I don't know about this. When I moved from NY to NJ a couple of years ago, I had to get new insurance coverage as GEICO doesn't insure in NJ. In '96, we were rear-ended by some dummy in a beaten-up Caravan. The traffic had been moving smoothly on the Tri-borough bridge when suddenly it just stopped. Because their was a big van in front of me with no rear windows, I couldn't see the traffic directly ahead. When the van hit the brakes, I did a second or two later. Damn Metal Masters took a while to heat-up, but I finally stopped short of the van. Behind me I could hear skidding. Bam!
Anyway, my wife and I were OK. $2,500 later, so was her car. When I got my NJ insurance the agent said that she needed to know that I had been hit in the rear and that it wasn't my fault. From my insurer's standpoint, at least, the two were not identical. Chris Williams [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [SMTP:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2000 10:32 AM To: W. Lee Hendrick; Stuart Rotblat-Walker Cc: [email protected] Subject: Rear End Collision... --------- I agree, however there are a few exceptions when the person in front would be at fault: inoperative tail/brake-lights, cutting in front of someone and immediately slamming on the brakes, pulling out into fast moving traffic. . . However, common sense, and the law, usually blames the rear-ender, not the rear-endee (make sense?). --------------------- In a front to rear collision - the person in the "back" is *ALWAYS* at fault - at least as far as the insurance is involved. I had a friend who rear ended a car on the NJ-TPK. The driver of the car in front stated that he had STOPPED in the left hand land in moving traffic (aka when 55 was the limit and everyone - esp in the left was going 70+) and HIS TAIL LIGHTS WERE NOT FUNCTIONAL! The driver in the front was given a ticket for defective equipment (NOT a moving violation - and a very small fine - like $25) The driver in front did NOT have to justify why he had stopped (his car had stalled) - that information was irrelevent to the insurance company. The driver in the rear was cited for careless driving (luckily he was a so- so driver and awas able to slow his car down enough so that the accident was merely a "fender bender" and not the more likely dual fatality). So - in a front to rear - the rear always pays. It doenst matter is you were a kidnapper - he caused the accident (and the driver in the rear was NOT a Public Safety officer - so cite for "endangering the public" for following you) I was also involved in a case where some guy "claimed" I was a drunk driver and followed me to a friends house where he "got my license plate" by blocking me in a dead end street (this was when I was 17 and long before cell phones were avail). We were able to get his license plate (actually my buddy - who is now a big time Lawyer in NYC) and proceed to file Carless Driving Following Too Close and a few other tickets - totaling over 12 points (mandatory suspension in NJ at the time). While the case got dragged to the end of the docket over the course of 4 seperate night court sessions, the Judge duly noted that a) we appeared on each night as specified (so did the other driver) b) we dressed nicely (suits) whereas the other driver did not (jeans/T-shirt) Many of the tickets were "thrown out" but the driver was a) slapped with about $300 in charges (though only 3 points total) b) pubicly berated in front of the court by the judge who made him stand in the middle of the court room as he chewed him out big time. It was worth it. Besides - I simply sat quietly in the back and did my home work for school. Best lesson in Civics I ever had.... I reccomend going just for yucks - its the best soap opera in town and its FREE! EWong _____________ List Sponsor: http://www.netsville.com To remove yourself from this list, send mail to [email protected] with 'unsubscribe a2_16v' in the body of your message See us on the web at http://www.a2-16v.com Visit the 16V Homepage at http://www.gti16v.org _____________ List Sponsor: http://www.netsville.com To remove yourself from this list, send mail to [email protected] with 'unsubscribe a2_16v' in the body of your message See us on the web at http://www.a2-16v.com Visit the 16V Homepage at http://www.gti16v.org
