who's at fault

miju

OK I was in a car park reversing my car backwards (on the road part) guy who was is a parking spot flys out of his spot and i reverse into him

guys gets out says oh we'll pay for our own damage, i say dont think so buddy you were at fault, he gets in van and drives off got his reg and reported it to the gaurds, doubt they'll do anything for him driving from the scene of an accident

who do you reckon is at fault?

20 Times 20 Times

You are at fault , you were the one reversing onto the road.You are the one at fault the reason i know this is that i was in a very simliar situation a few months back and i took it teh whole way to the courts .

miju

no no i didnt explain it proprly i was already on the road reversing i hadnt even parked yet becuase i came to a dead end in the car park and so was reversing he came he flew out of his parking spot

20 Times 20 Times

Well suppose if you really wanted to chase it up you could at the end of the day , he was the one that left the scene so therefore that goes against him. were you moving back while one the road ? did he go into the side or the back ?

miju

i hit the side of him because he reversed out, so there was damage to the side of his van and damage to the back of my car

Illkillya

Sarge can you explain exactly what your situation was? It could have been very similar but resulting in a different outcome.

In this case, I would think that the other guy was at fault, since Raptor was on the other road, entering a parking space, while the other guy was reversing out of a parking space. I would have thought that Raptor would have right of way here, and the guy should have waited until Raptor was parked before he left his own parking spot. The only way I can see that Raptor is at fault is if you lose your legal right of way when you're reversing?

miju

thats exactly what I was thinking Illkillya i wasn't even reversing into a spot i was just backing up through the car park to go through the car park another way and the back of my car is well ****ed up so ill most definitely be chasing it up,

i have 3 witnesses as well who were in my car, plus another four of my mates who were on the path who saw what happened, he was on his own so dunno if that makes any difference,

20 Times 20 Times

Sorry wasnt explained very well so had to work it out my sitution.
Very basically is this

i was reversing out of my drive way and my car was then on the road , when out of no where this lady drove into the back of me , so you can imagine what was said etc, i rung the gardai straight away and swapped details etc , i took this as far as i could because i felt i was totally in the right !

Illkillya

It seems to me that your case is different from raptors, because you were leaving your driveway going onto the bigger road. So you were not in the position of right of way, and you can be compared to the guy in the van.

raptor, was the guy leaving the main road, so he should have right of way there I think.

vms7ply9t6dw4b

You reversed into him if the damage is to the back of your car so sounds like you were at fault.

miju

yeah buts its not as simple as me reversing into someone (if it was id obviously admit fault) i was on the main road of the car park and hit the person that pulled out at speed of his parking space, so as far as i can see he was at fault and ive a funny feeling he thought the same seeing as how he flew off without giving me any insurance/contact details (i just about managed to get his reg) after seeing the damage to my car

Ive told a few people about it since it happened tonight and they all seem to think i had right of way which is what i was thinking

De Hipster

Sarge wrote:

Sorry wasnt explained very well so had to work it out my sitution.
Very basically is this

i was reversing out of my drive way and my car was then on the road , when out of no where this lady drove into the back of me , so you can imagine what was said etc, i rung the gardai straight away and swapped details etc , i took this as far as i could because i felt i was totally in the right !

As far as I'm aware it is actually an offence to reverse onto a main road. The other incident is less clear as both parties appear to have been reversing within a private carpark...in which case it's each to his own.

seamus

:E

I'm not sure where right-of-way falls when reversing. Logic would however seem to suggest that if you're both reversing, then you had right-of-way. If he came out forward, it could have been a different matter. I assume you've reported it to the Gardai? They won't make a judgement on who was at fault, but they will advise you based on their past experience, if you chat to them.

miju

yeah i reported it to the Gardai alright and he pretty much said its not for them to decide who's at fault it's for the insurance companies, but seeing as how im not claiming off my own insurance i doubt quinn direct are gonna go chasing up the reg no for me

the gardai said they wouldnt provide me with the details so am i just stuck now having to claim of my own insurance????

Seth Brundle

_raptor_ wrote:

OK I was in a car park reversing my car backwards (on the road part) guy who was is a parking spot flys out of his spot and i reverse into him
...
who do you reckon is at fault?

Going by this he came out of his spot quickly but as you say, you reversed into him so I reckon although you were on the road section, you were at fault.
Whatever, is behind you is irrelevant, whether it is a tree or another car, you should be going at a suitable speed to suit the situation. The other driver didn't suddenly magic himself out of his parking spot. What if a young kid ran out into the path of your reversing car?
However, should this become an insurance matter I would suspect that 50/50 might be the route with the least amount of headaches.

miju

the fact of the matter is i didnt hit a tree or a kid so that it is completely irrelevant, i was going at a suitable speed (the usual when your looking for space) and he shot out of his space just as i was about to start passing his spot

Newshound

Surely the cops have to find him for you and do him for leaving the scene of an accident. Thats what he did after all and thats a crime and there are witnesses. Why don't you ask the cops about how you go about claiming damages fropm this guy. They should be able to tell you. He may setlle once he discovers you're chasing him for damages.

The Muppet

Was the road you were reversing on two way or one way. It it were one way I'd say you are at fault for reversing the wrong way up a one way, if it were two way i'd say it's a 50 50 case as you both were not as observant as you should have been.

He is at fault for leaving the scene of an accident and could be prosecuted for that.

seamus

Chances are he's not insured, hence why he drove like an idiot in the first place, then legged it.

You've reported it to the Gardai, I'd say least headache is to curse the prick, pay for your own damage and move on.

(I'm also not 100% sure if it's illegal to leave the scene of an accident that occured on private property - if it was a private car park).

BrianD3

TBH I think you should get legal advice over this as it seems like a tricky one. In my own non expert opinion ye were both at fault. The fact that you reversed into the side of his van and did substantial damage to the back of your car suggests that you were reversing too fast for the conditions and not paying enough attention to what was happening around you. I mean when you're reversing in a car park you should be expecting cars to be going in and out of spaces behind you. And I'm not sure if you have any "right of way" when you're reversing.

miju

no way im paying and forgetting about it, I just got a quote theres over €2,000 of damage done to the car (and thats a friends price) the whole back of the colt would have to be replaced.

it wasnt a road it was a car park and it was two-way, the guy didnt have his lights on or anything so there was no way I could have seen him in the rear view/side mirrors (because i was looking) he just reversed straght out IMO he was 100% at fault

the guards said he MAY get a caution if they can track him down, unbelievable just a caution, if thats the case no wonder theres no many uninsured drivers (not that i know if he had insurance he was gone before i could check), been in touch with Motor Insurance Beureau they are gonna try and trace his reg to find out his insurance company, if they can't find him I can claim off them

seamus

Seriously, you must have been flying along to do that kind of damage.

The general rule when reversing is that you *must* give way to all other vehicles. Now, how this works when two reversing vehicles collide, I don't know. Seek legal advice. I would think that your position in it is shaky at best. A court would be quite likely to set the fault at 50-50.

el tel

Sorry to hear about your situation. This is a real moot one and I'd say for convenience insurers or the courts would decide that both parties were driving without due care and attention unfortunately.

In terms of right of way I'd personally think that he was the one who caused the accident if you had commenced reversing before he decided to move from the parking space and you were signaling your intentions/actions (by way of your reversing lights). If he only had moved inches or feet from the parking space before you hit him them this would be pretty unequivocal - he should have seen you coming and give way. But as both of you were reversing the onus is on each party to take care.

The fact that he suggested knock-for-knock and fúcked off sharpish would suggest, like others believe, he was uninsured. I know the horse has already bolted and it's too late, but it's always good to have a camera just in case $hit like this happens and you need evidence of the scene to back your case up.

HelterSkelter

kbannon wrote:

Going by this he came out of his spot quickly but as you say, you reversed into him so I reckon although you were on the road section, you were at fault.

I think you're wrong there. If that was the case then if you are driving straight on a main road, and someone who is parked pulls out without warning just as you get to them (you are going 50kmph) and you crash into them then you would be at fault.

HelterSkelter

_raptor_ wrote:

the guards said he MAY get a caution if they can track him down, unbelievable just a caution, if thats the case no wonder theres no many uninsured drivers (not that i know if he had insurance he was gone before i could check), been in touch with Motor Insurance Beureau they are gonna try and trace his reg to find out his insurance company, if they can't find him I can claim off them

I thought it was a serious offence to leave the scene of an accident. Maybe the Garda you were talking to was a lazy bástard and is hoping you will let it go. Get onto his superior. If they have his reg they should be able to find out who he is (assuming the car is taxed and registered). Also, do you know any Guards personally? They might be able to help you out.

miju

My uncle is head of serious crimes so he's chasing him up now, basically the Guard told me that it would appear it would his fault (but seeing as how he was not at the scene he wouldnt be prepared to say it officially)

as i already said i wasnt flying along at all the back of my hatchback hit side of his so the whole bumper and back boot has to be replaced as it's all damaged

BrianD

_raptor_ wrote:

yeah buts its not as simple as me reversing into someone (if it was id obviously admit fault) i was on the main road of the car park and hit the person that pulled out at speed of his parking space, so as far as i can see he was at fault and ive a funny feeling he thought the same seeing as how he flew off without giving me any insurance/contact details (i just about managed to get his reg) after seeing the damage to my car

Ive told a few people about it since it happened tonight and they all seem to think i had right of way which is what i was thinking

Was there two way traffic allowed on the lane you were on? Most car parks have one way systems for obvious reasons. So if you were both reversing it seems that neither of you were looking so its 50:50 to me. I would say that's the way an insurance company would look at it - like a collision on a narrow road.

If it's in a private car park I am not sure about the legalities of exchanging insurance details as you would on a public road.

In regard to reversing onto a public road. Best of luck you will more than likely lose. It's akin to driving into the back of someone.

BrianD

HelterSkelter wrote:

I think you're wrong there. If that was the case then if you are driving straight on a main road, and someone who is parked pulls out without warning just as you get to them (you are going 50kmph) and you crash into them then you would be at fault.

How could that ever be the case????

BrianD

_raptor_ wrote:

My uncle is head of serious crimes so he's chasing him up now ...

Good to see that Garda resources are being used wisely!

miju

it was a 2 way road in the car park, as explained to me by my uncle the road traffic act does not apply in private car parks however, what is considered to be a private car park is if at the entry gates there is a barrier that has to be lifted to allow entry, there wasn't one on this car park and so the RTA applies

and BrianD if you were in my situation you'd chase the ****er anyway you could as well

el tel

Now that you have decided to persue him the next course of action is to go to the hospital together with your 10 passengers and complain of neck and back pain so it's down on record for when you claim against him for whiplash. (That's what they do in Belfast anyhow).