Accident Question

[Scottie]

As far as i know i ened up been spun around and just in the intersection but i can't say really coz i was out of it. And i didn't feel the air bag ey i was out cold lol but i doubt i got hit by the bag coz i was thrown sideways

[Wacky Dee]

geezus man ..looking at those pics I think you should consider yourself VERY lucky to be alive. I reckon you should just move on with life instead of tying to pinpoint who was at fault. Sucks about the car, but it's just a car ..you'll get another one.

Edited May 27, 2008 by Delta Force

[Scottie]

yeah i am lucky i am not overaly worried who was at fault i am just curious how it could have happened

[MaTBoY]

Hi

I had basically the exact same thing happen to me a few years ago. Basically, if you had a green arrow your not at fault.

If you didn't have a green ARROW then no matter how you twist it, or if you can prove he was speeding then you are soley to blame. Being that were no lights there the emphasis is on you to make the 'safe decission' on when it's ok to pull out and drive across the lane.

I hope you were insured, Good luck with everything too

[e_Dog]

Yeah, that looks pretty bad...you should prob def have a broken leg or something after that impact. Go get that lottery ticket someone mentioned!!

Question for everyone.......If the guy was speeding, is it instantly his fault or is the blame shared because both people were doing/did the wrong thing (that is assuming you pulled out in front of him).

Even though, your in the 'give way' position, didn't you say that you didn't see any cars coming from the right before you left your line? Which means the other car was definitely speeding down the hill or not paying attention. Its his fault!

Look at the photo again and see how much distance there is in that hill for a car coming down. The car would have had to be doing like 100 km/hr to have been too far away to notice it coming down that hill.

It almost looks like he was trying to turn and didn't make the corner, hit you instead. Where did you end up? (car)

I'm goin to assume you are a competent driver as im sure you are....being a skyline owner. Which means you wouldnt have pulled out in front of this car for no reason. Abo Bob has raised a good point here!

I think its quite possible this guy was either intending to turn left down the street you were coming from, but was going to fast and couldnt make the corner OR perhaps wasn't intending too turn but had his indicator on from pulling out of a driveway or something.

You would have seen his indicator flashing to turn left and pulled out thinking you were sweet to go!!

If so then maybe it REALLY wasnt your fault at all!!

[e_Dog]

oh and if he has ABS brakes then you wouldnt see skid marks up until the point that he hit you....correct me if im wrong please anybody??

[Scottie]

yeah that would be true but on the other hand i am pritty sure i have never seen a hi ace van or any van with abs expect the brand new ones. From what i can remember which is not much at all lol it wasn't a brand new van and it was a hi ace which i am 99 % sure that it dosen't have abs

[Abo Bob]

I think the speeding factor is largely irrelevant. I had a similar crash years ago and the woman who hit me came through a stop sign without stopping. She said I was speeding and the coppers said they didn't care cos she should have given way.

Also a case came through my work about an accident in same situation re the intersection, the other car was said to be speeding, speedo stuck on 85km/h at impact but he had locked up a bit before the impact. Anyway the judge said that he was probably speeding although by how much was in doubt and that the car coming out of the T intersection should have given way. This was a civil case so different standards of proof than if it was a criminal case. If I remember right it was the car in your equivalent position that sued for injuries and the other guy died. They won but had a large amount deducted (50% I think) for contributory negligence.

I guess you could read into that that it was 50/50 fail to give way/speeding but it is well known that when faced with an injured plaintiff and a responding insurance policy, the judge will do their best to get the plaintiff up. I read that the fail to give way is more important than the speeding.

I couldn't see the skid marks in the pics though. Can you somehow highlight them?

[JDSracing]

These are the only skidmarks that I can see coming from that direction (look closely on the originals).

If they are the ones from the crash, I doubt you will be found to be at fault as they come into where you could have been positioned legally.

[Scottie]

Sorry about the poor outlining i only have paint lol. As you can see the lock up marks are very faint. I also highlighted what looks like to be fibre glass marks from my slide skirt showing that my car was still in my street and his had to basicly move 1 and half lane lanes over to hit me.

[FATAZZ]

Like just said,can't really see the tire marks on the road so...

If your car was in a legal position when the impact occured.

Thats all i'd state if i was you.

Sorry for the lateness.

Edited May 27, 2008 by FATAZZ

[Wacky Dee]

Would be impossible to prove if those were even his skid marks .. I reckon he just tried to swerve to the left to avoid you as you were getting out infront of him. So yeah he was probably speeding and you weren't paying enough attention .. Either way, I reckon you'd be at fault no matter what as it's your responsibility to give way.

I'm sure the other driver must have given a statement too by now, what'd he say? How did he fare ...anything broken? I'd assume even though he was in a van, a Skyline's way better protected against any sort of collisions than a van so he might not be doing as good as yourself.

[Scottie]

no idea what he has said to the cops since they still haven't contacted me i have tryed getting ahold of the cop 3 times now. But i was told at the hospital he only suffered shock and he was fine which i am glad that he was alright

[10MinuteCar]

Question for everyone.......If the guy was speeding, is it instantly his fault or is the blame shared because both people were doing/did the wrong thing (that is assuming you pulled out in front of him).

For your question, my mates been in an minor accident and it was the technically the lady's fault for going into his lane without looking at her blind spot but cuz of the fact that my mate was speeding over the limit down the lane the fault was at my mates immediately.

[d0p3y]

I would say it's very likely they will pin the blame on you. (see Matboy's post)

[Abo Bob]

These are the only skidmarks that I can see coming from that direction (look closely on the originals).

If they are the ones from the crash, I doubt you will be found to be at fault as they come into where you could have been positioned legally.

Thanks Matt. It's looking more and more like his fault to me.

[MaTBoY]

a) Can you prove where your car was positioned at impact?

b) Was your car moving, or was your car stationary?

Maybe draw a box around where your car was when he hit you.

If you didn't pull out, and you were stationary you may be able to get out of it.

If you were moving, the placement of his skid marks are irrelevant, as he may have been trying to steer the car to a safety. Having said that, that's assuming you can provide proof that the skid marks are indeed his.

And as Bobbeh mentioned as well, the speed of the driver won't be a factor, as you were in a position to decide if it was safe to move your car. If he hit you from the side or rear while you were driving on the same road, sure the speed would be an issue, in this case though, your ability to make a safe decission will override the speeding. The same thing happened to another mate of mine. He pulled out of a servo, a Rexxy was flying past and collected him. The police acknowledged the guy would have been speeding but said it was irrelevant.

GAY>

[D_I_F]

This is prob why you should always take a photo of the accident as soon as it happened.

I usually keep my digital camera on me.

[Scottie]

there is no way for me to say if i was stationary or not i simply can't remember. This isnt exact becasue like i said i was not consouse for the most part of it so there was no way i could get out of the car never alone take photos. I have drawn a very poor box lol showing where i beleive my car was and the little circle part with the white marks apear to fibreglass from my side skirts. So that would place my car in the legaly. Or just the slightest bit over the line. But still dosen't explain how old mate cut across which basicly is 1 and half lanes to hit me the accident would not of happened if he contuined to drive staight in his lane. And i am sorry for my shocking spelling to

[d0p3y]

well I'd be sticking to the story that you were stationary at the line and not pulling out if that is the case

if you were pulling out then you're at fault no two ways about it... their speed is irrelevant unfortunately as you're supposed to be able to judge a safe gap. load of crap imo.