Car crash-who is at fault your views are welcome please..

hi guys,
ok I'll get started. 3 weeks ago I was driving home from a friends house. I was on a busy road and as you approach the junction the road splits in to two lanes. I was in the right hand lane to continue straight and a car was in front of me also. The traffic lights went green and the car in front swerved in to the left lane to take the left turn at the junction.
Now I kept going straight however at the junction there is a gap beside the right lane where cars can turn to go back down this busy street.It is an illegal turn. The guy in front of me swerves in front of me to take that turn. I hit him in the back as I had no way of stopping as he swooped in from the left.

Who is at fault?

The guards were called and they said both parties are to blame as I rear ended his car however he did swerve in front of me.
The guards did however say he was the principal cause of the accident and I have learnt from the guards since then that he admitted to swerving in front of me.

The really annoying thing is I had beeped at him twice for his lack of concentration on the road previous to this and I have received a letter from his solicitor asking for ME to take full liability.
I will add this he was driving a modified car and his damage looked worse than mine.

If anyone could share their views please

Given that you've already sought (and received?) legal advice in this matter, what additional insight do you hope to gain by posting here?

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=126403

You should still be able to stop in reasonable time.

Rear ending him makes you culpable for that action unfortunately.

Just saw mathepac's post ... you should have continued your questions on the same thread.

flossy84 said:

hi guys,

The guards were called and they said both parties are to blame as I rear ended his car however he did swerve in front of me.
The guards did however say he was the principal cause of the accident and I have learnt from the guards since then that he admitted to swerving in front of me.

Click to expand...

I would talk to the guards again and establish what their opinion is on the matter. I would imagine if the incident ended up in court, it would be their opinion that counts.

You asked the question 'who is at fault?' I know this is not the answer you want, but it is very difficult to know who is at fault if a decision is to be made solely on the basis of your post. Sorry. You may be completely in the right, but without knowing facts such as how suddenly or how fast he swerved, it is difficult to say.

Who can answer your question? I think the only answer that matters will be that from the guards. Hope things will work out okay for you!

1. As the Gardai did not witness the accident their opinion as to cause is worthless. If there is a prosecution for careless driving/dangerous driving all they can do is give the facts of what they saw on arrival. I would expect that both drivers would face some form of summons if it there is a prosecution but this would depend on witneses being available. In all likeliehood the Gardai will leave it to civil remedy as long as both drivers are insured.
Your insurance company may not accept liability and will take an action against the other driver. As part of your insurance policy you are obliged to assist them in this action by attending court and giving evidence.
Just because you rear ended the other driver does not necessarily put all the blame on you as the actions of the other driver were contributory. It would be up to a judge to decide. Alternatively both insurance companies may just agree to cover their own customer and leave at that.

If you knew he was driving eratically (you beeped him twice) then you should have stayed well back from him almost expecting him to do something stupid.

If you'd done that you would have been able to stop in time.

flossy84 said:

If anyone could share their views please

Click to expand...

From the limited detail here you are probably both at fault. Be aware that for insurance reasons you should not admit any responsibility. If it were me, at this point, I would have no further contact with the other party or his solicitor. I would direct all correspondence to my insurance company and let them sort it out.

Yorrick said:

1. As the Gardai did not witness the accident their opinion as to cause is worthless. If there is a prosecution for careless driving/dangerous driving all they can do is give the facts of what they saw on arrival.

Click to expand...

But the Gardai did give an opinion (that both parties were to blame). I am assuming that they had some reason to say this, as opposed to saying ‘we can’t comment on this’. What did the Gardai see when they arrived at the scene ? Did you move the cars after you collided, or were they in the same position? Did the Gardai take any road measurements? Why did they say both parties were to blame? Perhaps they came to the conclusion that both parties were to blame because (a) the other driver was making an illegal manoeuvre and (b) you collided with the back of his car when there is an onus on you to stay far enough back from the car in front of you? Why did they give an opinion?

michaelm said:

If it were me, at this point, I would have no further contact with the other party or his solicitor. I would direct all correspondence to my insurance company and let them sort it out.

Click to expand...

+1

Thanks everyone foe your advice, I havent seeked advice in relation to the car crash before this-that was in relation to a solicitor.
I beeped at him twice and did stay well back. If you read my post I clearly say that he swerved in to the left lane so therefore he was not in front of me anymore.
I will be letting my insurance company deal with this matter.

Thanks to everyone who posted valuable advice.