Ask an expert


bendjlee

Hi AA,

recently I have been involved in a reversing accident. like to see who is at fault

I was reversing out from a drive way to the right (i.e.: opposite side of the road). Another car was reversing out of their driveway 2 houses opposite on the wrong side of the road.

I entered the main road first and was 3/4 of the way there to complete my reversing manourvre. All was clear on both sides of the road and behind me. As I was checking my left should side for cars, I hit a car behind me.

It appears the other car who reversed out from their drive way onto the wrong side of the wrong (i.e.: facing the wrong direction to the traffic flow) did not check their mirrors or behind them before they started reversing onto the main road otherwise they would have seen me doing my reversing manourvre.

I would like to see who is at fault. I believe it is the other party because I was doing the reversing manouvre first and was on the main road first. Also they were reversing onto the main road against the traffic flow.

Thanks,
May

Anon

Hi there,
From what we have seen in the past, if both vehicles were in motion at the time of impact then it is usually deemed split liability. The ruling would be that both reversing vehicles need to be aware of their surroundings throughout the complete manoeuvre and account for the potential for hazards at any time. One vehicle carrying out the manoeuvre first does not change the overall driver responsibility when it comes to who would be at fault in this situation.