Going into the back of someone

amun1000

Hi
Whats the law if a car brakes really hard in front of you and you're unable to stop in time and go into the back of the car? Under normal circumstances you would argue that its my fault for being too close to the vehicle in front. However, if this was under conditions best described as road rage (on behalf of the driver of the vehicle I would like to add) - do the conditions of blame change?

I'm just wondering as it might be handy to know for future ref. I came close this scenario the other day, the driver tried to force me off the road at speed (30mph) by applying his brakes hard

TIA


Andrew

smidsy

If you can prove it was deliberate (video or witnesses) then you may have a case otherwise I suspect you will struggle to get past the 'normal' view that you were too close or not paying attention.

DF33

Insurance companies are increasingly awarding blame to the car in front for certain instances.
One of these is your example.
Another is vehicles changing lanes in front of you or squeezing in, leaving you with little braking space and then braking hard before you have had a chance to create another braking space.

Proving it without a camera on board etc is entirely another matter though.

Wirral_paul

There was a spate of bogus insurance claims being made in the Manchester area a few years ago by doing just this - overtaking then cutting in and slamming the brakes on. Loads of medical claims by the same organised gang netting hundreds of thousands of pounds

http://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/courts-crack-down-on-crashforcash-fraud-1897967.html

In normal circumstances though - as said it would typically need independent witnesses to back up the road rage incident. Thats why its best not to crash into them when there's no witnesses - just get out and smack them in the mouth instead (he says jokingly before anyone takes that literally)

amun1000

Thanks for the replies
Seems like:
Get the registration
Find a witness asap

Sometimes difficult when you're seeing stars

Andrew

alihisgreat

For a minute I thought I was in the bottom bracket.

benno68

This maybe relevant:

http://www.bikelawyer.co.uk/mcn-law-columns/am-i-to-blame-for-drivers-sudden-braking

Basically, if it can be proved that a motorist suddenly stopped without reason resulting in a rear end collision they may be found responsible.

If the accident happened on a straight stretch of flat road with no obstructions and the driver agrees with the accident location, a cyclist could argue that on the balance of probabilities, the motorist must have jammed the brakes on for the accident to have happened.

I'm not a legal expert.

cooldad

You should still leave enough space to stop safely though so even if the driver is a d1ck, it's your life.