If someone cuts you off...

[nwwong]

Say your on the highway and someone cuts you off and brakes causing you to rear-end them. I've always wondered how would you prove that it was their fault? I mean, usually whoever rear-ended the person is at fault, but in this case, it was because the person in front cut you off.

So really, if it's your word against theirs (assume no witnesses), you'd lose right?

[rfdrfd]

Say your on the highway and someone cuts you off and brakes causing you to rear-end them. I've always wondered how would you prove that it was their fault? I mean, usually whoever rear-ended the person is at fault, but in this case, it was because the person in front cut you off.

So really, if it's your word against theirs (assume no witnesses), you'd lose right?


I think they call it no-fault. 50/50

[danfromwaterloo]

I think they call it no-fault. 50/50

Misnomer. "No fault" insurance just means that you go through your insurance company to claim your damages - not the person who was responsible.

Rear-end collisions are almost always (99%) the rear-ender's fault. In order to prove that the person cut you off and braked, you need witnesses or proof. Sometimes, this can be done with brake marks on the ground prior to the collision.

I'm not even sure if "regular" changing lanes and braking is illegal/faultable. You should be in control of your car at all times. That includes taking into account the possiblity someone may change lanes in front of you and slow down.

[awesome-o]

they might be able to analyze the damage on both cars and determine what most likely happened.

cops and insurance cos have seen all kinds of crazy accidents, so I'm sure they'd be able to CSI their way into what happened.

but you're not blame-free though, you should still be able to anticipate that kind of thing.

[bmw_xperience]

Yea seriously... Some MainLander tried that trick on me... he cut infront of me with his **** box.... but my foot was already braking anticipating that he'd do that... and guess what... he slammed on the brakes with no cars in front of him!

He waited a bit (for me to hit him) before starting off again. And when he did he was trying to get away from me.

I'll never forget his face... I hope he tries that lil trick with a 18-wheeler truck and gets killed in the process!

[DragonZealot]

If there is no witness you would loose.

[bobbings]

i know there are people who do things like that, brake suddenly and cause an accident. they do that to claim insurance on their messed up *****boxes. hope those losers get burned in the future!

[rfdrfd]

Misnomer. "No fault" insurance just means that you go through your insurance company to claim your damages - not the person who was responsible.

Doesn't that always occur? My insurance company always pays me first, then they get their money back from the other guy's insurance company.

I never deal directly with the other guy's insurance company right?

[bobbings]

Doesn't that always occur? My insurance company always pays me first, then they get their money back from the other guy's insurance company.

I never deal directly with the other guy's insurance company right?

maybe different insurance companies have different procedures and that your company is nice enough to pay you first?

btw, what do you mean you always get the money back first? do you always get into accidents?

[romsan04]

Yea seriously... Some MainLander tried that trick on me... he cut infront of me with his **** box.... but my foot was already braking anticipating that he'd do that... and guess what... he slammed on the brakes with no cars in front of him!

He waited a bit (for me to hit him) before starting off again. And when he did he was trying to get away from me.

I'll never forget his face... I hope he tries that lil trick with a 18-wheeler truck and gets killed in the process!

I would try to pull the same trick on him and see how good is his brakes:twisted:

In my next car, i'll install carputer (computer) and will put couple of webcams inside the car......

[Atomic Chip]

they might be able to analyze the damage on both cars and determine what most likely happened.

cops and insurance cos have seen all kinds of crazy accidents, so I'm sure they'd be able to CSI their way into what happened.

In the absence of independent witnesses, it would be almost impossible to prove that the other driver braked unnecessarily.

[Sylvestre]

Say your on the highway and someone cuts you off and brakes causing you to rear-end them. I've always wondered how would you prove that it was their fault? I mean, usually whoever rear-ended the person is at fault, but in this case, it was because the person in front cut you off.

So really, if it's your word against theirs (assume no witnesses), you'd lose right?

quite honestly, a good driver who drives defensively and is aware of his/her surroundings should be able to avoid being cut off. It's only those not aware of what's going on behind them that have to worry.

[bobbings]

but really, if someone is out to screw you, there's a high chance of you getting into an accident.

[chickenbones]

I watched a show called accident investigators on global. Some guy tried the same trick on a bus, which ended up hitting him then the car behind the bus was hit by a truck which pushed the small car under the bus.

The car then caught on fire burning the people inside alive. It was a pregnant mom with her young baby in the car as well.

Very sad story.

[iluvmikeharris]

Doesn't that always occur? My insurance company always pays me first, then they get their money back from the other guy's insurance company.

I never deal directly with the other guy's insurance company right?

So much misunderstanding of the no fault system out there. Yes you go through
your own insurance company and they pay your property damage. NO they don't then go back to the other insurance company to subrogate.

[BartBandy]

Simple - always leave 3-5 seconds between yourself and the car in front of you. If you are in a large vehicle following a small car, leave more.

If you've got three seconds, I don't care what the lead car does, you'll have time to react. If you're following too closely, you'll hit them, and it will be your fault.

In the extreme situation that a car cuts into that space and immediately brakes hard, you have an issue. When someone changes lanes like that, you should already be looking for an escape from that situation.

Always drive as far away from other cars as possible. Cars tend to "clump together" on highways. Be that car traveling on its own between the herds.

[Flyer]

Simple - always leave 3-5 seconds between yourself and the car in front of you. If you are in a large vehicle following a small car, leave more.

If you've got three seconds, I don't care what the lead car does, you'll have time to react. If you're following too closely, you'll hit them, and it will be your fault.
So by your logic, if I was in a lane beside you, then decide to quickly cut in with less than an inch of clearance between my rear bumper and your front bumper, and slam the brakes, it's your fault.

[Jon Lai]

The general rule of thumb is, if their car is not completely in your lane, it's their fault. If they are completely in your lane and you back at them, its your fault. Basically, you have the time between they start cutting you off until they completely get into your lane to slow down.

[techwiz]

If an accident was unavoidable, I'd try something like the PIT maneuver and see if it really works as seen on TV... :cheesygri

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIT_maneuver

[nwwong]

Sometimes during rush hour, it's hard to leave huge gaps between cars. So what usually happens is people leave a gap equal to roughly 1 car space. Sometimes jackasses slip in and now you're completely bumper to bumper. If the car up front brakes, the guy the cut you off now has to break and you have the chance of hitting him. Normally you would have time to stop because you left one car space of room but now you can't.

[pontiac_driver]

a good rule of thumb, never follow a $hitbox so close

insurance actually pays out more than the actual market value of the car itself, thats why there are sickos that do this sorta stuff

[rfdrfd]

So much misunderstanding of the no fault system out there. Yes you go through
your own insurance company and they pay your property damage. NO they don't then go back to the other insurance company to subrogate.

Thanks for the clarification. Is there a clear manual or instructions where we can read about all these rules? I'm pretty sure my insurance package did not come with one.

If there was one that is available to all readers, I'm sure we would all be more informed.

[BartBandy]

On my way up the 404 this morning, I was tailgated by a BMW X3. Nice ride, dumbass driver. If anything had unfolded in front of me that warranted even moderate braking, we would have collided. I had to change lanes to get away from the brain-dead X3 driver. I see this stuff every day.

If someone is determined enough to change lanes right into you, maybe you shouldn't be driving next to them. You've got to be creative sometimes, but leaving space is possible in all but the heaviest traffic. Spend as little time next to other cars as possible. Don't loiter in another vehicle's blind spot. You can't eliminate all risk in driving, but you can minimize it. Hardly anyone does.

[beerbaron105]

if someone cut me off in a shitbox and braked with the intention for me to rear-end them the police would have to charge me with manslaughter as well

[Atomic Chip]

NO they don't then go back to the other insurance company to subrogate.

Unless you were riding a motorcycle.

[Avatar]

Well, if the guy cut you off suddenly right before you and brake, you are going to rear end the car no matter what. You just can't avoid it. You probably will be able to brake and hit at a lower speed.

However, the ppl who do this are not doing anything good to them themselves either. My car was rear ended years ago. Although it was not my fault and I didn't have to pay any deductible, I have a claim record. Everytime I want to switch I was told I claimed before and it was true.

[iluvmikeharris]

Thanks for the clarification. Is there a clear manual or instructions where we can read about all these rules? I'm pretty sure my insurance package did not come with one.

If there was one that is available to all readers, I'm sure we would all be more informed.

http://www.insurance-canada.ca/consinfoauto/No-fault-insurance-603.php

[actng]

what you do is try to hit them on the side instead of the rear end. but if they've already cut in front of you, you're pretty much screwed. it either means they were going much to slow or you were going much to fast, relative to each other.

part of it is thinking ahead. i drive really fast sometimes but i do it smart (or less stupid than just driving fast). I go fast in the edge lanes on the highway where there is room to swerve and avoid (like onto the shoulder). then you just have to anticipate and be aware of your blind spots to know whether you have an out in the event of a sudden blockage (i.e. impending collision).

on city streets, i'm doing speed limit +10 at most, unless of course there is that middle yellow shared left turn lane i can "borrow" to avoid a collision. leave the high speeds to the highway. people are a tad bit more aware on the 401 than on say, sheppard.