Tip - Advice required

smcgiff

Just happened less than half an hour ago on the Ballybough road, so still fuming.

Coming into work this morning on the Ballybough road - Lexus cuts in in front of me where there was nowhere near space and when he braked I went into the back of him. Now I braked also, but I'd have been going maybe 5 - 10 kms an hour at the time I hit him. He tried to drive on, but stopped as the lights turned red about 20 yards up the road. I flashed him and he got out of the car - all aggressive asking what's my problem as I drove into the back of him!

Luckily a passerby was having nothing of it and said he saw the Lexus dive in front of me and I'd no chance of stopping. The lexus driver takes one look at his bumper and goes back to his car and drives off.

Cars started beeping behind me and at first glance there seemed nothing wrong with my car.

I didn't take the helpful passerby's number although he was giving it to me. As I didn't want to hold up traffic - Stupid I know.

I've since looked at the front of the car (Alfa Romeo 159) and the plastic/chrome grill is snapped and some other bits of plastic are also broken off.

I've got his Reg number. But, as I said, no longer have a witness (D'Oh!).

Any advice appreciated.

biko

Not a lawyer but without that witness it's word against word so damage may go 50/50 or even against you.
Would you recognise the witness if you saw her/him again? Perhaps they work in the area? Could be worth a shot trying to locate her/him there again.

starbelgrade

I could be wrong here - but my understanding of it is that if you hit a car from behind, then the driver behind is always considered to be at fault, regardless of the speed you are doing.

If that is actually the case, you might be better just forgetting about it & getting the grille replaced yourself.

As I said though - I could be wrong.

smcgiff

Thanks - that's what I was thinking.

The witness was fairly elderly, so not sure if they were on there way to work or not. I've a good image of the person in my head right now, but he was well wrapped up.

Although - it's on a stretch of road that I'd find hard to pull in even if I did see him on that stretch again.

Probably need to suck it up. Not long driving on Dublin roads - first impression is that they are all bloody mad!

wyndham

Given that you would probably be seen to be at fault, as is generally the case when you rearend another vehicle, it was very unusual that the other driver should drive off. Possibly uninsured/banned driver/something else, that he didn't want to hang around.

You're 100% in the wrong OP, you drove into the back of him.
Fix your car and forget about the other chap.

smcgiff

starbelgrade wrote: »

I could be wrong here - but my understanding of it is that if you hit a car from behind, then the driver behind is always considered to be at fault, regardless of the speed you are doing.

I know now what I did wrong... I obvisously left too much space in front of me :mad:

smcgiff

RoverJames wrote: »

You're 100% in the wrong OP, you drove into the back of him.

Even if he swerved in front of me when there was no space ?!? The laws an ass!

biko

Maybe look into getting a dashcam?

If he got in there, there was space. The instant he did it you should have slowed or stopped to leave more room between ye, if you were travelling that slowly you should have been able to react to the driving of this mong sufficiently to prevent an accident. Similar happened my Dad years back when he was driving a cab, sh1t happens. Count yourself fortunate it turned out fairly well and move on

Thoie

RoverJames wrote: »

You're 100% in the wrong OP, you drove into the back of him.

That surely can't be right, can it? I know in the normal course of events then it is up to me (the driver behind) to leave enough space in case the car in front drops anchor. However if I'm leaving enough space for that and some wally veers in there and then slams on the brakes, he has stolen my safe stopping distance.

OP, I'd go back there at a quietish time this evening and put up a few posters asking for witnesses to contact you. If someone phones, just ask for their phone number and what they saw and ask if you may pass their info to the insurance company - don't give out any of your own personal details (like which driver you were, or more specifically anything other than your first name).

Thoie

Thoie wrote: »

That surely can't be right, can it? I know in the normal course of events then it is up to me (the driver behind) to leave enough space in case the car in front drops anchor. However if I'm leaving enough space for that and some wally veers in there and then slams on the brakes, he has stolen my safe stopping distance.

OP, I'd go back there at a quietish time this evening and put up a few posters asking for witnesses to contact you. If someone phones, just ask for their phone number and what they saw and ask if you may pass their info to the insurance company - don't give out any of your own personal details (like which driver you were, or more specifically anything other than your first name).

It surely is 100% right. It's up to the driver to react to other wallies, as soon as he nips in there you create another safe stopping distance, in reality he isn't just going to dart in there instantaneously, it will take a few seconds, especially in this case when the OP mentioned he was going very slowly anyway. Plenty of time to slow down even more before the chap hit his brakes.

Put up posters looking for witnesses to slapping into the arse of someone :rolleyes: Sounds like a plan alright. Besure to take them down again or else you'll be done for littering.

Stevie Dakota

You got off very lightly, in the eyes of the law you were at fault. A simple thing like that, a new bumper for a Lexus, you could have had a claim against your insurance for €1000's with no ability to contest it.

Jimmy Bottlehead

RoverJames wrote: »

It surely is 100% right. It's up to the driver to react to other wallies, as soon as he nips in there you create another safe stopping distance, in reality he isn't just going to dart in there instantaneously, it will take a few seconds, especially in this case when the OP mentioned he was going very slowly anyway. Plenty of time to slow down even more before the chap hit his brakes.

Put up posters looking for witnesses to slapping into the arse of someone :rolleyes: Sounds like a plan alright. Besure to take them down again or else you'll be done for littering.

It's still terribly unfair that someone can drive so recklessly and perform a dangerous manouevre, and still be considered on the right side of the law. Disgraceful.

x in the city

well it is pretty ovbious the lexus c0ck legged it as he was of the opinion HE was at fault for legging out in front of the op

and he made haste, and yes that rear ending law is retarded, it is true in most cases but not all.

pah

i know you probably didn't have the realisation at the time as this kind of thing happens so fast, but you could have stayed at the scene and reported the accident as a hit and run. both drivers are obliged to remain at the scene of an accident and exchange the relevant information.

as you have his rwg number you could have made a statement of complaint to gardai in relation to, careless driving & hit & run in respect of the other driver. if he just took off like you said and it went to court i imagine the case would be very much in your favour

Zubeneschamali

x in the city wrote: »

yes that rear ending law is retarded, it is true in most cases but not all.

It's not a law at all, it's just a general rule. I personally know a driver who was hit from behind but found to be fully responsible in court. This is not a third hand friend-of-a-friend down the pub, my wife was in the car when it happened.

pah

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

It's not a law at all, it's just a general rule. I personally know a driver who was hit from behind but found to be fully responsible in court. This is not a third hand friend-of-a-friend down the pub, my wife was in the car when it happened.

true, what if some lunatic jams on the brakes at 120kmh on the motorway cos he spilt coffee on his nads and you're behind him doing the same speed, following the 2 second rule with enough room you still might be unable to avoid a collision if there are cars in the other lanes.

that could not possibly be your fault

phill106

RoverJames wrote: »

If he got in there, there was space. The instant he did it you should have slowed or stopped to leave more room between ye, if you were travelling that slowly you should have been able to react to the driving of this mong sufficiently to prevent an accident. Similar happened my Dad years back when he was driving a cab, sh1t happens. Count yourself fortunate it turned out fairly well and move on

I'd actually object to that. Just because there was space for him to get in, does not mean there was space to react. If you had allowed say a 2 second gap in front of you, and then a driver swerved in directly in front of you while slamming on brakes, where is the space to stop? There isn't.

kasper

see a solicitor and get advise because you are in the right

phill106

phill106 wrote: »

I'd actually object to that. Just because there was space for him to get in, does not mean there was space to react. If you had allowed say a 2 second gap in front of you, and then a driver swerved in directly in front of you while slamming on brakes, where is the space to stop? There isn't.

If he swerved in while slamming on the brakes you'd hit him side on, happy out for you then If he got in there and then slammed on it's your fault

This is fairly clear cut folks in this particular case.

OP, how soon after swinging in did he slam on ?
How much was between you and him when he swung in ?
When did you notice him cutting in ? Keeping in mind you were travelling at a slow speed and so was the car in front of you I would imagine you would have noticed him before he actually came into your lane, also if the space was that tight he would have had to maneouvre into it rather than slide across like when joining a motorway.

smcgiff

RoverJames wrote: »

If he swerved in while slamming on the brakes you'd hit him side on, happy out for you then If he got in there and then slammed on it's your fault

This is fairly clear cut folks in this particular case.

OP, how soon after swinging in did he slam on ?
How much was between you and him when he swung in ?
When did you notice him cutting in ? Keeping in mind you were travelling at a slow speed and so was the car in front of you I would imagine you would have noticed him before he actually came into your lane, also if the space was that tight he would have had to maneouvre into it rather than slide across like when joining a motorway.

Just to clarify...

We were going at a fair speed ... the lights were green after all. He cut in going faster than the rest of the cars in my lane. His brake light was on all the time and was probably braking before he dived in front of me. I braked and by the time I hit him I was going at 5to 10km. I was going a good bit faster before he jumped in.

There was obviously enough space for him to squeeze in, but no way was it a safe move on his part.

I can't emphasise enough how much this guy dived in front of me.

smcgiff

smcgiff wrote: »

His brake light was on all the time and was probably braking before he dived in front of me. .

If he got in front of you while braking there must have been a good bit of room really, you should really have slowed down the instant you noticed him doing his maneouvre. If that resulted in someone behind you slapping into your arse then so be it.

BostonB

Running into the back of someone isn't automatically your fault. The problem is its hard to prove its not your fault. Brake testing is pretty common, highly dangerous, and illegal. Just hard to prove.

http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=14656

But without witness'es I doubt theres any point chasing it up. Any cameras around?

LookBehindYou

Without the witness, it would be better to forget about it and get your damage fixed up yourself.
Think of the cost of a solicitor, and all the hassle involved, to end up with a 50/50, it would end up costing you much more.
The law is not about what is right and wrong, it is based on technicalities which would not be in your favour.

smcgiff

RoverJames wrote: »

If he got in front of you while braking there must have been a good bit of room really

There wasn't - it was impressive move - I'm sure it wasn't the first time (or likely last time) he's done it - but I still went into the back of him.

RoverJames wrote: »

you should really have slowed down the instant you noticed him doing his maneouvre.

I went on my brakes as hard as I could.

You'd just have to have been there, your Honour

Lando Griffin

starbelgrade wrote: »

I could be wrong here - but my understanding of it is that if you hit a car from behind, then the driver behind is always considered to be at fault, regardless of the speed you are doing.

If that is actually the case, you might be better just forgetting about it & getting the grille replaced yourself.

As I said though - I could be wrong.

Not always, if someone cuts in and takes your braking distance away then they are at fault.