Rear Ending = Always Rear Driver Fault?

[Deactivated] on 15/02/2022 - 02:42
Last edited 15/02/2022 - 10:48 by 1 other user

Came across this whilst scrolling through Reddit

(apparently) "The driver of the first car was over 80 y.o. and he told the police he wanted to ask the random dude for directions. That why he stopped in no stopping zone… Without any warning, turning signal or anything else. It took an ambulance, helicopter, fire fighters, two police units and 2 hours to deal with and during this time, he didn't even get out of the car. Not even when we were saving the rider's life."

Regardless of the truth to that let's assume it's true, the consensus is driver in the rear must maintain safe distance blah blah, let's assume 1) you have this dash cam footage, and, 2) the rear-endee have it on record with the police report that he stopped for the aforementioned reason, and 3) both have insurance. Is the rear driver at fault no matter what?

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  sghetti on 16/02/2022 - 10:23

  It depends on the situation entirely. I was involved in a rear-end accident, being the 3rd car in a 3 car rear-end on a motorway and was not at fault.

  The situation gets more complex as I had a safe distance from the car in front, at the last second a car in the middle of 3 lanes attempted to lane change into the left-most lane to turn off at a close exit. I've reduced my speed to try and let him in, he completed the lane change and as soon as that occurred the traffic in front stopped immediately, he's rear-ended the car in front (he had at most a car length or 2 space in a 80km/h zone). I've reacted and put the brakes on, slighting tapping the back of the 2nd car after their collision.

  My car escaped with superficial damage (turned out to be worse once assessed, and cost a lot more for the insurance company than it looked at face value) and I drove away after police attended and questioned all of us, the other 2 cars were almost write-offs and were towed away. I think the fact I had little visible damage on my car proved to the officer who attended that I didn't push the 2nd car into the first car etc.

  Thankfully it appears that the other 2 drivers stories aligned with mine as we had no dashcams in any of the cars, so the 2nd car was found at fault and I had no excess to pay for my claim.

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  Hangryuman on 16/02/2022 - 10:41

  +1

  the popularity of dashcam videos is partly due to Russian scam artists reversing their car into another to fraudulently claim against the other driver

  these scam artists normally lose all enthusiasm when told their actions have been recorded on dashcam

  as an ex-motorcyclist who was lucky to survive my major wake-up-in-hospital spinal injury crash caused by an idiot Holden driver doing an illegal u-turn on the blind crest of a hill in an 80kph zone, I assume everyone else is trying to kill me - and drive to prevent that.

  i.e. car in front - I expect it to slam on the brakes - and typically stay 2 seconds behind - in Sydney traffic, many other cars will cut into that gap - I just ease back to re-establish the 2-second gap - for my safety - I prefer to be alive rather than dead right.

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    Poor Ass on 16/02/2022 - 12:05

    Thank you for surviving to tell the story

    There's scams everywhere and even in Australia

    Popular one now is someone stops middle of the road. You overtake them and then their accomplice is 100-200m down the road and accuses you that you hit someone's car

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    dtc on 16/02/2022 - 12:20

    Russian scam artists? fake rear end accidents was a huge insurance racket in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s.

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      Poor Ass on 16/02/2022 - 23:45

      how old were you?

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  Brick Tamland on 16/02/2022 - 12:42

  Not sure about the legality but that driver should receive a permanent ban from driving. The utter stupidity and lack of thought for other road users is breathtakingly abhorent.

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  No ONE on 16/02/2022 - 14:45

  If (OR(evidence,witness)=0),
  then

  Rear Ending = Always Rear Driver Fault

  Else

  at fault

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    sghetti on 16/02/2022 - 16:29

    Then

    <form action="ozbargain.com.au">
    <input type="text" id="subject" value="Complain">
    <input type="text" id="body" value="Rant">
    <input type="submit" value="Post Rant">

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  Eeples on 16/02/2022 - 18:45

  Of course there was warning.

  The brake lights at least.

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