VIC Yet another "who's fault when reversing!"

[iClick]

Hi brains trust. Seeking an opinion here. I'll preface this with the that I understand the adage "reversing vehicle always at fault" but what if at the time the other driver admits that they made a poor decision which led to the accident?

In my case, I was arriving at home and I pulled into my neighbours driveway to execute a turn so I could park in front of my house (on the street).

I pulled a fair way into my neighbours property and before I reversed back onto the street I first checked my mirrors and then looked down the road for any approaching traffic. As I was reversing, I did another head check to see that there was still no traffic driving up the street when I here/feel a collision. I look again in my mirror to see a work van attached to the tray of my vehicle (4WD utility with canopy)

After throwing my hands up to say "WTF" they reversed and we both parked in the street to asses what happened.

The other driver immediately apologised and said that he assumed that I was parking in my neighbours drive and he performed a u-turn in the street directly behind my car. Looking at the height and placement of the damage, I would speculate that he was in the middle of performing the u-turn when I started to reverse and his vehicle would've been in my blind spot when I initially checked my mirrors.

It would be hard to prove, but I feel that the accident occurred when both vehicles were moving.

I took a picture of damage to their car and he took my phone number. This accident occurred just over six months ago and until today I had thought that they had taken it on the chin and had accepted that it was their fault however I received a call just now asking for my insurance details.

As I stated in the beginning, I accept that most reversing accidents will normally be the responsibility of the reversing car, but in this instance would there be any room for the other driver to be liable?

To summarise the event:

• I was reversing from a driveway (which I had just driven into) when I collided with another vehicle.
• They assumed that I was parking in that driveway and did a u-turn behind my vehicle.
• Because of my blind spot, I didn't see the other vehicle until we collided.
• At the time, the other driver apologised for his manoeuvre which caused the accident.
• There was zero damage to my vehicle.

Ideally it would be great if they had accepted that they caused the accident and I wouldn't have to pay anything however I don't think that will be a reality now. I would however at least like it to be a case for 50/50 liability.

Presently, I plan to give them my insurance details and then offer the same information as above to my insurer.

The reason for posting here is to see if I may have any grounds to have the liability of the accident placed back onto the other driver.

Any opinions regarding this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading and for any advice

 

[Scruff]

Unfortunately, I think you're out of luck and oddly enough, it has nothing to do with reversing in this case.

The fact is that you were in a driveway and he was on the road. You therefore have to give way. Even though he felt that he may have been responsible, insurance companies are not going to look at it that way. They will look at what the law says, and the law says you have to give way when entering a road from a driveway.

The other thing is that blind spots are rarely even considered in such matters. Given he was on the road and you weren't, I doubt it would be given any consideration at all.

 

[iClick]

Unfortunately, I think you're out of luck and oddly enough, it has nothing to do with reversing in this case.

The fact is that you were in a driveway and he was on the road. You therefore have to give way. Even though he felt that he may have been responsible, insurance companies are not going to look at it that way. They will look at what the law says, and the law says you have to give way when entering a road from a driveway.

The other thing is that blind spots are rarely even considered in such matters. Given he was on the road and you weren't, I doubt it would be given any consideration at all.

Interesting. Thanks for taking the time to reply. Would a factor be where the roadway begins? When I stopped my car after the collision, I was still in the driveway and had not yet entered the roadway therefore the collision occurred on the drive, not on the road. He is stating that it wasn't a u-turn, but a three point turn that he was executing.

 

[Scruff]

As far as I know, that would only be a factor if the impact occurred within the fence line - ie; he came far enough into the driveway that the front of his vehicle passed the fence line and that is where the impact occurred. Anywhere outside the fence line will be governed by the road rules as a "road related area".

If the impact occurred within the fence line, then it occurred on private property. From an insurance perspective, fault should then come down to whoever was in motion at the time of the impact and who had an opportunity to prevent the impact.

The problem of course, is that because he was in your blind spot, you only have his word as to whether or not he was in motion at the time of the impact. That kind of makes things pretty difficult for you.

 

[iClick]

Thanks for the clarification. It looks like I'll have to reluctantly accept this and pay the $550 excess. (plus loose my history of 20 years with no accidents!)

The annoying part is that I feel (and as was expressed by the other driver at the time) that I was the innocent party here, however you are correct and the insurance companies will just look at the law says. After no communication for 6 months, I had thought the other driver may have taken the hit on the chin and not claimed as he knew his actions are what caused the accident.

 

[Scruff]

How much are the quotes for the repairs? Another thing is, why the delay? He could have run up a few other peoples backsides in that time.

 

[iClick]

I haven't been given a quote yet. I just received a call on friday saying that there panel beater wanted to know who we are insured with. I spoke to my insurer and they advised for me to raise the claim if I wanted them to act more proactively on my behalf. I sent the chap an email asking for the vehicle and drivers details to start a claim. Have yet to get a reply.

 

[Scruff]

Is the bumper the only damage? Looks like there is a big scrape down the side as well but it might just be the light.
I'd be asking for detailed quotes before getting your insurance company involved.

 

[iClick]

Yes, just the bumper (I think the mark on the side is a reflection of the white road marking)
It would also appear that there is a white mark from my canopy on his headlight.

I couldn't have moved more than a few feet before the collision and I would hazard to say that if I was driving a normal car, then no damage would've occurred as it would've been just a light impact.

What I don't understand is why would you follow another vehicle into a driveway so closely without knowing 100% what there intention was. He claimed he thought it was my property and I was parking.

I'm going to speculate that to repair the bumper will be expensive (more than my excess) as I believe they usually order a new number and then have to match the paint. Hence the reason I thought to get my insurance onto the case first.

 

[Scruff]

What I was thinking was get the full quote first, and if it does turn out to be just the bumper, which should be well under $1k, then offer to go 50/50 on the condition you both keep insurance out it - or at least for you anyway. That way neither of you loose any bonuses or whatever and for you, the final cost should be less that your excess. But don't bring up that offer until you've got a detailed quote.

If you end up doing that, put the agreement in writing saying how much you are to pay and make sure that it explicity states that you both agree that you are not liable for anything over that agreed amount. Finally, make sure that it is dated and that you both sign it.

The purpose of the written agreement is simply to give you some protection in case the panel beathead pops up later and says "Oh I'm sorry, it's gonna cost more" - like they so often do.