A friend sent photos of his Cultus in the morning with banged up front end. He was on his way to the office and rear ended a Suzuki Ravi. Messed up his front end, and now needs a new bonnet.
It is a general rule that the one who hits from the back, is generally at fault but in a country like ours, when a bike or a car can swerve to pop out in front of you, or someone in front could decide then and there to stop in the fast lane and look around at the ‘scenery’. What ascertains here that the guy who hit from the back is at fault? Yes, he/she should keep a safe minimum distance of at least two cars or follow the three second rule however; you can expect all sorts of antics on the Pakistani roads.
Basically, auto accidents are usually evaluated from the standpoint of “who was most capable of preventing this accident?” There is a pretty well-known presumption that rear-end car accidents are always the fault of the driver who rear ended the car in front. This is not always the case. It is possible for the driver of the car that gets rear-ended to be negligent as well. For example; the driver at front reversed unexpectedly. Perhaps the hit car’s brake lights did not work. Or a driver stopped suddenly to make a turn and failed to execute the turn. And also if his/her vehicle broke down and he failed moved it to safety or warn the traffic behind properly.
Similarly, what happened with my Cultus friend was that he just crossed the busiest road-cut on the road of his neighboor and just as he accelerated, the car at the front, a Vitz, decided to stop in the fast lane, in the middle of the road to have a look around or something. The Suzuki Ravi between me and him, barely stopped and I rear ended the Ravi. The driver of the Vitz knowing of his mistake fled the scene and everyone flocked to the scene while the on guy sitting on Ravi’s rear bed was hurting like a fish in the water while holding his back so I asked the Ravi guys to rush him to the hospital and everyone else just left because the guy at fault had absconded.
In each of these instances, the driver of the car that gets rear-ended is likely to be considered at least partially negligent, if not fully. The legal impact of that driver’s negligence will depend on how much that driver’s carelessness added to the collision. In those instances, the hit car’s driver may have some comparative or contributory negligence in the collision.
In a way, the trend of dashcams brought to us by Russians to document accidents so the court of law can determine who is at fault, is also fast becoming a necessary item in not just the world but Pakistan as well. Its a must have given how motorcyclists are passive aggressive and we generally act with rage.
So yeah, as much as we like to blame the one at the end, keep in mind you might have had the hand in the accident as well. If you had been in a similar accident, please do share your experience in the comment section below.
it is a general rule not just in pakistan but all over the world but it is not always true… anyways, this is why when i drive, slow or fast, i foot is always ready to press the brakes more than the accelerator or the clutch… one mistake that most people do is brake with the clutch also, which is never a good idea, as the car will get light and unstable and you are better off only braking till you need to press the clutch to change the great into a lower gear… stay away from the clutch as much as possible and have your mind be always alert to press the brake as you never know
your friend should have kept more space between the cars…
Your idea of a dashcam is good. But Pakistani laws are so primitive that video evidence isn’t admissible in court. So even if you have a video which proves your innocence, it’s of no use
So just because it was a friend, lets take another look at whose fault it really is, interesting.
It was your friend’s fault. He should have kept ample distance to stop. It’s a free world and a driver can do as they please as long as it’s in the traffic rules. And nowhere does it say that it’s a crime to brake in the fast lane unnecessarily, there could be a dangerous bug in the car or it might be in a state of malfunction or danger. Passing judgement without facts is uncalled for.
Good point
In our country a large number of people don’t follow any traffic rules. So the best thing is to drive slowly and keep a safe distance from another car.
agree with you. my Honda city was hit from rear end by a cuore and driver was clumsy to brake. It happened on canal road Lahore near jail road underpass. I could see him in back view mirror not applying brakes in time and hitting me.
One of the reasons I’ve ordered a dashcam to go with my Car 🙂
In a land of liars and morally corrupt (read: people who flee the scene after causing havoc, or outright lying and blaming you for their mistake,) you have to do the evidence collection yourself.
Pretty sure no one can deny your video evidence if it clearly shows who is at fault.
I live in karachi or yahan keh jitni kharab driving hai utni poore pakistan mein nai hoti hai yahan daily aksar gmera accident hote hote bachta hai reason age ki gari ki brake light kharab hoti hain mene aksar logon ko rokke bola hai keh bhai lights thek karalo mager detht loog hain nai karte aik to mere area ki corolla hai 2006 ki 2 dafa bola hai mager asahi chala raha hai loog 20rupees ka bulb lagana ka kharcha nai karte or pher ager lag jaye koi peche se marde tu uske gale lag jate hain
The argument here. You are not the culprit always. I’ve seen people jump from middle to fast land and press on the brakes. How is it than the fault of the car behind? See there are scenarios. Dashcam guys. The idiots will otherwise drive on snail pace and brake whenever they want.
The distance was kept. But see the scenario: Most busy cut, you accelerate and the carry, which has no lights and beyond which you can’t see, jerks to brake because the Vitz ahead just braked hard in the fast lane. There was two cars distance at least.
I think dashcam is to early to bring in Karachi, especially when both the parties make their own decision not the law enforcement. the research says that 60 to 70 present of driver/riders has no lane sense, reason is simple driving is not learned from professional driving schools, people starts driving after having few tips from fnf and most of them doesn’t own driving licence. They hit breaks and the moment car stops that is their parking spot without realizing their car is blocking half of the road or doing 20-40 km in fast lane. If law enforcement can do something about this i believe the ratio of accidents and traffic in Karachi would reduce then what we all are facing now.
‘The distance was kept’
then how did he ended up crashing into the car? hmm?