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dvf0857
Jan 14, 2010, 04:58 PM
Who is at fault if you come over a hill at night and there is a stalled vehicle without emergency flashers? We were pulling a 25 foot trailer and did everything to keep from making contact with the stalled car but there was not enough time or distance to avoid a collision.

excon
Jan 14, 2010, 05:31 PM
Who is at fault if you come over a hill at night and there is a stalled vehicle without emergency flashers? We were pulling a 25 foot trailer and did everything to keep from making contact with the stalled car Hello dv:

You are. That's because you didn't do "everything", as you said above. Clearly, one of the things you could have done is go slower. You didn't. THAT would have prevented you from making contact.

excon

JudyKayTee
Jan 14, 2010, 05:34 PM
I'm a liability investigator - you are (minimally) partially at fault. Every State has a law that your vehicle must be under your control at all time and that includes allowing for emergencies. Obviously you did not.

And, yes, I know it isn't fair. I hear that all the time. Unfortunately, it's the law. If you are talking about the insurance claim there is a possibility that the other vehicle will be partially responsible - but I doubt it.

Did other vehicles between you and the stalled vehicle miss that vehicle or were you the next car on the road?

ScottGem
Jan 14, 2010, 06:46 PM
First its not a good idea to piggyback your question on someone else's. This can lead to confusion. You should start a new thread. So I've moved your question to its own thread.

I concur with the others. But, if you hire a trained investigator, they MIGHT be able to reconstruct the accident and show that the other car was stopped in a position just below the peak of the hill that would not have allowed you time to stop. Plus the fact that flashers were not on that could have warned you before cresting the hill.

On the other hand, the investigator could show that you were going too fast and the other car was pulled over enough to permit you to pass.

But if you are just going on the facts you present here, then you will be considered at least partially at fault.

Fr_Chuck
Jan 14, 2010, 09:26 PM
And of course if their flashers could not work, or they swear perhaps they were on.

While you could try to put some blame on them, you will have the majority of the blame