Who would have been in the wrong

[meriad]

I was driving along, as you do, when I got to a fairly sharp corner, not quite but very close to about a 90 degree angle, which means you have to drive around it fairly slow; so definitely not exceeding the speed limit. As I was just coming round the corner there was a guy - in my lane - reversing back up the road; I suspect he wanted to turn off into a road that was off to the right but had missed the turning so just stopped and figured he could reverse.

If it wasn't for the fact that the oncoming lane was empty which allowed me to swerve out the way I am fairly certain I'd have rear ended him; as it was I managed to get passed, the car behind me managed to slam on brakes and stop, and I (thankfully successfully) indicated to oncoming traffic to slow down.

But if I had hit him, who would have been to blame. Usually it's the person who goes into the back of another car, but in this situation would that still apply?

[Workingman]

There is an onus on the person reversing to ensure that it is safe to do so; that could mean employing a lookout. It is illegal to reverse into oncoming traffic. The rule is to stop and if necessary go forward and start again once the road is clear.

In a one-on-one case it is likely that the other driver would deny reversing in order to claim to have been rear-ended.

However, the way you describe things, Ria, it is likely that had the road not been clear enough for you to avoid a collision you would in turn have been hit by the car behind. There would have been witnesses travelling in both directions to confirm that the other driver was reversing without due care.

[miasmum]

A similar thing happened to me Ria. A car was turning out of the end of my road and turning right. Suddenly she decided she would rather turn left, so she whacked her car into reverse and shot backwards. I tried to move but wasn't quick enough and she reversed straight into me. She immediately admitted blame.

Her insurance company rang me the next day for details and when I told them what had happened they said "so she reveresed into you?' when I confirmed it they said, we will have to ring her to check it out but she admitted it and all was well

[meriad]

thanks both... once I stopped shaking and got to where I was going I started thinking about the legalities of it all.

And you know - in a way the worst bit was that the driver of the other car was an elderly chap who didn't seem to realise what he was doing was so dangerous and probably would have had his licence revoked or struggled to be re-insured which would potentially have taken away a lot of his independence. It's such a catch 22

I'm just very grateful that there was no oncoming traffic and that there wasn't an accident, because as you very rightly say Frank, there is no doubt that the car behind me would have gone into the back of my car as well

[Diflower]

It is frightening isn't it - it's nearly always some other idiot on the road, other innocent drivers having no chance.
Hope you're feeling ok now x

[miasmum]

But Ria it sounds like it might actually be a good idea for him to have his licence revoked, sad though that is

[meriad]

thanks Di - I'm 100% Ok and it's a reminder just how aware we have to be on the road and always make sure you look and think.....

Shell - I know; the driver must have been in his 80's if not older and whilst I absolutely admire the independence, the fact that he didn't even seem to think that he was doing anything wrong was just plain scary; so yes I agree, maybe he should rethink his driving

[Diflower]

Glad you're ok meriad
My own number one rule on the road is, assume everyone else is an eejit - works well

[TheOstrich]

Indeed, Di. There's some absolutely appalling driving standards and chance-takers out there ..... yesterday was a case in point - single carriageway main road, crossing bollards in the middle, left hand land temporarily blocked by two buses serving a bus stop - no less than three drivers overtook the buses going on the right hand side of the bollards to do so, and the third was extremely lucky to get back into the left hand land without crashing head-on into on-coming traffic.

I was at the front of the top deck of the second bus and saw it all unfold. Crazy - for the sake of avoiding what, an extra minute's delay?

Glad you were OK, Meriad. Many, many years ago, I was following a guy out of a school driveway having dropped off Mrs O. The guy in front was across the pavement, but the traffic density was such that he couldn't get out into the road. Two schoolgirls were approaching him on the pavement. So being polite, to let them pass, he reversed without looking - straight into me !! Interestingly, although at low speed, it did a fair bit of damage to my front-end, but luckily only cosmetic, the engine wasn't damaged. We knew the guy, he was the husband of a fellow teacher, and (as the accident technically happened on private property rather than on-the-road), he paid for the repair.