Ever have an accident in your driveway ?

[Patrick]

The wife backs out of our driveway on her way to Zumba class, real important so she goes like she always does, like hell.
This girl decides to pull into our drive to turn around and watches the wife back out down the drive. She doesn't bother to hurry up or blow the horn.
My wife as usual is going like crazy and not looking. I'm yelling for her to stop from the patio and she isn't paying any attention. So, she backs right into that gals car.
I give them both hell for what each did and say to just exchange ins. info knowing this is going to cost me again.
They decide to call the law, the Sheriff dept has been here for an hour. I ain't getting involved, except for having to write the check for the repair deductible.
I'm still just sitting here listening to them and shaking my head.

[Mr Whiskey]

God Bless ya Brother, hang in there!

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can & will be used against you!"

[BobB]

YES!

I often push my Honda Civic out of the center stall of the garage to get the lawn tractor out without moving the Valk.  So the car sits there with the front end about 15' from the garage.  Wife backs her car out of her stall, as she normally does, and swipes the side of the Civic.  No one else to blame here.

At least she hasn't taken any side mirrors off her car in a long while.

Boy, I'm glad she doesn't read this board.  Calling her out like this would be a problem...

[Jess from VA]

Hey last year my wife hit a mail truck.  

It was stopped at a mailbox, broad daylight, 35 zone, in a bit of a curve.  The mail lady was not hurt.  The Dakota was trashed up good.

I didn't see it. It was in part of my lane.

Were you driving with your eyes closed.... again?

%^$ you!!

[john]

        and just WHAT is up with that ?   
           I had just spent 1,800 buck to  have my peecup fixed ...   
                           all the dent removed 
  didn't last a week ... like four days
             my kate backed her camry into the driver side door  ...
left a dinner plate sized dent in the door...         
        three years later it's still there ....  

[PAVALKER]

Did the officer write a citation for trespassing to the gal that pulled in your drive?

Did he write her up for running into your wife, she was rear ended after all.

 

[RP#62]

You did good.  If you had gotten involved in any way shape or form, under the rules of estrogen logic, it would have become your fault.

-RP

[John Schmidt]

You did good.  If you had gotten involved in any way shape or form, under the rules of estrogen logic, it would have become your fault.

-RP

AMEN.....having raised four daughters, a wife, and three female dogs.   

[RP#62]

You did good.  If you had gotten involved in any way shape or form, under the rules of estrogen logic, it would have become your fault.

-RP

AMEN.....having raised four daughters, a wife, and three female dogs.   

Frankly, I'm surprised that when the cop pulled up, both women didn't point at you.

-RP

[Patrick]

Interestingly the Sheriff deputy was female. 

[Jess Tolbirt]

God Bless ya Brother, hang in there!

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can & will be used against you!"

sounds like my wedding vows,,,You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can & will be used against you! over and over and over again

[cookiedough]

Man, this is a tough one, who is at fault really?

Your wife for not stopping or the young girl for doing zippo ON YOUR property and not even beeping the horn or moving in reverse, just stopping in your driveway.

Doesn't your wife have a backup camera in her car?  Most new cars made in 2013 on up have them,  even most as standard eqmt. or in an upgraded package. 

I'd say what is fair is your insurance pay for YOUR car and the girl's insurance pay for her own car.  Damage couldn't be too bad I would imagine going 4-5 mph is about it in reverse, but still more probably than your 500 or so deductible. 

[Jess from VA]

Your driveway may be private property, but someone may reasonably use it to turn around in (perhaps unless you had special no trespass postings) (driveways are generally available to the public or common carriers, until reasonable use is exceeded or they are told to leave).  You could tell them to leave, but they are already leaving.  The wife is at fault for failing to exercise due care in backing (without looking) (failure to stop within the assured clear distance ahead behind).  

Here's an easy corollary, what if she backed over a child on foot?  

She appears to be principally at fault for a moving violation leading to accident.  

But as for civil liability, if NY has shared liability laws (appears so*), the wife could be 80% and the turn-arounder could be 20% (that is a quick guess for illustration purposes only).  And this may be negotiable with and between insurance carriers.  Hopefully no one is hurt, that always makes it harder.  

*  https://www.schlittlaw.com/2015/01/shared-liability-new-york-car-accident-cases/

This guy needs a name change.

[Patrick]

The way we all looked at it is that both girls were partially at fault. No 'coupons' were issued. I figured both would have to pay the deductible, at least I figured I would have to pay ours.
The other gal was getting madder as time went on because she feels JoAnn was completely at fault, she doesn't have any money and was driving a used piece of crap on a lease.
JoAnn's car is an '11 and doesn't have a camera. She probably wouldn't use it anyway. 

[DIGGER]

back in the 70's I rode a BMW R75/5 and after work I pulled into the driveway and left the engine running as I was going to run in and grab my checkbook to go to the bank on some business.    As I'm going into the house my wife is coming out the door and in passing she says she is going grocery shopping.     I used the restroom and grabbed my checkbook and was headed for the door when I heard a crunch.......yepper......she had backed into my Beemer.    She got out crying as she just knew I was going to go ballistic but what to heck.......I parked behind her......lesson learned.  Beemer was on the ground with minimal scratches but at least she didn't back over it.

[Jack]

My wife, in my truck, backed into a passing suv.  Trailer ball dug in and almost flipped the suv.  She got a ticket for failure to yield and was upset when my insurance went up. Go figure.

[Jess from VA]

After a number of tickets and three (not serious, but not cheap) accidents, and the rates went way up, I did what my dad did to me at 17 (only for tickets), I kicked her off my group vehicle policy of 25 years (which I had always paid), and told her to go get her own insurance and pay her own bill.  She had good employment income.  Her policy was over triple mine.  It had the same effect it had on me at 17, she got less tickets (but still hit the mail truck).

This may sound a little petty, but even though I carry pretty good liability limits, I don't carry a million dollar balloon policy (I don't need one), and I don't need a million dollar verdict wiping out my life savings (which is nowhere near a million).  And I was always taught not to reward bad behavior.

Unlike our G.... there, now it's political.  

[Gryphon Rider]

I once backed into my neighbour's pickup with my pickup.  He didn't usually park on my side of the street.  My hitch made a quarter-sized dent in his bumper.  "It's an old truck; don't worry about it."  Lesson learned.

There is a lady I know who is normally an excellent driver, but every five or seven years has a backing up incident.  I'm glad parts for her car are readily available at the local Pick-n-Pull.

[..]

Some people shouldn't be driving. Simple as that. 

[RainMaker]

My wife has a real issue with backing up. Every car we had from 1988 on had damage requiring time in the shop due to backing up accidents.  We had one mini-van where she picked it up at the dealer, drove to pick up the kids at school and backed into a tree there before she even made it home! In 2007, we got our first car with a backup camera and sensors.  Every car she has driven since has had one either on the car from the dealer or installed aftermarket before I'd let her drive it.  No more accidents.

I highly recommend you do the same.  Alpine makes a great camera with sensors and the grids you can get at CarToys.

[old2soon]

Living right here in Willow Springs Mo in a different house the ole lady had a bad habit of pulling in with our 84 G M C conversion van. And we lived on a rather narrow street. I was out and about in the lower 48 in my oversized S U V/Camper.  She was going "somewhere" when she backed out of our driveway into a New Chrysler mini van. She managed to destroy the tail light and ONLY the tail light on that mini van. She bought the replacement tail light unit and I got to install it when I got back home. IF my rekememberer be wurkin seemed like that light new was 3 figure and the first one was a 2.  After THAT little dealy she backed our van into the driveway the rest of the time we were together. I myself prefer to back in instead of backing out.  RIDE SAFE.

[Misfit]

It is my understanding that if you are backing up, you are at fault.

[Jess from VA]

It is my understanding that if you are backing up, you are at fault.

That is often going to be true, but virtually all general rules have exceptions.  If you were carefully backing out of your drive looking out the back window, and near the end someone whipped off the road and up your drive and right into you, he'd be responsible.

Probably the strongest general rule is if you hit someone from behind, you are at fault (even if they stand on their brakes).  But if a guy pulls over into the break down lane on the freeway to consult his map, then pulls back on the freeway without looking and gets hammered from behind, he would be at fault.

General rules are good, but each individual case and facts deserves its own consideration. 

For decades, accident investigators were able to make much out of tire/brake skids (which showed right where someone got on the brakes in relation to the impact, or that someone never even touched their brakes).  ABS brake systems took that entirely out of the equation.

[Patrick]

It is my understanding that if you are backing up, you are at fault.

Even if someone is in your driveway attempting to turn around ?

While I agree and believe JoAnn is at fault for not looking, I also feel the 'turn arounder' is also at fault.

[Jess Tolbirt]

2 rules here in TN.
1) It is unlawful to back out of your drive onto any street.
2) It is unlawful to  drive on any shoulder.
ok heres a 3rd. it is unlawful to cross the white line on the right side of the road unless its an emergency.