I was in a car crash (sort of)

[flame3132]

Ok so I was driving and I guess I cut the person off and they said they tried to not clash into me so they put on the breaks and the weather here is bad -30 very icely.
My car has NO damage to it so I'm wondering if I'm even to blame because when I changed lanes I saw enough space and the drive said I cut them off and she breaked and she lost control and she didn't hit my car, but she lost control while trying to stop and hit the bridge so am I to blame?

Here is the picture of the persons car. How much would that cost?

http://triton.imageshack.us/Himg186/...=578&ysize=480

[nickerjones]

was there a citation given to you by a police officer? I think here if there's no ticket given then you cant be held at fault

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by nickerjones

was there a citation given to you by a police officer? I think here if there's no ticket given then you cant be held at fault

Not entirely true - they can still assign fault in the crash I think.

Ultimately it comes down to did you cut them off or not?

[flame3132]

Originally Posted by nickerjones

was there a citation given to you by a police officer? I think here if there's no ticket given then you cant be held at fault

There was no ticket, but the driver said I "cut her off" and she tried to stop, the roads are bad right now she lost control while pressing the breaks and she hit the side of bridge.

[flame3132]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Not entirely true - they can still assign fault in the crash I think.

Ultimately it comes down to did you cut them off or not?

She says I cut her off, if I knew I was cuting her off I wouldn't change lanes.

[jayswin]

This is really hard to respond to, because like JiriHrdina said, it comes down to whether you legitimately cut her off or not; and that is usually never answered unbiasedly by either party imo.

I know this isn't the answer you want to hear, but honestly, in this whether you have to be REALLY carefull about changing lanes, and I tend to believe that more likely than not, it was preventable if you checked and gave her sufficient time to slow down and let you in; and if she decided not to let you in, I'd say it was still your perogative to just slow down and go behind her.

But again, I could be wrong, as I'm only going by your vague description of the accident.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by flame3132

She says I cut her off, if I knew I was cuting her off I wouldn't change lanes.

Sorry, didn't see this post before I submitted mine.

[MJM]

I believe ff they ran into you from behind, it doesn't matter in the least if you cut them off or not. They are at fault.

As for damage, my fiance just backed into a pole and I had to replace my bumber and tail light and it was $1200. Assuming there's no structural damage I think you could likely expect the same.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Fault will definitely be determined - with or without a ticket. Were there any witnesses? If there are witnesses stating that you cut off the other driver then you are SOL. Also, the very fact that your police report probably states that you were in the process of changing lanes likely will lead them to assign liability to you.

Rear end accidents are same lane - same direction and as such you would need to establish that you had complete possession of the lane. You need to be able to prove this -- the best evidence is the location of her damage (because you have none) - if her damage is entirely to her front end, you have a chance.

I think the odds are pretty slim that they will be able to find that you aren't at least 50% liable. You admitted that you had changed lanes and as such the onus is on you to make sure that you are making a safe maneuver based on the road conditions. The very fact that there a collision occurred as a result of that lane change leads me to believe that they will find you 100% at fault.

[StealthOiler]

Without any tickets or anything from the police, the best thing would be to determine your position in relation to yours. I was hit this past summer in a parking lot (I was stopped, and a woman in a large truck backed into me without looking). I drew up perfect diagrams that matched the damage to my car (she basically punctured my car with her hitch), but because I had no further proof, she basically made up a story which said that we backed into each other - complete BS, but it was essentially my word against hers. And I knew that dealing with her insurance company would be trouble.

Sorry I'm rambling here, but the worst part of the entire situation was that they wouldn't let me take it to my favorite body shop without getting an appraisal of the car. I have an '89 Celica, so I wasn't going to trust some guy to appraise my car and run the risk of having it written off. The estimated appraisal I got was around a $3000 repair, and at 50% fault I would have had to play $1500. The shop I went to was Alyth Autobody and they charged me $1100. I had complete confidence in that shop, so the choice was simple.

So I had to pay it off entirely myself. Here's a picture of my car:

Before:
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d9...5/IMG_2149.jpg

After:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d9...5/IMG_2179.jpg

At the end of the day, had I taken a picture without moving car from the point of impact, I would have been fine and she would have paid it all. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera on me and my phone didn't have camera capabilities at the time.

So without pictures, and seeing that you've been rear-ended, I'd think you would be fine. But my advice to everyone is to take pictures if this happens to you. Witnesses too. That's a big one.

Does she have collision? That may make a difference, too.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Not entirely true - they can still assign fault in the crash I think.

Ultimately it comes down to did you cut them off or not?

Actually it will come down to if he admits he cut her off (assuming no witnesses) the woman would have been better off hitting him otherwise it could be just another case of someone not knowing how to drive on slick roads (ie..hitting the brakes when they freaked out on limited space)

I saw an accident 2 days ago where a woman slammed her brakes because someone else moved beside her on a road full of icy ruts, she ended up sideways and another car hit her...she tried to blame the guy who passed her... I personally ended that thought and told her to take winter driving lessons

So in other words...If you don't know you cut her off,no witnesses,no youtube...it didn't happen

[moon]

Originally Posted by ben voyonsdonc

I think the odds are pretty slim that they will be able to find that you aren't at least 50% liable. You admitted that you had changed lanes and as such the onus is on you to make sure that you are making a safe maneuver based on the road conditions. The very fact that there a collision occurred as a result of that lane change leads me to believe that they will find you 100% at fault.

You could be right as I have no history/experience dealing with this type of thing but if that is true that sounds like a garbage way to do things.

With the road conditions, fact that she never hit his car and no proof that he "cut her off", I can't see how he would be responsible for anything let alone 100%.

To me if someone spins out on the road with no evidence of any wrong doing by another driver other than changing lanes it would be insanely presumptious to blame said driver for changing lanes. Especially considering the crap drivers out there that turn into morons at the first sign of snow.

[flip]

Actually what the police determine is almost useless. It is what the insurance companies think.

I was in an accident where a lady crashed right into me head on. She was 100% at fault. She gave a statement to the police saying so. When it came to getting the $ from her insurance company they tried to say I was at fault. It took us almost a year to get the money back because the insurance company doesn't really care what the police statement says they just don't want to pay.

The police statement basically meant almost nothing. So what'll happen is if she makes a claim and says you were at fault your insurance company will fight to the death to make sure they don't have to pay. As long as you make sure your statement to the cops and your insurance company that you made a standard lane change and that the lady is an idiot and slammed on her breaks unnecessarily she'll be at fault.

Worst case is 50/50.

[metallicat]

I creamed a guy who cut me off and then hit his breaks to slow down to make a turn. He was given a ticket for making an unsafe lane change, and I didn't get anything. Just food for thought.

[ok, ok,....I get it]

Originally Posted by StealthOiler

Without any tickets or anything from the police, the best thing would be to determine your position in relation to yours. I was hit this past summer in a parking lot (I was stopped, and a woman in a large truck backed into me without looking). I drew up perfect diagrams that matched the damage to my car (she basically punctured my car with her hitch), but because I had no further proof, she basically made up a story which said that we backed into each other - complete BS, but it was essentially my word against hers. And I knew that dealing with her insurance company would be trouble.

Sorry I'm rambling here, but the worst part of the entire situation was that they wouldn't let me take it to my favorite body shop without getting an appraisal of the car. I have an '89 Celica, so I wasn't going to trust some guy to appraise my car and run the risk of having it written off. The estimated appraisal I got was around a $3000 repair, and at 50% fault I would have had to play $1500. The shop I went to was Alyth Autobody and they charged me $1100. I had complete confidence in that shop, so the choice was simple.

So I had to pay it off entirely myself. Here's a picture of my car:

Before:
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d9...5/IMG_2149.jpg

After:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d9...5/IMG_2179.jpg

At the end of the day, had I taken a picture without moving car from the point of impact, I would have been fine and she would have paid it all. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera on me and my phone didn't have camera capabilities at the time.

So without pictures, and seeing that you've been rear-ended, I'd think you would be fine. But my advice to everyone is to take pictures if this happens to you. Witnesses too. That's a big one.

Does she have collision? That may make a difference, too.

I am confused. You would have been given $1500 for work that you could get completed for $1100? Easy math..........I think you made a bad desicion

[ok, ok,....I get it]

Originally Posted by flame3132

Ok so I was driving and I guess I cut the person off and they said they tried to not clash into me so they put on the breaks and the weather here is bad -30 very icely.
My car has NO damage to it so I'm wondering if I'm even to blame because when I changed lanes I saw enough space and the drive said I cut them off and she breaked and she lost control and she didn't hit my car, but she lost control while trying to stop and hit the bridge so am I to blame?

Here is the picture of the persons car. How much would that cost?

http://triton.imageshack.us/Himg186/...=578&ysize=480

Dude, I would suggest that if there were no witnesses, and you were not given a ticket by the police that you tell her to pound salt. The onus of proof rests with her. She needs to show that your actions caused the accident. BTW, simply saying "he did it" is not enough. Perhaps she over re-acted when she saw you change lanes, maybe there was enough room, but b/c she was speeding she closed that distance quicker than usuual. Maybe her speed caused her to lose control of the vehicle. Perhaps she was not paying attention to the road, ie: playing with the radio, or cell phone. Her lack of attention is not your fault.

Worse case is it could go 50/50.

[stang]

OK WAIT lets get something straight.... Dont tell ANYONE that "I guess I cut her off" Just dont ever say anything that puts you in the wrong. Even if you are in the wrong. Always try and make neutral comments.

Ok now some facts...

She ran into bridge.
No damage to your car
You changed lanes with plenty of time.

I would tell her that you are no way at fault and she needs to learn how to drive/get some winter tires.

You cant be held accountable because some lady is scared to drive on ice, and panicks the first time someone merges into her lane, therefore slamming the brakes on an icy bridge.

[guzzy]

Don't ever accept blame when you don't know. If there is no damage to your car and no witnesses......no harm done. It isn't your fault she overreacted to your lane change and she can't drive.

Walk away and never look back.

[flame3132]

Originally Posted by stang

OK WAIT lets get something straight.... Dont tell ANYONE that "I guess I cut her off" Just dont ever say anything that puts you in the wrong. Even if you are in the wrong. Always try and make neutral comments.

Ok now some facts...

She ran into bridge.
No damage to your car
You changed lanes with plenty of time.

I would tell her that you are no way at fault and she needs to learn how to drive/get some winter tires.

You cant be held accountable because some lady is scared to drive on ice, and panicks the first time someone merges into her lane, therefore slamming the brakes on an icy bridge.

She says that I cut her off cuz there was like 1 or 2 feet between my back bumper and her front I'll leave it at that.

[Resolute 14]

I guess another important question is your speed relative to her speed.