My heartwarming Christmas story

[Mike]

I've NEVER encountered a bitch this crazy.

you never met any of my ex-girlfriends

it is difficult to meet someone who is make believe.

[Myuki]

was there any damage to her car at all? the way it sounds it was a tap, and didn't leave any marks...I am pretty sure that if you explained everything and just waited for the police and stayed clam, while she was freaking out, they would be more prone to listen to you about what happened, like telling them there was open road, and she slammed her brakes on or something like that...

someone tell me...can it be the person in front's fault in a situation like this, slamming the brakes on in open road causeing a rear end collision?

[KPWSerpiente]

In VA guilt will fall with the car that makes contact from the rear...it is your responsibility as a driver to travel behind another car in such a way that you can stop if he/she stops....whether he or she stops for a dog, a stop sign, traffic, or NO REASON, in VA if you hit the car in front of you it is your fault.

Seriously, everyone is ok...no harm no foul...but remove this thread.

And for the record...I probably would have gotten out of the car, and ended up bitch slapping the bitch. I have no problem committing assault if provoked.

-T

[Ginger]

I'd like to see some documentation on the above...

It may be the following driver's responsibility to maintain a safe following distance. However, it is entirely illegal to come to a complete, no-hazard stop in the middle of a road. There is a certain amount of predictability and reliabiltiy that is expected from all drivers. As HPDE students we should all recognize this as a tenet of proper vehicular safety. We can go out on the road and not need to expect other drivers to make a left hand turn from the right hand lane, or haphazardly enter intersections, or go the wrong direction on a road (although I'm sure we've all seen these happen). The idea is that you're aware of the risks and possibilities but not operating on the principle that they will occur. This is in the same manner that we expect our follow track drivers to not change paths suddenly, or swerve violently so as to unsettle following drivers.

My father was involved in a situation exactly like this a few years back (and he actually intentionally made contact with the vehicle in front of him... 3 times). He told the Police exactly what happened, was issued no citation, and told our insurance company exactly what happened. When the woman filed a claim with her insurance company they contacted our agency to collect. Our representative explained the situation and not only was the claim denied, but she was found guilty of insurance fraud.

[damnit458]

In VA guilt will fall with the car that makes contact from the rear...it is your responsibility as a driver to travel behind another car in such a way that you can stop if he/she stops....whether he or she stops for a dog, a stop sign, traffic, or NO REASON, in VA if you hit the car in front of you it is your fault.

-T

It seems logical that what T said above is true. It would seem that it is your responsibility to be able to stop safely and w/o causing collision, in any circumstance.

Just think of the possibilities if you two would have stayed! You could have gotten out, and if she confronted you physically chan could have held her back while jess got free punches!!!

[Mike]

it is your responsibility to be able to stop safely and w/o causing collision, in any circumstance.

that right there folks, is the law. no ifs ands or buts about it. it is INCREDIBLY difficult to prove someone stopped just so you would hit them... they could come up with ANYTHING (i saw a small animal run across the road and didn't want to hit it) and win.

[PDenbigh]

I was in my truck one day when an MGB stoped short in front of me. By the time I stopped, I was where the MG should have been... coudln't find it. Never heard anything further from it.

On a side note, I have this really stubborn stain on my bumper, looks like a big squished a bug, except there's grease and hair. Any idea what could remove it?

[BLINGMW]

But I probably would have gotten away from her, atleast backed up out of harms way, for safety of lady and car.

pretty sure she would have been happy to chase us down, bust out our headlights, kick in the grill, whatever she could do. Then I'd get a citation for following too closely, she'd get charged for the property damage, then we'd find out she has no insurance, blah blah, and that seems like a best case scenario. Worst case? Assault? Gunshot wounds? I don't see why it's my job to make sure we all get cited for the proper stuff and make the situation worse when I can save everyone (us, the woman, the cops, the courts) some time. :wink:

She forced me to make a decision, and while it would have been nice to go with something more civil, her unreasonable insanity forfeited her right to due process. I understand that Johnny Law probably wouldn't agree, but too bad.

if you wanted to be like most americans, and since you did have a witness, maybe you should've gotten out of the car, let her hit you and sue for personal damages...

I probably would have gotten out of the car, and ended up bitch slapping the bitch. I have no problem committing assault if provoked.

I hear ya both, and heard similar from others. But why the eagerness to turn a very minor situation into serious one? Just because the law is likely to be on your side? It just seems to me that if you can solve a problem without causing bodily harm, you should.

Oh, and BTW, I got cited and charged with failure to yeild years ago (in VA) after making a u-turn and getting tapped from the rear by a woman that changed lanes to hit me. The "if you hit the car in front of you it is your fault" idea that had been drilled into me so many times didn't prove to be true. The people in DIP class thought it was funny too, that I was there because I got rear ended. :?

And thanks for looking out for me, Jess doesn't like the idea of this being posted up here either, but I thought I'd share a story and maybe we could learn something from it. But this doesn't exactly jump up when you google "black camaro driving bitch insane accident in Roanoke". And even if she found this, and had nothing better to do, I'm sure the courts would be SUPER interested in her story and the cops would put their best guys on the case. :roll: Just like all the "kill stories" posted on other forums, it's just another unauthenticatable story.

But, to satisfy Jess, I'll probably ask that it be pulled down this weekend. :o

[Feersty]

Its good you aren't worrying about it, I would make myself sick.

[Myuki]

this reminds me of a smilimalr incident a few days back....a car was in the right lane of 3, cut into our lane, far enough ahead for us to see it, like 75 yards or so, and then changed lanes again, right in front of a car, who had to hit the brakes, skidded and crushed his bumper and scratched the jetta who swerved in front of him, now the jetta swerved in front and there was no way the guy in back had room or time....

[Dave]

what would I have done in your situation? Ran just like you.
what would I have done in your situation driving any sort of truck or car that I don't care about? Ran that bitch over.

[bassmangrammy]

Ran that bitch over.

10 points!

[Ryan T]

In VA guilt will fall with the car that makes contact from the rear...it is your responsibility as a driver to travel behind another car in such a way that you can stop if he/she stops....whether he or she stops for a dog, a stop sign, traffic, or NO REASON, in VA if you hit the car in front of you it is your fault.

Not completely accurate. I ran into the back of a town truck and took it to court. Judge threw out my ticket and forced the town to pay for my vehicle.

[Myuki]

i guess it all depends on exactly what happen...but this whole thing is another example of someone trying to exploit this "rule of thumb" of person in rear's fault