i've got into a car collision/accident?!

[Bencherstyle]

hello, i've been digging through online forums and such to find out what exacly to do.. i'm 19, and this is my first collision.

the situation is this: i was backing out of my house, and so was the person on the opposite side. usually in these backing out situations, i hear its 50/50. fairs fair.

here's what's happened though, i Finished backing out, and im on the road, (facing the road) ready to leave, and the guy backed up, hits my passanger seat with my brother in it with his back bumper. which goes to show, that i finished backing out, and he backed out after i did.

who's at fault? this happened today, the car is in a body shop, getting a quote, and will discuss whats going to happen with the people.

what would be the best thing to do in this situation? go through insurance? is it really 50/50 and i have to pay for my damages?
i 've got a huge bump on the passanger seat (the door won't open) and the passanger mirror is also broken, their car has a minor bump.

[mingyang]

if you're facing the road and gear is on D going straight, i dont see how this is your fault as u have backed out of ur drive way completely and is position to go forward.

[qaz393]

he is at fault if you went onto the roadway first.

[Bencherstyle]

that's what i thought too! i hope he doesn';t be a jackass about it, and i hear horror stories about insurance jacking up...

i'll update once more later tonight, but wow, these things really happen suddenly...

[loksau]

Usually Parking lot is 50/50 BUT If you have witness or picture showing that you are on the main road and the other car is in a spot, then it's 100% the other party's fault. It happened to me, but as soon as I send the pict to the underwriter, they immediately confirmed it's the other car's fault.

Good Luck

[TrevorK]

If the insurance company believes you were in a forward gear at the time of collision then the fault determination rules would state it is the fault of the person reversing. If the insurance company believes you were in a reverse gear at the time of collision then the fault determination rules would state it is equal fault.

Your entire case rests of what gear your insurance company believes you were in at the time of the collision: forward or reverse.


I would suspect the other party will have two arguments: they are not at fault, and then if they become convinced that they are at fault the damages will be more than they want to spend. Because of this I would, if it were me, go through insurance unless they've already admitted fault and have shown the cash to repair.

[nyik]

hello, i've been digging through online forums and such to find out what exacly to do.. i'm 19, and this is my first collision.

the situation is this: i was backing out of my house, and so was the person on the opposite side. usually in these backing out situations, i hear its 50/50. fairs fair.

here's what's happened though, i Finished backing out, and im on the road, (facing the road) ready to leave, and the guy backed up, hits my passanger seat with my brother in it with his back bumper. which goes to show, that i finished backing out, and he backed out after i did.

who's at fault? this happened today, the car is in a body shop, getting a quote, and will discuss whats going to happen with the people.

what would be the best thing to do in this situation? go through insurance? is it really 50/50 and i have to pay for my damages?
i 've got a huge bump on the passanger seat (the door won't open) and the passanger mirror is also broken, their car has a minor bump.

When did you notice the other driver backing out of his driveway? If it was during the time that you were backing out of your driveway, and you saw that he was backing out, wouldn't you have waited until he was done before continuing backing out of your driveway?

[trixstar]

Usually Parking lot is 50/50 BUT If you have witness or picture showing that you are on the main road and the other car is in a spot, then it's 100% the other party's fault. It happened to me, but as soon as I send the pict to the underwriter, they immediately confirmed it's the other car's fault.

Good Luck



OP is 0% at fault.. he was hit by the rear bumper of the car backing out which shows that the OP had completed his maneuver and thus owns the road. Car backing out second is 100% at fault. No need for witnesses

[spike1128]

that's what i thought too! i hope he doesn';t be a jackass about it, and i hear horror stories about insurance jacking up...

i'll update once more later tonight, but wow, these things really happen suddenly...

Not your fault. If you are on the main and in D. No one knows you are in D, but your car position will prove it. If you have pictures, you will not be at fault for sure. Good luck OP.

[Bencherstyle]

yup i do have pictures that i took after the incident, i did not move the car, i wish the other person didn't either, but i took picture of the position of my car getting hit clearly.

if the person does not admit fault, i'll go through it with insurance to avoid hassle.
EDIT: oh, and i should mention that my car was stopped (as in, stopped reversing) when the other guy hit me. i wonder if that makes a significance.

[Bencherstyle]

okay so it turns out they are fixing up their own bumper, and told us that we'd have to pay for our damage ( 1600dollars was the quote) ...

so i'm going to the collision center tomorrow to get the insurance involved, because i dont think i was at fault here.

they claim that we were both in reverse but admitted that my car did stop (they had to, got proof, and the dent shows they rammed it) but, since i was doing reverse (although i stopped), and its a 50-50 thing. (in that situation, isn't it half the TOTAL cost of both cars? )

i'm kinda pissed, so what are my options?

if the insurance company claims im also at fault, it's going to leave a record for me right?

[packardbell]

he is at fault and hope you took pictures at all angles to cover your silly ***** .:facepalm:

[HotYaris]

Presuming both of you are not blind in both eyes, how could neither of you see each other so someone could have honked the hell out of their horn and alert the other? I would find you both at fault.

[BluePhirePB]

yup i do have pictures that i took after the incident, i did not move the car, i wish the other person didn't either, but i took picture of the position of my car getting hit clearly.

if the person does not admit fault, i'll go through it with insurance to avoid hassle.
EDIT: oh, and i should mention that my car was stopped (as in, stopped reversing) when the other guy hit me. i wonder if that makes a significance.
Regardless of IF they admit fault or not, you go through insurance! You pay for insurance for a reason! All at fault drivers try to pay outside of insurance because they don't want their rates to go up. They act all apologetic and sympathetic until the bill comes. Once they see how much the repairs are, they'll try and convince you to go to their buddy's garage so it doesn't cost them as much or even try and weasel their way out completely. Whatever you do, go through insurance when you're not at fault.

[Insider]

in for pictures. OP is telling only his side of the story so at this point, sounds kind of one sided.

[thelefteyeguy]

Presuming both of you are not blind in both eyes, how could neither of you see each other so someone could have honked the hell out of their horn and alert the other? I would find you both at fault.

offtopic...wow...you are a rare breed in markham

[Bencherstyle]

Regardless of IF they admit fault or not, you go through insurance! You pay for insurance for a reason! All at fault drivers try to pay outside of insurance because they don't want their rates to go up. They act all apologetic and sympathetic until the bill comes. Once they see how much the repairs are, they'll try and convince you to go to their buddy's garage so it doesn't cost them as much or even try and weasel their way out completely. Whatever you do, go through insurance when you're not at fault.

thanks everybody for their input :D. i admit i didn't handle this situation as i should or could have, and has been a definite learning experience for me.

and thank you BluePhire, yeah, you're completely right. the other person, after i gathered their info, asked about the damages (they didnt first) of my car (how much it was and all that), and asked me to hold on going to the collision center . screw that. i've got accident forgiveness, so i don't think it'll impact me as much.

[BluePhirePB]

thanks everybody for their input :D. i admit i didn't handle this situation as i should or could have, and has been a definite learning experience for me.

and thank you BluePhire, yeah, you're completely right. the other person, after i gathered their info, asked about the damages (they didnt first) of my car (how much it was and all that), and asked me to hold on going to the collision center . screw that. i've got accident forgiveness, so i don't think it'll impact me as much.

Accident forgiveness refers to you being at fault at an accident and your rates not going up after first occurrence. Since you're not at fault here, AF does not apply and your rates shouldn't go up. Since it's your first time, it's understandable that you're scrambling to find the proper procedure after the event. It's nerve racking regardless of the severity of the accident. However, as long as you remember to take pics and gather info, you're onto a good start. Best of luck with the situation.

[Bencherstyle]

so after going to the doctors today (different matter) i called my insurance broker, and explained the situation. he told me it would be 50/50 , although i told him that my car had stopped and the other car rammed mine.

as for proof, my car didn't move after being hit, and the scratch marks indicate that my car wasn't moving, but that it had been stopped.

i'm still going to the Collision center now, but damn, my faults have been felt with this collision.

now, i've been digging, and it seems that in ontario it is required by law to report to the police if the damage exceeds more than 1,000 dollars.
to be honest, i didn't think it was going to cost 1,600 dollars, and the other car only had a little bump.

the best thing i should have done was to contact the police- then go from there . i quote

failing to report a collision and/or failing to provide the required information is a fine of $200 to $1,000, three demerit points, a possible jail term and suspension of your driver's licence. The pen alty for leaving the scene of a collision also includes seven demerit points.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/topics/reporting.shtml

[XtremeModder]

Unless you can magically drive your car sideways without, it's the other driver fault, take pics don't delay and go through insurance NOW

[BluePhirePB]

so after going to the doctors today (different matter) i called my insurance broker, and explained the situation. he told me it would be 50/50 , although i told him that my car had stopped and the other car rammed mine.

as for proof, my car didn't move after being hit, and the scratch marks indicate that my car wasn't moving, but that it had been stopped.

i'm still going to the Collision center now, but damn, my faults have been felt with this collision.

now, i've been digging, and it seems that in ontario it is required by law to report to the police if the damage exceeds more than 1,000 dollars.
to be honest, i didn't think it was going to cost 1,600 dollars, and the other car only had a little bump.

the best thing i should have done was to contact the police- then go from there . i quote

failing to report a collision and/or failing to provide the required information is a fine of $200 to $1,000, three demerit points, a possible jail term and suspension of your driver's licence. The pen alty for leaving the scene of a collision also includes seven demerit points.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/topics/reporting.shtmlSubmit the pics to the insurance company to prove your case. $1600 sounds like a complete door replacement and respray. It would make sense the other car got less damage since your entire door took the blunt force of the bumper and hence crumpled from force distribution. As far as contacting police, generally speaking you should. However, you're not gonna get nailed with 3 demerit points and fines. Neither of you left the scene so no need to worry about the 7 point deduction. Right now, I'd focus on trying to prove to the insurance company you're not at fault. Pics showing location of damage, position of car and extent of damage to each persons' cars should be enough.


A few years ago, I was backing out my dad's Toyota Previa to work. My neighbor painted his driveway the night before and parked his car right in front of it so no one would drive on his driveway. I totally forgot his car wasn't along the curb like usual and completely caved in his driver side door while leaving minimal bumps on the van. It was my first collision and like you, I didn't know what to do. I showed him what happened and understandably, he was quite unhappy. Being the guilty party and not wanting my insurance to spike, I requested we avoid insurance and told him to go get some quotes. First place he went to was some rando garage the quoted $1600 with two weeks downtime (hence why I'm assuming your door will need to be replaced and repainted). I didn't know this place so I told him to go to a trusted garage I go to. The trusted garage (Golden Triangle) quoted $1680 but would get the job done in 5 days. I felt terrible and wanted to make things right so I told him to go to my trusted place despite the price increase. It sucks but I paid him cash with a written/signed agreement within 6 hours of the incident. I didn't call the police and didn't even exchange information or take pics. You're already doing better than I did lol.