room between yourself and the car infront to safely stop then I am afraid you are 100% in the wrong

m83

Cionád wrote: »

1. I don't see how her being female matters tbh.

2. You shouldn't have been driving so close to her.

3. Read the whole story.

4. Go away.

LouisaM.A

She shouldn't have slammed on her brakes. Or maybe you advocate this??? Perhaps you have done this yourself?? how much did you get?

Cionád

Do I advocate what she did? Absolutely not. However if you were drving safely you wouldn't have had this problem.

P.C.

LouisaM.A wrote: »

She shouldn't have slammed on her brakes. Or maybe you advocate this??? Perhaps you have done this yourself?? how much did you get?

Did she say why she slammed on her brakes?

mickdw

It would be interesting if your solicitor could perhaps get a hold of her claims history and then make an issue of it. The claim might go away.

LouisaM.A

Cionád wrote: »

Do I advocate what she did? Absolutely not. However if you were drving safely you wouldn't have had this problem.

I am a very safe driver. Have been drivng for years and never had any incidents/accidents/penalty points. I was purely in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Gary ITR

LouisaM.A wrote: »

I am a very safe driver. Have been drivng for years and never had any incidents/accidents/penalty points. I was purely in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But you need to leave a safe gap between you and the car in front.

robbie_998

LouisaM.A wrote: »

I am a very safe driver. Have been drivng for years and never had any incidents/accidents/penalty points. I was purely in the wrong place at the wrong time.

get on to the insurers and battle it out against her with the insurers and if they insist it was your fault i'd go with the other guys advice here and get your self a solicitor and her backround etc.

m83 wrote: »

3. Read the whole story.

4. Go away.

lol... brilliant ! cant stop laughing !

Onkle wrote: »

But you need to leave a safe gap between you and the car in front.

read the story... it was on a corner ! could have being anybody

also try to find out why she stopped too

LouisaM.A

Cionad, if you ever find yourself the victim to one of these drivers, and I assure you, there are plenty out there, you won't get my sympathy.

Little Miss Cutie

I am going to disagree on the point about not giving enough room. My dad has been driving for 40yrs and never had an accident, I would consider him a very safe driver. Anyway recently he was driving on the m1 doing about 100km/pr hr. Traffic was moving at this pace, anyway car in front stopped for no reason
(later said they thought they say a traffic light), guards called etc and said total blame lies with driver in front.

Leprechaun77

P.C. wrote: »

Did she say why she slammed on her brakes?

I'd be interested to know why she slammed on the brakes. Are we getting the full story here?

Tzetze

Cutie_pc wrote: »

I am going to disagree on the point about not giving enough room.

So, it's ok to not leave enough room between me and the car in front, and if they brake and I hit them, it's their fault entirely?

I think you're going out on a limb there. Obviously, it's a bit of a grey area, but the rules can't allow for grey. It can only be one rule all the time.

Savage Tyrant

She may or may not have done this on purpose. But in either case you were too close behind her for the speed you were traveling. Had you been going slower you would have stopped short of hitting her car. It's a hard pill to swallow if she did it on purpose, but unfortunately you could have avoided it.

LouisaM.A

Cutie_pc wrote: »

(later said they thought they say a traffic light)quote]
Exact same reason-she thought she saw a traffic light-maybe it's same person/relation?

Cionád

LouisaM.A wrote: »

Cionad, if you ever find yourself the victim to one of these drivers, and I assure you, there are plenty out there, you won't get my sympathy.

I wouldn't expect sympathy from anyone, and I would kick myself for not anticipating the unexpected.

She could have stopped for any reason, the fact that she or her family might have a history of it doesn't mean the driver behind is blameless.

milltown

robbie_998 wrote: »

read the story... it was on a corner ! could have being anybody

Where does it say that?

I'm with the majority here, OP's fault. Unless there were witnesses who will state that the car in front jammed on for no reason I'm afraid the OP may as well lube up and bend over.

Tzetze

Do yourself a favour and brand this mantra into your brain.
"Only a fool breaks the two second rule"
I'm old enough to remember this ad campaign from the late 70's/early 80's...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf5d2DP4Pp0

You must double the distance in the wet (say the mantra twice).

Although, what you will constantly find happening when sticking to this rule is people jumping into your two second gap, and putting you in a dangerous position. Then, you must slow down some and increase your distance again.

Leprechaun77

robbie_998 wrote: »

read the story... it was on a corner ! could have being anybody

Did I miss something here

johndaman66

There probably is no doubt that you were travelling too close behind her OP but from what you are saying there appears to be some insurance fraud going on, on her part. I would certainly be inclined to follow up on it if you reckon she is chancing her arm. Was she/ did she claim to have being injured as a result of accident? Was there an ambulance and were the Gardai called? If you genuinely think she is out to make a fast buck it might be an idea to ring the nationcl insurance fraud investigation bureau on 1800-835-6422. Never rang them but have being tempted to on one or two occasions. Probably best to have fairly concerete evidence that this is what this lady is up to before you ring em though. Best of luck with it, there are far too many chancers out there driving up motor insurance for the rest of us.

robbie_998

Leprechaun77 wrote: »

Did I miss something here

the plot :rolleyes:

BigEejit

So you are saying that this woman says she saw a stop light when none was present and made an emergency stop? And then admitted to doing this many times?

Have a chat with your insurer/solicitor.



As we all know, our insurers say "accept no liability", did the driver in front admit responsibility?

Leprechaun77

robbie_998 wrote: »

the plot :rolleyes:

Sorry, it was a blind corner, I didn't see it;)

P.C.

Tzetze wrote: »

Do yourself a favour and brand this mantra into your brain.
"Only a fool breaks the two second rule"
I'm old enough to remember this ad campaign from the late 70's/early 80's...

You must double the distance in the wet (say the mantra twice).

Although, what you will constantly find happening when sticking to this rule is people jumping into your two second gap, and putting you in a dangerous position. Then, you must slow down some and increase your distance again.

I like to leave a two second gap, but it is very difficult in Ireland.
If you do leave a two second gap, people think that you have left it for them to pull into. I have had people undertake me in the bus lane to pull into my two second gap :mad:. WTF - you undertake me to get one car closer to home?

johndaman66

P.C. wrote: »

WTF - you undertake me to get one car closer to home?

Dunno how we compare to other countries but drivers in Ireland tend to have a pointless and unhealthy obsession with being in front of the car ahead of them as far as I can see.

Ronanom

P.C. wrote: »

I like to leave a two second gap, but it is very difficult in Ireland.
If you do leave a two second gap, people think that you have left it for them to pull into. I have had people undertake me in the bus lane to pull into my two second gap :mad:. WTF - you undertake me to get one car closer to home?

One car it may seem..but i'll get to the next set of traffic lights before you...and your probably really slow at taking off so you'd miss the brake and take longer to pass through the lights

-Chris-

Cutie_pc wrote: »

Anyway recently he was driving on the m1...
...(later said they thought they say a traffic light), guards called etc and said total blame lies with driver in front.

I'd say it's likely that the blame lies with the driver in front in this case because any competent driver should know there are no traffic lights on a motorway.
I'd say if the same happened on a suburban junction, your dad would have been more at fault.

P.C.

Ronanom wrote: »

One car it may seem..but i'll get to the next set of traffic lights before you...and your probably really slow at taking off so you'd miss the brake and take longer to pass through the lights

Um - NO!

I am the one who pulls away from the lights, and then sees that the car that undertook me in the bus lane is now crawling across the intersection, and I have to brake before I even get out of first gear.

I don't have a fast car, but I am not a slow driver.

Today on my way home a car undertook me in the bus lane, and then a bit futher on he held me up, every time I tried to go passed him, he changed lanes to block me. But, it was ok - he was not looking far ahead, and I went passed him when he got caught behind a stopped taxi.

Edit: Are you suggesting that people do not keep a two second gap between them and the car in front of them, and if they do, you will undertake them in the bus lane and move into that gap?

mickoneill30

Cutie_pc wrote: »

I am going to disagree on the point about not giving enough room. My dad has been driving for 40yrs and never had an accident, I would consider him a very safe driver. Anyway recently he was driving on the m1 doing about 100km/pr hr. Traffic was moving at this pace, anyway car in front stopped for no reason
(later said they thought they say a traffic light), guards called etc and said total blame lies with driver in front.

If the car in front stopped for another reason (say a kid ran out on the road, or an accident happened in front of him) and your dad had exactly the same accident would it still be the cars fault in front?

What happened in that case? Did your dad not have to pay anything?

high horse

LouisaM.A wrote: »

I am a very safe driver. Have been drivng for years and never had any incidents/accidents/penalty points. I was purely in the wrong place at the wrong time.

If this were true, you would not have found yourself in this situation. I'm not having a go at you here, you were driving too close. Simple as that.

LouisaM.A wrote: »

Cionad, if you ever find yourself the victim to one of these drivers, and I assure you, there are plenty out there, you won't get my sympathy.

Is it just sympathy you were looking for here OP?

dotti_bunker

this whole argument is a bit redundant, if ur too close to safely stop UR WRONG, simple as!?!

also, as much as i love giving out about female drivers there is no need to highlight that fact in the original post, its irrelevant in this case.

spank_inferno

I have some sympathy for the OP
Its all well and good the high & mighty getting on their back here.

I try to leave a good gap between me and the car in front but most of the time someone pulls into that space anyway, thus making the whole exercise irrelevent because If I leave the same safe space again it again is occupied by another car pulling across.

If I repeat it happens again & again and eventualy I'm going backwards.

Its not easy or practical to leave vast gaps between cars in busy commuting traffic for example.

In my Ireland anyone who lights their brakes unnecessarily, especially on dual-carrigways would be shot

fashionista911

No insurers are going to even entertain you, unfortunately it may have been a case of wrong place wrong time. Once you rear end you are in the wrong, It really is sexist to call her a stupid woman driver, there are loadz and loadz of very stupid men drivers and they are driving Artic lorrys - this is worrying

Anan1

m83 wrote: »

3. Read the whole story.

4. Go away.

If you can't make your point without having to resort to personal abuse then you need to ask yourself whether you have a point worth making. Next time it'll be a week's ban.

dudara

I would agree with most posters who are making comments on the 2 second rule. But having said that, it's not always possible to keep to that rule every second of every drive. As other posters have said, if you leave a safe distance in front of you, you can be certain that someone will pull into it.

As the car behind, you have very little rights in this situation. Your best chance is to gather as much colloquial evidence as you can about her and her family's claims history and use that to fight your corner.

Anan1

Cionád wrote: »

1. I don't see how her being female matters tbh.

2. You shouldn't have been driving so close to her.

LouisaM.A wrote: »

She shouldn't have slammed on her brakes. Or maybe you advocate this??? Perhaps you have done this yourself?? how much did you get?

You're doing yourself no favours with that response, LouisaM.A.

rejkin

As dudara said,no one is going to be always 2 cars away from the car in front and the people posting here who are not even taking into consideration that fact should cop on. I doubt they think about this rule ever single time they are behind a car. To anyone who does they must be the most careful drivers in the world and probably cause more problems doing that. In some cases there isn't any chance to leave a space of 2 cars,someone might be doing that but the car in front could slow down and its not really a smart idea to slow down considerably when theres still a good bit of room already between you and the car in front

Anan1

rejkin wrote: »

As dudara said,no one is going to be always 2 cars away from the car in front and the people posting here who are not even taking into consideration that fact should cop on. I doubt they think about this rule ever single time they are behind a car. To anyone who does they must be the most careful drivers in the world and probably cause more problems doing that. In some cases there isn't any chance to leave a space of 2 cars,someone might be doing that but the car in front could slow down and its not really a smart idea to slow down considerably when theres still a good bit of room already between you and the car in front

Keeping a safe distance is automatic to a competent driver - only a learner should have to consciously focus on it.

Special K

Onkle wrote: »

But you need to leave a safe gap between you and the car in front.

Tyre and tar, tyre and tar!!! DUH!

Special K

rejkin wrote: »

As dudara said,no one is going to be always 2 cars away from the car in front and the people posting here who are not even taking into consideration that fact should cop on. I doubt they think about this rule ever single time they are behind a car. To anyone who does they must be the most careful drivers in the world and probably cause more problems doing that. In some cases there isn't any chance to leave a space of 2 cars,someone might be doing that but the car in front could slow down and its not really a smart idea to slow down considerably when theres still a good bit of room already between you and the car in front

The 2 second rule doesn't mean 2 car spaces. You should always have a safe distance from the car in front of you in case of incidents such as the one mentioned. Very little sympathy really. But yeah OP, gather evidence and see how far you can get anyway.

Stark

spank_inferno wrote: »

I have some sympathy for the OP
Its all well and good the high & mighty getting on their back here.

I try to leave a good gap between me and the car in front but most of the time someone pulls into that space anyway, thus making the whole exercise irrelevent because If I leave the same safe space again it again is occupied by another car pulling across.

If I repeat it happens again & again and eventualy I'm going backwards.

Its not easy or practical to leave vast gaps between cars in busy commuting traffic for example.

In my Ireland anyone who lights their brakes unnecessarily, especially on dual-carrigways would be shot

Safe braking distance varies with your speed. You can safely be quite close to the car in front when crawling along at walking pace in heavy traffic. No need to leave a gap the size of an arctic in this situation. In faster moving traffic, you have to allow enough distance for the car in front to be able to do an emergency stop without you slamming into the back of them.

In the OP's case, the person in front does sound like they were behaving fraudulently and should be reported to both the insurance company and the Gardaí for dangerous driving. However there are legitimate situations where someone might have to brake suddenly and this must be allowed for. The woman in front probably saw the OP riding up her bumper in their rear view mirror as well and thought easy target to herself.

Solitaire

OP, what kind of damage was caused? Was it a very hard smash?

And a good few of the "experienced drivers" trolling and flamebaiting on this thread should hang their heads...

OAFBTTSR mantra does not cover all conditions and situations perfectly!!!

Real life doesn't work that way. Its a vital guide certainly and applies most of the time but there are always exceptions where its not sufficient (even in double form) and its the guy at the back who's getting royally screwed over by circumstances. Don't assume Insurance Law is correct 100% of the time, its there to make money, not deal out swift justice! :P

dudara

rejkin wrote: »

As dudara said,no one is going to be always 2 cars away from the car in front and the people posting here who are not even taking into consideration that fact should cop on. I doubt they think about this rule ever single time they are behind a car. To anyone who does they must be the most careful drivers in the world and probably cause more problems doing that. In some cases there isn't any chance to leave a space of 2 cars,someone might be doing that but the car in front could slow down and its not really a smart idea to slow down considerably when theres still a good bit of room already between you and the car in front

I said that you can't keep that distance EVERY second of EVERY drive. I would actually always be thinking about stopping distances. As Anan said, it is an automatic process when driving. It's a pity that more drivers don't think about it, especially when on motorways/dual carriageways or when it's wet.

R.O.R

Can one of the Mods replace the OP since it's been edited? Thread's a bit pointless after the original post has been taken out.

-Chris-

rejkin wrote: »

As dudara said,no one is going to be always 2 cars away from the car in front and the people posting here who are not even taking into consideration that fact should cop on. I doubt they think about this rule ever single time they are behind a car. To anyone who does they must be the most careful drivers in the world and probably cause more problems doing that. In some cases there isn't any chance to leave a space of 2 cars,someone might be doing that but the car in front could slow down and its not really a smart idea to slow down considerably when theres still a good bit of room already between you and the car in front

a) it's 2 seconds, not 2 cars

b) I think about this rule fairly often. The rest of the time my brain gets subconsciously nervous when I get within a second-and-a-half of the car in front.

c) How does me leaving braking distance infront of me cause problems?

rejkin wrote: »

In some cases there isn't any chance to leave a space of 2 cars,someone might be doing that but the car in front could slow down and its not really a smart idea to slow down considerably when theres still a good bit of room already between you and the car in front

This is the reason why you leave 2 seconds - if the car in front slows down rapidly, you have time to slow "less rapidly", which takes pressure off you and the person behind you as well.
I don't see how having more reaction time could ever be considered a bad thing.

Anan1

I'm going to have to close this thread - it's become pointless since the OP deleted their original post. Irritating.