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ctggzg
Premium Member
join:2005-02-11
USA

ctggzg

Premium Member

Re: Hypothetical accident caused by third driver

I was trying to concoct a scenario where B isn't tailgating. I couldn't come up with anything and just threw in the no-tailgating assumption instead. But there must be some situation where the third party is at fault and neither of the drivers of the damaged cars could have done anything. I get what Kilroy said about it being an animal or other road hazard, but there should be some way a third DRIVER would be held accountable for causing an accident.

Kilroy
MVM
join:2002-11-21
Saint Paul, MN

Kilroy

MVM

I think the only way you could make it happen would be to have a death or major property damage involved. Reminds me of this accident. The driver of the car that cause the crash was found, but his fine was less than $1,500, far less than the 1.7 Million it cost to repair the bridge.

anonome
@verizon.net

anonome to ctggzg

Anon

to ctggzg
The only such scenario (where B isn't "tailgating") is where B is no longer following a moving vehicle, such as when A is suddenly stopped by C (a crash, w/braking distance suddenly becoming a non-factor)--"following distance" would no longer be relevant. This effectively puts a "wall" suddenly in front of B.
InvalidError
join:2008-02-03

InvalidError to ctggzg

Member

to ctggzg
said by ctggzg:

there should be some way a third DRIVER would be held accountable for causing an accident.

If A was able to stop before hitting C but B wasn't able to stop before crashing into A, there is no doubt that B failed to maintain a safe distance and A's insurer won't give much of a damn about C since they have a clear-cut textbook case against B: if A could brake in time, B should have been able to do so as well since the distance between A and B should have given B enough time to start braking before reaching the point where A started braking.

I can imagine one possibility where B might not be to blame: B's car was in perfect condition with proper braking distance and force confirmed using the crash computer's logs; it just turns out that A had far superior braking power than an average car. If A concedes that B could not swerve around him due to cars in other lanes then A's insurer might drop the case against B's and no blame gets assigned.

If someone caught the whole thing on tape as proof that C did trigger the accident, there is a slight chance that A and B's insurers might try to do something but unless C incriminates himself, that would probably be the end of it.
BoulderHill1
join:2004-07-15
Montgomery, IL

BoulderHill1 to ctggzg

Member

to ctggzg
said by ctggzg:

I was trying to concoct a scenario where B isn't tailgating.

If B is not tailgating then why is it he can not stop to avoid hitting A?
said by ctggzg:

But there must be some situation where the third party is at fault

There really is no situation like this. Even in the scenario anonome describes where car A suddenly stops due to impact with C, driver B should still be able to stop safely without hitting car A.

Basically it boils down to what is required of you as a driver. When driving a vehicle you are required to maintain enough distance in front of you to safely stop your vehicle from what ever speed you are traveling to avoid hitting any vehicle in front of you.

Reality is that pretty much none of us actually maintain this distance when on the road. One could almost argue that it is sometimes a nearly impossible thing to do given the amount of cars on the road. Take an expressway in any city at rush hour. Cars may be traveling at speeds of 50 mph in tight formations like on the race track with only a single cars length between them. DOT guidelines would dictate a distance of almost 250 feet for that speed.

Cabal
Premium Member
join:2007-01-21

Cabal to ctggzg

Premium Member

to ctggzg
said by ctggzg:

But there must be some situation where the third party is at fault and neither of the drivers of the damaged cars could have done anything.

The only accident is a meteor strike. Everything else is driver error.