Merging in to Traffic. (Why Did Car in Front Stop Suddenly?)

[Deactivated] on 11/10/2021 - 16:50
Last edited 11/10/2021 - 17:03 by 1 other user

Driving to work at 7.30am this morning heading west on Ipswich Motorway M7. Take the Wacol exit to merge on to S30… it's a flyover. The car in front of me slows to check traffic merging in from our right and then accelerates to merge. So, I see this, then I am checking traffic over my right shoulder as I am next to merge. I accelerate to merge then I look ahead, but the car in front of me has suddenly stopped to a halt!! So I rear-ended her.

Both of us fully comprehensively insured, so no dramas there. We stop, exchange details… at first I wasn't sure if my car was drivable as it was pouring water from the front left, but the car computer told me the radiator was fine.. it was the windscreen washer compartment. Its a BMW X5, so the sensors and cameras are smashed, along with the lights etc.

So why on earth did she stop abruptly? She said to me that she didn't know why. She had plenty of room to merge… there was one small truck along that merge.

Anyway, I am automatically at fault because I have rear ended her… because she doesn't know how to merge! So I get to pay my excess…ouch.

Thoughts?

Automotive

Comments

    • Euphemistic on 12/10/2021 - 18:49

      Now I don't take my eyes off the car in front of me

      So you wait for them to merge then start looking for a merge space? If you are driving with proper awarenesss you’ll be taking your eyes off them frequently to check mirrors, speed etc then as you approach a merge or lane change you’ll need to throw a shoulder check into the mix too.

      • trapper on 12/10/2021 - 19:08
        +1

        If you're driving with proper awareness, then you won't crash into the back of other cars.

  • paradise on 12/10/2021 - 19:09
    -1

    Break check

    • p3nf0ld on 12/10/2021 - 19:14

      Nah break cheque

  • paradise on 12/10/2021 - 19:12

    "I accelerate to merge then I look ahead"

    Next time look ahead before you accelerate

    • nobro25 on 13/10/2021 - 19:07

      Look before you leap?

      • paradise on 13/10/2021 - 20:46

        Apparently, not for this guy

  • Blakus on 12/10/2021 - 19:24
    +1

    Bad drivers like this used to make me angry. My ‘favourite’ is when someone in front isn’t paying attention, nearly misses a full light, but speeds through an orange just in time for them to be the last one through.

    But lately my mindset is that I only have to be affected by their bad driving once, and they have to live with their bad driving always, and all is good.

    I was going over the west gate once in very wet weather, bridge was down to 40, but after the bridge went back to 80 so accelerated but then noticed traffic was stopped down further. Hit the anchors hard and got rear ended. Felt a bit sorry for the guy behind but still got him to pay up.

  • kaleidoscope on 12/10/2021 - 19:33

    shit happens, move on and learn a lesson that don’t always trust other drivers. I’ve only been driving for 5 years and have plenty of experience where other drivers doing $hit at roundabouts.

  • umoddbro on 12/10/2021 - 20:33

    Doesn't matter why she stopped, could be debris, animal ran across, car malfunction. It's your responsibility to maintain safe distance and check whats infront of you. Unfortunately you could be best driver in the world but remember you share the road with stupid people as well so take that into consideration.

  • MessyG on 12/10/2021 - 20:55

    I have sympathy OP. Only because my Mum is the most panicked driver ever and likes to decompensate in the middle of stressful situations. Once stopped suddenly smack in the middle of a massive intersection with lots of lane changes because she panicked and got overwhelmed. Surprised she didn't get rear ended then. She'd stop like that on a merge if she panicked, so I ended up being her driver for a long time just to stop us getting killed. Not saying this lady did but I get it.

    All you can ever do is assume everyone on the road is a terrible driver and assume they will do stuff like this, because they can and do.

  • Livert on 12/10/2021 - 20:56
    +3

    I guess the question now is, will you crash again under similar circumstances?

  • dji1111111 on 13/10/2021 - 08:39

    Shit drivers are everywhere, OP.
    Everyone has different perception around how much time/room is enough to feel safe to merge so you can't assume the driver in front will merge even after he/she started making the move. I've been in a similar situation a long time ago(I fell off my motorcycle but no damage done) and since then I don't even think about going or checking for oncoming cars until I have visually confirmed the car in front of me has gone.

  • jmi on 13/10/2021 - 08:40

    Even though I am a motorist, I still drive like as if an accident can happen at any time.

    These days, I am particularly wary of driving past vehicles which are slower on my right. I have seen many a time, maniacs who switched lanes without signaling thinking their Fast and Furious skills are enough to compensate for the speed difference or just cannot be half arsed to look before switching lanes and somehow think that signaling just 1 second before switching lane somehow gives them a God given right of way.

  • chasingstoke on 13/10/2021 - 12:32

    I'm firmly in the "this is the OP's fault" camp

    You were too close, or not paying attention. You can try to blame the other driver but you were the only one who could have changed the outcome.

  • bakko on 13/10/2021 - 14:20

    Damn, where are all these attentive OzBargain drivers that leave a safe emergency stopping distance in-front of themselves? Certainly not on any of the roads I drive on a daily basis. I feel for you OP. I've been in a very similar collision and while I accept I was ultimately at fault you can't help but feel a little bit cheated by the incompetence and unpredictability of other road users. Unfortunately you made the mistake of momentarily forgetting that every other person on the road is on a mission to ruin your day. Lesson learned. Move on.

    • Euphemistic on 13/10/2021 - 14:28
      +1

      feel a little bit cheated by the incompetence and unpredictability of other road users

      We learn that driving is a reasonably predictable environment in Australia. On the whole, drivers follow the rules, keep traffic flowing etc. This is unlike other parts of the world where chaos seems to be the norm. Where there is chaos you learn to predict what could happen and are prepared for more weird situations. Where there is order your brain pretty quickly forgets how to handle chaos.

      Aussie drivers expect that red lights mean stop, the speed limit is how fast you drive at all times, give way and stop signs are largely effective. We don’t drive defensively enough in most driving circumstances.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/10/2021 - 19:26

      Agreed, most situations if the person slams their brakes and I'm doing quick head check or something, depending on how fast you're going, you're probably going to hit them.

  • keejoonc on 13/10/2021 - 15:40

    Could be worse. My wife made the same mistake when she was driving behind me. I came to an intersection with a stop sign so naturally I came to a stop eventhough there were no cars coming. She assumed I would go without stopping and only checked to see whether there were cars coming from her right and ended up rear ending me.
    Needless to say, I was furious.

    • trapper on 13/10/2021 - 15:52

      youch

  • Eeples on 13/10/2021 - 18:37

    I get almost rear-ended and occasionally tooted! almost every day at a STOP sign, turning left with 100% visibility to the driver behind because of how the intersection is designed.

    Everyone expects I will roll through.

    https://ibb.co/DgCfQ84

    I'll post again when I do get actually get rear-ended.

    • gr70 on 14/10/2021 - 00:53

      I’m trying to work out why its not a Give Way sign since there is a good view of traffic coming and they would have to slow down for the sharp corner.

      • Eeples on 14/10/2021 - 10:53

        Cars from the left fly around to the left, so cars going straight at the Stop do indeed need to Stop.

        But overall I think it is a traffic slowing measure and why the intersection was redesigned.

        It used to be a normal T intersection.

        I might not indicate left in the future; until actually turning.

        • gr70 on 14/10/2021 - 10:56

          Ah, of course, for some reason I was only looking at it from the perspective of making a left turn

  • CocaKoala on 13/10/2021 - 19:05
    +1

    Perhaps she thought you were following her dangerously close and therefore she couldn't focus on the freeway ahead so spotted a truck at the last second and had to stop. Perhaps she wanted to teach a tailgater a lesson. Who knows?!

    I am automatically at fault because I have rear ended her… because she doesn't know how to merge

    This part is amusing to me. You will inevitably have more "experiences" like this until you realise that it's just you who is to be blamed.

    See if you could ask yourself this question: What prevented you from keeping a safe distance from the car ahead? If the answer involved anyone or anything but you, ask again.

  • nobro25 on 13/10/2021 - 19:05

    Rule of thumb when driving.

    1. Always look at the direction you're driving first before you accelerate. (Just because the car took off from a stop doesn't it's going to continue).

    2. Check the lane you're merging into and then check what is Infront of you before you take off.

    3. Always leave enough room between your car and the car Infront so you have enough stopping distance.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/10/2021 - 19:24

    All the people blaming OP when if they were in the same situation they probably would have crashed as well. If you're merging, you're accelerating, if it's high traffic and there's two lane that merges into one, the gap is quite small because I'm trying to hit 100 before I merge. If the car in front of me suddenly just stops and breaks hard, by the time you realised because you're not used to it and the fact that you're trying to accelerate to 110, you're probably going to hit them.

    I can't believe how many people are saying 'she has the right to stop'. It's (profanity) bullshit, were all in driving situations everyday where if the person in front just suddenly slammed their brakes, you'd probably hit them. If she actually had no reason to, then she's at fault. Of course without actually seeing what happened, it's hard to say but the amount of people defending her boggles my mind, just like when people were defending taxing the rich.

    • Technics on 14/10/2021 - 00:05
      +2

      You mean people like OP's insurance company and eminent legal minds presumably? It's pretty amusing that you explain how to merge into traffic yet you don't explain how that prevents you from maintaining a safe distance to to the vehicle in front of you (which incidentally is not just a suggestion anywhere in Australia) or why you need to take your eyes off what's ahead for any significant period of time. That fact that you say you are probably going to hit them in this situation suggests that you are well aware that you aren't maintaining a safe distance in the scenario that you describe.

      A car in front of you may suddenly slam on their brakes for many reasons so that fact that OP claims that the other driver didn't articulate one they found to be acceptable is irrelevant. Whether she had one or not, the outcome would have been the same. We only know that she didn't provide OP with a reason. Perhaps it was because she was in a bit of shock from being read ended by some jackass that can't look where they're going. Who knows. In an accident you aren't supposed to admit any liability under any circumstance anyway (ask your insurer about that if there's any doubt) so she may have simply been avoiding making any admissions (and STFU pretty much guarantees you won't admit any liability). I do agree that there's really no need to defend the other driver. She might have just gotten out of prison, she might double dip the salsa, she might be the worst person in the world but assuming we can take the description at face value she's not at fault for this accident.

      The OP might have been driving for 33 years but they need to grow up, take it on the chin and admit they were too close and not looking where they should have been on this occasion. They made an assumption (that was clearly incorrect) about what someone else was going to do and their judgment failed them in this instance. The other person is not responsible for that.

      • [Deactivated] on 14/10/2021 - 07:12

        yet you don't explain how that prevents you from maintaining a safe distance to to the vehicle in front of you

        I reckon on most highways during peak hour, if I were to suddenly slam my brakes when everyone is going 100km, a lot of cars would hit me. You might see them braking but by the time you noticed they've slammed them rather than just tapped them, you're probably going to hit them. Everyone on here says that but I wonder how many would react in time in a situation like this. I've never had an accident either but I'm trying to be realistically. I've had scenarios where I'm going 80, keeping the same distance as everyone else and the person in front has slammed and i missed them by a hair. I'd say I have pretty fast reaction times. I'd actually now like to do an experiment on this (safely). When I'm back in Melbourne, I'll go out during peak hour on the highway and see what distances people are keeping apart. I'll see how quickly I come to a stop when I slam my brakes.

        Generally speaking, I don't care about legalities, if I caused the accident by clearly doing something wrong, I'll admit fault. Simple as that. No one should have to pay for your own wrong doing.

        • TEER3X on 14/10/2021 - 08:26

          I probably would too, everyone on here is an armchair expert but in the real world this may have been unavoidable, it's impossible to say without being in the situation.

          But in this case, the OP actually accelerated instead of also slamming on the brakes, as others have said it takes less than a split second to do a head check

          Without dash cam footage, it's just impossible to say if this instance was easily avoidable or not.

        • Technics on 14/10/2021 - 11:00

          This still doesn't seem to include an explanation as to why you can't follow at a safe distance. But then again, I didn't realise the road rules you should follow are based on what other people might or might not be doing correctly. Simply doing it because "everyone else" is won't cut it when you do have the accident. Your insurer will only care about what you were doing and what the relevant rules are.

          How's it going to go if it's serious and the police attend? The law states that you must allow enough room to stop in an emergency. The fact that you rear ended someone pretty much makes it open and shut case that you didn't. They will probably ticket you and if you argue that it was a safe distance I'd imagine they'll offer you an upgrade to a careless driving offence.

          You need to slow down and drop back a touch if you feel you'd have an accident if you needed to stop suddenly. You dragged a some irrelevant tax discussion into this thread so clearly the head checks are taking a little longer for you because you have to look over all those chips on your shoulder. I doubt you will though. Some people just have to learn by doing. Like the OP.

      • Eeples on 14/10/2021 - 17:04

        OP accelerated when not looking where he was going. He admits that.

    • gr70 on 14/10/2021 - 00:56

      I’m starting to wonder if its cleverly crafted story to start a war … (even down to saying he was driving a BMW)

    • nobro25 on 14/10/2021 - 08:38
      +1

      I'm not defending the woman that slammed in their brakes. But OP definitely isn't paying attention. By your standards you'll peel off from 0-100 in a few seconds just because that's the speed limit whilst only checking for oncoming traffic but not what's ahead of you.

      What if there's like a massive sink hole and you never looked forward to check.

      Point being, it only takes a second to check your mirrors and shoulder and another half a second to look at where you're going to gauge a reasonable distance between your car and the car Infront. If you can't do something so basic you're a hazard on the road to yourself and to others.

  • Eeples on 13/10/2021 - 19:52
    +1

    OP accelerated when not looking where he was going. He admits that.

  • MandMs13 on 13/10/2021 - 20:08

    Odds on it was a Toyota or Honda

    • TEER3X on 13/10/2021 - 23:10

      More specifically a Toyota Camry

      • DarkOz on 14/10/2021 - 08:19

        Most specifically, petrol or hybrid?

  • Baghern on 14/10/2021 - 11:40

    Didnt realise what I'd been doing, until i realisd the guy in front of me had quickly came from my left over took me and started to repeatedly break check.

    Now rewind 3minutes, I was on long turn, with the sun to left and some trees… it appeared there were people running across the road, 20-30m ahead, so of course I breaked, but then they disappeared… this happened two more times, until I convinced myself it as a play of the sun angle with the trees.

    It checked behind of course during this, the guy behind me was a safe distance, so didn't think anything of it.

  • Black Brown Blue on 14/10/2021 - 13:41

    Did you leave enough distance to let you come to stop in emergency. Looks like you didn't.

  • Greem85 on 14/10/2021 - 14:28
    +1

    The driver in front of you can stop at any time. As long as they are on the road, it can happen any time, for reasons like animals on the road, a person rushing onto the road in front of you, a car in front of you loosing some cargo and you not wanting to smash into it etc.
    When any such circumstance happens, you normally act on instinct first, and try to avoid collision - most of the times it means you break rapidly.

    It is everyone's duty to maintain safe distance from the car in front of you, as this can happen. Unfortunately, insurers will almost always assign fault to the car in the back.

    Good thing nothing happened to you or her! Cars are just stuff. Health/lives are what matters.

    • ATangk on 14/10/2021 - 15:15
      -1

      Haha if that were true, try stopping on a highway. If the cops saw that, you'd get a nice big fine.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/10/2021 - 18:21
    -3

    Ok, to clear up a few more misconceptions. Where on earth did the assumptions that I don't use my indicators come from? What? Inverse snobbery some posters suffer from I think.
    I don't rudely make assumptions about a lot of posters on here who want to drop serious amounts of $$$ on a gaming laptop. I think that is an absurd waste of money, but up to you, so each to his choices.
    Yes, according to my insurance, I am automatically at fault, not disputing that.
    The merge is where the M7 Wacol exit curves around and up to a flyover that merges on to Highway 30… you have to accelerate to get up on the flyover. Because the Highway 30 traffic is coming up a hill from another curve, you do have to make sure it's clear. It can take more than one shoulder check, not a glance into your side mirror as some suggested.
    She was accelerating to merge, as we all were, as it was 8am and peak hour traffic. I hear what you are saying about leaving enough distance.
    But if you are in heavy traffic stopped at traffic lights, they turn green, do you sit there until there is metres and metres between the car in from of you? Or do you begin moving? You're not expecting the car in front to stop. This was similar. And if you do leave 10 or 15 metres between you, all that happens is that you get honked and abused by traffic behind you, and other drivers jump into the space. Now you are too close again, so you drop back again! Rinse and repeat…
    I just think it's an incredibly stupid thing to do, to accelerate quickly, then stop dead (past the dotted merge line)… and not expect someone to collide into you.
    God help all the sanctimonious drivers on here if they ever drive in Europe. By the sound of it, some of you must only drive between school hours in quiet little suburbs.
    I agree with the posters who said learning to drive is an afterthought in Australia. You pass a road rules test… that's it.
    And because I am feeling cranky, she had a towbar, which made sure my sensors got smashed. Now if I took the attitude a lot of you have against me because I drive an X5, this would be my response. 1.Who on earth would buy a Volkswagen. 2. Why put a towbar on it… what's it going to tow?
    See how that's irrelevant to the discussion? So stop with the X5 bashing…grow up.

    • TEER3X on 14/10/2021 - 19:37
      +1

      A tow bar is good for when you get rear ended by muppets, can prevent damage to your car. Not saying you're a muppet though.

    • Technics on 14/10/2021 - 23:10
      +2

      If it makes you feel better, stopping like that may be an incredibly stupid thing to do depending on the circumstances. Not as stupid as say driving into the back of a stationary vehicle but still up there. The rule is that you should be expecting the car in front of you to make an emergency stop so it's pretty cut and dried.

      I still think you need to take it as a hard lesson and admit you were too close and/or not looking. All the hypothetical traffic lights, gaming laptops and Europe crap is just rationalising. You had noticed that it's a difficult spot to merge so it should have been conceivable that the person in front of you may mess it up. Hence it was even more important to leave room. Incidentally you don't need to sit back waiting at the green when the lights change anyway. Your initial speed is zero so you only need to allow for a greater stopping distance as you build up speed. If you've been driving for 33 years you really shouldn't need your mother to remind you not to jump off bridges just because everyone else is either.

      People are laughing at the BMW stereotypes (indicators etc.) because there's a grain of truth. It's not because you had an accident. It's because you had an accident, are obviously at fault and rather than licking your wounds and moving on you came here to ask for everyone's thoughts as though it matters. It fits the mould. What were you hoping for? High fives, hugs, tea and sympathy? Other than the amusing clichés, why would anyone actually care what you drive anyway? Literally nobody had a poster of an X5 on the back of their bedroom door growing up so I don't think its jealousy. It sounds like the most boring crash ever. Are you sure the other driver didn't abruptly stop when they suddenly fell asleep after glancing at you in the rearview? Not to mention the egregious lack of MS paint diagrams to enrich the reader's experience. It's poor form.

      • GG57 on 15/10/2021 - 09:59

        Well said.
        Can we all just move on now (just watch out for cars in front).

  • [Deactivated] on 14/10/2021 - 21:47

    And to the poster who somehow came to these conclusions about my life based on the car I drive.

    Fuzzy Toaster on 12/10/2021 - 11:27
    "It's your fault, and you're in an oversized stupid 'look how much money I have' mobile. Stop whinging"

    Charming. I am a nurse, work very hard and save my money, so I can buy things that I like. Mortgage free, kids at uni, happy hubby. I volunteer in the Pacific in healthcare every year (self funded) sponsor 2 underprivileged kids, and donate to various charities. It's not nice to assume how someone spends their time depending on the car they drive

  • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2021 - 00:22

    Call up bmw and ask them why emergency stop didnt engage.

    No… Really… Enough distance/3 seconds gap is good. The usual defensive driving.

    earlier today, i was driving upto a car at a 70/km zone in the next/right parallel lane. The other car cut into my lane before turning into a left side street… Which i suspect that would happen and hence didnt drive up in parallel to that car… Avoided a collision by doing so.

    Ps. I think rms should mandate post covid19 lockdown test. Noticed a fair few idiots since things opned up

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