Someone hit me after I slid on Ice?

Question

It had been raining all day but the roads were just wet, however I was driving a cautious 27mph. I was entering a freeway on ramp and just as the ramp met with the freeway I began to fishtail and slide. I first slid toward the freeway and then I overcompensated and ended up back on the extended entrance part completely sideways (perpendicular to the road). Just as my car came to a stop and I thought I had made it, the suv that was behind me smacked into my passenger side. Who is at fault?

Answer 1

The suv behind you. You are supposed to give three seconds between you and the one you are tailing, so you have time to avoid a collision, this fits into the category of a rear end collision, if you hit someone from behind, you are at fault. You should never follow too close just in case. That's why he/she is at fault, if he/she was following at a safe distance, they never would have collided with you. Just ask a cop, they'll say the exact same thing, same as a judge.

Answer 2

The other guy, probably, but you could tell it to the judge.
You were probably acting responsibly.
Some people would argue that there is no such thing as an accident, that the weather and the slope and the car and an inexperienced driver and the tires all conspired to cause this event.

I say that you should be glad that you weren't hurt too badly and that no one else was too badly hurt.

We are a risk taking society. If we weren't, the speed limit would be 15 miles an hour and we wouldn't drive in the rain.

Answer 3

Confident assertions by others aside, none of us here is qualified to answer this question. It is possible that the car behind you had the same problem you had or that it had a car traveling too close to it and the driver didn't want to risk being rear-ended himself by slamming on the brakes. And as your car was fish-tailing, the driver behind you may not have been able to determine an appropriate escape route.

We weren't there and you were under a lot of stress at the time, so your memory may not be as reliable as you think it is.

Answer 4

They are. Under the conditions given, they should have anticipated possible bad conditions. I would also venture to guess that they were traveling to fast for conditions. 27 MPH up a ramp, while slow, is still under the usual 35 for a ramp. The other driver should have been able to see your loss of control and taken steps themselves to avoid a collision. Since they did not observe your situation, that would indicate that they were farther behind you, and driving to fast for the road conditions at hand. IF this is an Interstate situation, you need to find the Highway Engineer in charge of the area. Federal law may apply to your situation. Your loss of control does not constitute negligence on your part, all of the time.

Answer 5

The person in the rear is at fault. Basically, the trailing person is responsible to maintain a safe distance, so in the event of an incident, they can avoid an accident.

Answer 6

I believe you are...failure to control and coming to a stop on an on ramp....some states will say it is 'no fault'...50/50...each motorist takes their lumps. Don't admit fault though, but explain the full situation to your insurance and let them fight it out.

Answer 7

you didnt see him speeding, if he was speeding you might have gotten away with it... most likely your at fault in the eyes of the law, but morally no1 is at fault. your insurance will prolly cover your damages, because it was a crash that was dictated by the weather... but the other driver will prolly go after your insurance because you were more at fault and your insurance will prolly go up. Could be worse... good luck!

Answer 8

The person that hit you is at fault. If they were following so close that they couldn't stop, then they were not in control of their own car.

Answer 9

nobody's really.if it was icy,why should anyone get in trouble?but i say mostly it's yours.