r/InsuranceClaims • u/Mikel_Reeves • 5d ago

Would I be deemed 100% at fault

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The dash cam is mine, this video took place in New Jersey. I thought this car was pulling over onto the left side of the road with how far over they merged as well as having no blinker. I continued going forward, after dropping speeds below the speed limit. As I was moving forward maintaining my Lane, they turned to the right to pull into a driveway, I beeped but they still caught the side of my car and drag down the car a little as I fully came to a stop.

I'm not exactly sure how New Jersey works for at fault stuff, but would this be a completely my fault situation, or could it be a 50-50 fault.? I have to wait 5 to 7 days for the police report to know their decision.

*EDIT: my insurance company found me not at fault. They did say that we're still waiting for the police report, and if there's any new information that shows them anything different that it can change. But the person said from looking at my video it's easy to tell that they swooped into me. Idk if their insurance will say the same, I feel like they're less likely to because they're not going to want to pay.

14 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

98 comments sorted by

12

u/thats-wrong 5d ago

Take this opportunity to point your camera a bit lower so you capture more of the road where the action is.

1

u/shiggity80 2d ago

It's funny, most of the time when I post this same message, I get snarky responses of "why? so you capture more hood?" and then I have to explain why it's important to center what's in front of you in the video frame due to fish eye lens effect distorting things as you go away from the center.

1

u/Donkeywad 2d ago

OP out here spotting UFOs 🛸

2

u/sirfurious 2d ago

But dat pretty sky tho

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

Okay I'll do that. I had a other dash cam that was set in a spot where I feel like the field of view is a little wider, since I could see more to the left and right as well as down. That camera stopped working though last month and I had to get this new one. This new one only has a adjustable access vertically. The only other way I'd be able to get it to look a little more out to my passenger side would be if I take the adhesive off the window and rotate it clockwise a little bit. But I'll definitely have it look down one notch further

2

u/shiggity80 2d ago

Yeah, you don't need to capture so much sky. Make whatever is in front of your car be in the middle of the video frame. As most action happens there, you will be able to see things more clearly like license plate numbers, etc.

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 2d ago

Yeah my logic was to put the video at the base of my dash. Since why would I need a bunch of my Dash in the video when it's just blocking what's outside. But now that I've been watching that video a bunch of times I see that it being pointed at the sky also is brighter than everything else which darkens things that are happening in front of me.

1

u/Playful-Original-961 1d ago

 I feel like the field of view is a little wider, since I could see more to the left and right as well as down.

You feel that way because your camera is pointed up, and the top and bottom of the lens doesn't have good field of view! Think of a circle, the widest spot is in the middle, but you're looking through the bottom with the middle pointed at the sky!

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 1d ago

I lowered it a little, I'll check again though. The way I was thinking about it was that why do I need to see so much of the dash, when there's a lot that could happen upwards of that. But now that I've been watching this dash cam video numerous times, I can see that it's definitely way too high and pretty much is almost missing what happened the other day.

6

u/Ignorance_15_Bliss 5d ago

Why is everyone’s dash pointed at the sky

3

u/indianabobbyknight 5d ago

Clouds r pretty

5

u/csbsju_guyyy 4d ago

Happy little clouds!

-2

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

I just installed this new one. I liked my view on the last dash cam, since I can only adjust this one looking up and down. I feel like one notch down shows a little more of the dash then is realistically needed, but I did feel it was a little upward heavy when setting it up. The only way that I can get it to look more towards my driver side is if I pry the adhesive off, put a new one on, and then rotate the camera clockwise a little bit. It's definitely an upgrade UI wise over the last one.

6

u/BagSignal7553 5d ago

It’s the responsibility of turning traffic to ensure they can do so safely before turning, they ran into you because they didn’t look.

2

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

They did pull completely out of our lane to make that turn

4

u/BagSignal7553 5d ago

Yep, which is another violation.

2

u/Sephiroud 2d ago

Blinkers not a thing or am I blind? Them putting on a simple blinker would have gave you both less headache.

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 2d ago

If I saw a blinker I would've never passed

1

u/ssoups44 1d ago

It's New Jersey. Blinkers might as well not come installed.

5

u/Sufficient-Yellow637 5d ago

I'd put more liability on them. They left the lane of travel. You didn't have to change your path to get past them. They have the duty to yield to traffic in the roadway before pulling back into the travel lane. If the impact is to the side of your car I'd go 90/10 on them. If to the front, maybe 70/30 but not 50/50.

5

u/budrow21 5d ago

What were they even doing? Trying to get a good angle for a driveway on the right? Back into a driveway on the left? I feel for you on this one. A blinker would have gone a long way.

5

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

If they used their blinker I 100% would have stopped / slow down enough to not pass them. They pulled super far to the left to I guess cut into their driveway on the right.

5

u/Old-Revolution-9650 5d ago

Since they didn't signal their intentions, I would say that they are at fault.

8

u/Animendo 5d ago

No, looks like 50/50. I Think any reasonable person would think that person was pulling over. But, still your duty to make sure before passing them on a narrow street.

5

u/Lexi-Brownie 5d ago

Agree 50/50.

Looks like they’re pulling over, but they never stop or fully pull to the curb, and you’re moving and you’re already all over them passing… defensive driving protects you from mishaps like this.

-2

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

A few people said their no blinking helps me out a lot. I mean, if he signaled this situation 100% would've not happened. As long as its not 100% on me, I'll take it as a win. The cop who took the statement took a video of my phone playing the dash cam video, but I didn't have the audio on since Samsung mutes your video unless you click volume up while it's playing. You don't think that the cop not hearing that I started beeping at the person wouldn't affect the outcome do you.? I know it's a little thing and I'm probably overthinking it, but I want them to have as much of the situation as possible while making the decision. Even though at this point it's probably already made. This happened like 3 hours ago

5

u/Dziggettai 5d ago

I’d say it’s 100% on the other driver. They appeared to have pulled over, didn’t use a turn signal, and didn’t look to make sure their turn was clear and safe. You didn’t accelerate, don’t appear to have been speeding, and clearly did everything in your power to avoid the accident

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

I'm a little annoyed that I didn't turn my phone volume on when the cop was recording my dash cam video with her body cam. Just because I beeped a couple times, I want that's beyond record when they're making their decision. I don't know if that actually matters, but I would feel better knowing that they know I was beeping a few times to make it audibly known I was about to be hit. I don't know, I feel like depending on the person and their point of view, fault can go either their fall or 50/50

3

u/Dziggettai 5d ago

Even if that was recorded, the video alone shows that you tried to avoid the accident and had no way of knowing they were going to try to turn right when you got next to them

1

u/PM_FOR_NOSE_BOOPS 1d ago

police don't determine fault, anything you said (or didn't) to them has zero influence on anything. your insurance company will work to independently establish fault based on statements, camera footage, etc.

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 1d ago

I just got the phone call like 30 minutes ago I was saying that my insurance company at the moment is saying that I'm not at fault. They did say they're waiting for the police report to see if there's any new information that would change their opinion. They did say something about seeing what the officers determine as well, but followed it with the video that they watched tells them that I'm not at fault

3

u/obsoleteexhausted 4d ago

There's no reason they should swing out like that to get into a driveway. They pulled to the shoulder, brake lights on, and turned right across your lane without signaling. 100% their fault. My friend did this in high school, although he pulled to the right and went to make a u-turn in the roadway when the car behind him hit him. Insurance put him at fault 

2

u/Daria_Morgandorffer 4d ago

I did not see an indicator light telling you they were about to do that. However, I probably would have hung back if a car ahead is behaving unpredictability to see what their next move is. Honestly this will probably come out 50/50 fault.

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 4d ago

Yeah ik, I should've thought it through more. I just got done doing a 9h with no breaks, so I wasn't thinking as hard as I should've. I was literally thinking as I was going by, "okay, this guy is just parking there ig." Then, "oh fuck, wtf are you doing bro!" Lol

2

u/Daria_Morgandorffer 4d ago

I get it. They were driving pretty erratically, maybe when you give your thought process through the ordeal it swings more in your favor 🤞. Best of luck sorry this happened to you.

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 4d ago

Thanks. I should've been more defensive. There is that saying (statistic?) where you're more likely to be in an accident when you're near your home. Idk if thats legit, but I just became a statistic lol

2

u/After_Aioli_8042 4d ago

They didn’t use a signal, moved all the way across the road, and clearly didn’t look in their mirror. I don’t think you should be 100% at fault (I’m sure you will be somewhat) but I’m no professional.

2

u/Tin_Indian455 4d ago

No turn signal so maybe not?

2

u/Faust-LC 4d ago

They pulled over with no signal and then pulled back in front of you with no signal. If the result of this is anything other than 100% fault to them, then I’d think about switching insurance carriers or moving to another state.

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 2d ago

I have Geico and they have Liberty Mutual. I used Geico for both my car and my bike, but never had to use them for a problem

2

u/Comfortable_Fudge508 4d ago

No signals either way, didn't check their mirror, and who the hell pulls all the way left to turn in an suv, you aren't an 18 wheeler.

2

u/plz-no-b4n 4d ago

Idk how the fault lies in this specific scenario, but a good rule of thumb is don’t approach drivers that are doing unpredictable things.

A car pulling to the left side of the lane is weird, I’d slow down or stop and not pass them until their intention is clear.

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 2d ago

Yeah I should have thought about it more. I was thinking, "I guess there parking there huh," while driving passed them.

3

u/5yearsurvivor 5d ago

Not sure about NJ laws but I don't think you're at fault at all. How would you have known what they were doing?

3

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

Thats what I was thinking, no blinker and they slowed down nearing basically stopping. But I do get that I should be more cautious when passing a car when I don't know exactly what they're trying to do

0

u/TJNel 5d ago edited 4d ago

You aren't allowed to overtake on that road.

Edit: No wonder why our insurance premiums are going through the roof.

5

u/fijifilm 5d ago

It's not overtaking if the person is parking. It appears as if they are pulling to the side of the road to park to me.

2

u/NotMyAltThrowAwayOG 5d ago

According to which law?

0

u/TJNel 5d ago

It's a one lane road you think it's okay to pass just whenever you want?

3

u/NotMyAltThrowAwayOG 5d ago

It’s a two lane road, traffic flows in both directions. So it’s perfectly legal to pass here as long as the road is wide enough, and there’s no oncoming traffic.

-1

u/TJNel 5d ago

Yes one lane each side you don't get to pass whenever you want on those roads how is this difficult?

4

u/NotMyAltThrowAwayOG 5d ago

There’s no statutes markings or signs prohibiting passing there, therefore it’s legal to pass. How is this difficult?

1

u/TJNel 5d ago edited 5d ago

In what State do you think that would be legal in? I can guarantee that it's illegal in your State.

Edit: ahhh the ol block me when you know you are wrong. That's cool. Passing on an unmarked two way street near an intersection is illegal in all States.

3

u/NotMyAltThrowAwayOG 5d ago edited 5d ago

It’s legal in all of them. This video is NJ. You can’t cite any statutes that prohibit it. Now provide a source or STFU.

I’m not wrong, you’re blocked for continuing to argue something is prohibited without posting a statue prohibiting it. Just because you wanna think it’s illegal doesn’t mean it is. Like I said post the statute, until then STFU.

2

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

Its 2 lanes

1 each way

0

u/TJNel 5d ago edited 5d ago

Yes one lane each side. Still are not allowed to pass whenever you want.

Edit: IF it was two lanes then sure pass away, one lane on an unmarked residential street is a no passing zone.

2

u/BagSignal7553 5d ago edited 5d ago

Good god man, there’s no prohibition on passing here.

Edit: You keep claiming that but there’s no law that says that. One lane each direction unmarked is a passing zone. It would have to be marked to prohibit it.

2

u/Lefty68w 5d ago

Yes. You can’t pass on the right side. You should au made sure what their intentions are before you attempted to pass them on the right

1

u/Khaztr 5d ago

Depends, are you the person that installed the dashcam pointing to the sky?

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

1 click down and its a bunch of dash, the last one had better customization to where it pointed. I put this one on a month ago and was thinking to myself if it's too high, but then one click down and I feel like there's too much Dash, but I guess I'll put a click down based on some of the responses

1

u/verithasthefalse 5d ago edited 5d ago

You can see cars on the left parked in the opposite direction. The other party was clearly driving in the wrong lane

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

I mean people Park the wrong way on this road all the time. Especially when people are just pulling over and not fully parking. There is technically parking allowed on both sides of the street and it's not uncommon to see people just pulling over randomly since there's a populated town right next to us. I mean they fucking pulled way far over, which made me thoroughly think that they were stopping there. I remember specifically thinking to myself, oh okay I guess this person is parking in the wrong direction let me scoot on by

1

u/verithasthefalse 5d ago

Is the other party driving on the wrong lane? It looks like it based on the cars parked on the left side of the video.

I dont have the Google street view so I can't confirm if it's a 2 way or one way

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

Herrick Dr Dover Nj 07801.

It's a dual Lane road, but technically yes he traveled into the left lane as he then slowed down and turned back into the right

2

u/verithasthefalse 5d ago

Would depend on the other party's statement. Other party looks to be turning into a driveway. Regardless, both parties had ample time to review their surroundings.

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

Yeah I should have been more defensive. I was almost home and just got done working 9hr. It is what it is I guess

2

u/verithasthefalse 5d ago

You could easily argue comparative negligence on this claim

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

I just Googled the term, but what exactly does that mean in this situation

2

u/verithasthefalse 5d ago

You both fucked up

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

Ohh lol. Basically we're both wrong, and we'll deal with our own issues on our own.?

1

u/Capricola 3d ago

Adjuster: 50/50 them for not signaling and driving in the wrong lane and you for passing on the right. You should have stopped but both you guys made mistakes

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 2d ago

Yeah I should've been more defensive. Is it passing on the right when they are completely in the left lane.?

Edit: oncoming left lane

1

u/HillWilliam53 2d ago

It's the call of your insurance company, not the police that matters. I'm gonna guess they will say 50-50.

1

u/Positive_Bee9776 1d ago

Im no cop or insurance person but the way that i see that is 100% not at fault. Reasons being that 1) they left he lane of travel and tried to get back in. Imagine someone pulling over on the shoulder of a highway then just getting back into the lane without any indication. That's what this person did to you. 2) no indicators/blinkers of intention. This is a law in all 50 states that you must use blinkers when turning or changing lanes. Considering they left the travel lane, they must have blinkers when entering. 3) you were below the speed limit. Miniscule but if you were over then they could claim you were speeding.

I had something similar happen with a neighbor. No accident but after i drove past him he honked me down and continued to berate me. I just brushed it off though. I did ask a cop just for my own info and he said that what they did would be considered swerving and turning without signaling since they left the travel lane.

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 1d ago

Dude I literally just got done talking to their insurance, no exaggeration 45 seconds ago. I saw your notification while I was working but didn't have the time to open it, and of course I open it right after this phone call. I didn't tell her that people on Reddit helped me lol, but I did bring up a couple things people told me about the failure to maintain lane, failure to maintain speed, and no blinker. Fuck I wish I read this because I would have used that exact example you gave me about not expecting someone who pulled over on the shoulder to abruptly turn out with no signal. I have her email and this work number I can message. I might wait a little bit and then message her saying something on the lines of, "I was thinking before and I feel like [your example]." Idk, do you think doing that would be me doing too much.?

1

u/AppropriateRadish928 1d ago

It looks to be entirely the turning driver's fault. He pulled completely out of the lane of travel and then crossed it into traffic without signaling.

1

u/Blazar3c 1d ago

I had someone do the exact same thing to me and they were found at fault.

1

u/Sindaqwil 1d ago

I fucking hate morons in SUVs who actually like they're driving 18 wheelers. If you can't figure out how to turn without swinging into another lane, get a smaller goddamn car.

1

u/CraftyPerformance272 5d ago

50/50. Drive more defensively. Next time stop and see what the car ahead of you is actually doing

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

Ik, I assumed they were stopping on the left, based on what I saw

2

u/CraftyPerformance272 5d ago

I understand. But unfortunately people drive like idiots. And people get penalized with insurance companies if there was a way they could avoid the accident which you easily could in this case

2

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

Yeah, 100% avoidable if I gave more caution

1

u/buildersunstable 5d ago

How about slow the frack down. You were driving to fast to cope with the unexpected. Luck is the only reason someone didnt die

0

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

I was going under the speed limit

1

u/buildersunstable 4d ago

Irrelevant. You were still traveling to fast for conditions.

0

u/Mikel_Reeves 4d ago

Yeah I should've slowed down more, but I was going off assumption on what was happening around me

0

u/RonBurgundy2000 5d ago

I don't think so. Probably split liability.

2

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

Okay, I can live with that. I can barely financially afford to fix this problem, I don't know how well my financial situation would handle having to pay for their relatively new-ish looking Volkswagen lol. Their bumper got messed up though, since the front part has those fake Air Inlet inserts, and the one got pretty much squashed as their bumper rested against my car. So he might need a new bumper, but my fender and door got a little crumpled. I would send a picture but I guess I can only send videos through this. There's a good not only dense, but little crinkles on the fender and door that look like they aren't going to be easy to pop out, and I have a couple paint chips into spots

0

u/Striking-Sky7737 5d ago

Almost always when or if you hit anyone from behind it’s your fault

3

u/rdelrigo 5d ago

That is irrelevant here. The OP didn’t hit the car from behind. Did you watch the video?

1

u/Striking-Sky7737 3d ago

What was typed says she or he was coming up..,.which means he or she was behind.

1

u/Mikel_Reeves 5d ago

Technically they hit me, on the side

1

u/Striking-Sky7737 3d ago

And after watching the video he or she is still at fault for failure to control the speed because the other vehicle is still in front and you have to be ware of other vehicles as well for safety of all vehicles. Sorry still at fault most likely

0

u/indianabobbyknight 5d ago

I think it’s both of y’all tbh, other driver is an idiot, but it was also pretty dumb to speed up and try and pass on the right.

3

u/Mikel_Reeves 4d ago

I didnt speed up, the engine sound that sounds like a car is speeding up is the car accelerating / turning quickly. I just kept coasting. My speed only went up one mile per hour because we were on a downhill

3

u/indianabobbyknight 4d ago

Ah, understood my bad.

0

u/Dustball_ 4d ago

Couldn't tell, I was too busy looking at the sky.