Car Crash-who's at fault?

MidlandsM

TheChizler wrote: »

In that rough diagram, yeah, however if the opposite roads were closer together blue might have moved after red started, just moved faster. Any chance you could link us to the actual junction op?

where there any witness's OP? any CCtv in the area?

Deise Vu

If this is the junction (just outside New Ross near Culcita)? If it is, Granny needs to go to Specsavers I'm afraid. (Hope this link works I haven't tried it before).

http://maps.google.ie/maps?q=google+maps+ireland&hl=en&ll=52.385798,-6.925724&spn=0.001161,0.00284&hnear=Ireland&gl=ie&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=52.38571,-6.925621&panoid=Cyg7y96og_6fGJ0z7u3-7A&cbp=12,336.75,,0,2.71

Bohrio

Deise Vu wrote: »

If this is the junction (just outside New Ross near Culcita)? If it is, Granny needs to go to Specsavers I'm afraid. (Hope this link works I haven't tried it before).

http://maps.google.ie/maps?q=google+maps+ireland&hl=en&ll=52.385798,-6.925724&spn=0.001161,0.00284&hnear=Ireland&gl=ie&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=52.38571,-6.925621&panoid=Cyg7y96og_6fGJ0z7u3-7A&cbp=12,336.75,,0,2.71

If she is coming from the same direction as the map is pointing at then I am afraid she is at fault. She had a stop sign and the other car it just coming out of a roundabout

But I guess it does depend on which side of the road she was

Deise Vu

Bohrio wrote: »

If she is coming from the same direction as the map is pointing at then I am afraid she is at fault. She had a stop sign and the other car it just coming out of a roundabout

But I guess it does depend on which side of the road she was

Those are trafic calming measures rather than a roundabout. The side road on the other side also has a 'stop' sign. They have equal priority but it is inconceivable that Gran could have started first and still got hit side-on unless Michael Schumacher was coming the other way without stopping.

Assuming this is the correct junction???

Bohrio

I thought I saw a yield sign on the other side not a stop sign... anyway doesnt make much of a difference as we could be looking at the wrong place

CiniO

Deise Vu wrote: »

It is true that in Ireland the Guards will check if there are any injuries then wash their hands in it, if there are none (I deal with a lot of claims in my job). Is it different in other jurisdictions?

For example in Poland if police is called to the scene of accident (no one injured or killed) they have to decide about liability on the spot.
They would interview both drivers, check damage on vehicles, any traces on the road. Inteview witnesses if any.
After that they make decision, who was at fault, and they issue fixed penalty notice and penalty points for driver who was at fault.
They also give a statement to the other party, so the other party can claim from insurance company of the party at fault. Insurance company has nothing to say here. If police decided about the fault, they have to pay for the claim.

Obviously no one is perfect (even police :P) and because of that driver who was nominated to be at fault, might refuse to accept it, and therefore case ends up in court. Court makes decision - in vast majority of cases the same as police made before, and then the other party can claim from insurance.

All simple and straightforward...

It always struck me as curious that a Gueard might prosecute someone he sees breaking a red light, driving carelessly etc where there was a breach of the law with no consequences but they do not follow up on a situation where there has benn a breach and it has serious financial consequences (in this case both parties will lose no claims bonuses even though it looks clear that one party was responsible)..

I never could understand that as well.

CiniO

Wossack wrote: »

50/50 most likely

might be some query as to why I think the blue car should shoulder any blame - OP mentioned the other driver trying to go around the back of his/her grans car, to avoid her, but not making it. Says to me that gran was far enough out on the road that bluey should have seen her. Had bluey hit gran's front quarterpanel, I'd be thinking gran completely at fault

Wasnt there mind, so only going off what was posted

I think the main difference is up to if it was single junction or 2 separate junctions.
If it's single junction, and side roads were just very slightly out of line, then surely it's 50/50.
But if it's two separate junctions, then granma is at fault with no question.

So the thing is what distance must be between side roads, to treat them as separate junctions?
I assume from OP's sketch, that it was 2 separate junctions.

SuperInfinity

It seems like I'm the only one who thinks it's important who was there (waiting) first. If gran was there waiting for a chance to get across a really busy road, and maybe there is a blindspot to the left and a bad corner, she could well have expected to be allowed to cross ahead of the other blue car who had just arrived. Notice also that in that sort of situation, traffic flow is improved if she goes first, since then he can start moving before she has fully crossed while the opposite would not be true.

Now TC says that he tried to go behind gran but couldn't stop in time to avoid hitting her for some reason. That seems to me like either could be at fault. Maybe gran saw someone speeding down her left and slammed on the brakes (her fault, unless the guy was really going way over the speed limit or sped up suddenly and nobody could judge it), maybe the other driver thought gran would be across faster and there might have even been someone coming from the right he wanted to get across in front of.

Often there are "rules" for settling these disputes. For example if a car is ever hit from behind, then unfair as it may seem with many insurance companies the person who backed into them is ALWAYS deemed at fault unless there is very strong and clear evidence otherwise. I wouldn't take the outcome of what the insurance company comes up with as being meaningful any more than I would what people write here.