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I was recently involved in an accident where I was reversing.
I was on a side road, near the corner of a main road and had just driven past the driveway to a Car yard I wanted to visit. As I wanted to drive into the customer carpark I had commenced reversing away from the main road with the intent to reverse just past the driveway, so I could then turn left into the carpark entrance. Before starting to reverse I checked all was clear behind me by turning around, then checking mirrors and the rear vision camera monitor in the centre of the dashboard. Having reversed approximately 2 to 3 meters, a car crossed over my side of the road, behind me, attempting to drive into the car yard. I impacted into the side of the car, which was turning right from the other side of the road into the car yard entrance. At the time I had commenced reversing, all was clear behind me and the driver of the other car remarked she didn't realise I was reversing. As she came from my right hand side and across my path, with me looking backwards, I did not see her until impact. As I was reversing, it was a relatively low speed impact.
Who is at fault in this situation?
I think two road rules come to play here, and you could both potentially be at fault, however in these circumstances it is best to let your insurer work out the liability I have attached the rules below...
How to turn
To legally and safely make a left or right turn:
do a thorough check for other vehicles – in front, behind and to the sides
remember to check over your shoulder for your blind spots (the areas of road to the sides of your car that you can’t see in your mirrors)
watch for pedestrians
signal for at least three seconds
turn when safe.
If you are turning left, use your left indicator. If you are turning right, use your right indicator.
Be prepared to stop, even if the other driver should give way to you.
Reversing guidelines
Follow the guidelines below whenever you are reversing:
Before you move off, make sure it is safe to reverse. The best way to do this is to walk around the vehicle and make sure there are no children or other obstacles in your path.
Don’t rely on your mirrors alone. Always turn around and look over your shoulder.
Try to reverse in a straight line.