Watched a parking lot accident and wondered...

[ABC123]

I was in the parking lot of my local YMCA. I put my baby in the car and noticed another member who was getting in their car about two cars down from me. I thought that I need to be aware if she backs out while I do to be sure we do not collide. I started to back up when I saw a car that stopped behind me. They were traveling down the lane and just stopped behind me to let some get in their car. I thought that was rude. Why did they not pick the person up in the round about outside the entrance. Then I saw the other member that was two cars down back into the car that was stopped behind me. Trust me I was not enjoying the wait with a screaming baby in the car. I got out of the car soon after, because they were all out of their cars discussing it while I was waiting to back out. Thankfully the passage that was getting picked up told their friend to move the car, so I could leave. The car that stopped in the lane should be at fault correct? At fault for stopping in an active lane. Not the lady that backed into her.

 

[missbishi]

Hmm, that's a tricky one. On one hand, the car behind you should have found somewhere appropriate to stop. However, the woman who was reversing out should have checked more carefully before she manouevred.

 

[DancingLady]

Pretty sure backing into someone is your fault unless there is some obvious reason why you couldn't have prevented that. My mom backed into a car that was parked on top of a gigantic yellow NO PARKING paint because it is a blind spot for the parking spaces on the other side. The insurance not only said it was her fault, they refused to renew her policy, and she had never had an accident or ticket in her 30+ years of driving.

 

[JoanMcWench]

Yea, it's not as clear cut as one would assume. If she backed into the other person & that person did not immediately stop in the way of her backing up it may be the fault of the person backing up. It's like establishing residency but in the sense of car position.

 

[thegrey1]

You're right in stating that the person who parked behind you was rude. However, the person who hit them should be at fault. After all, YOU stopped and looked in order not to collide with anybody, right? The person two cars down should have been as cautious as you were.