# Ever been hit by a car? Was it your fault? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 30, 2018, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470 "2018-03-30T12:56:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/41 "2018-03-30T21:20:55Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Please tell me \*\*Inigo \*\*how the driver is not 100% at fault, No, I won’t tell you that. In part because I’ve stated elsewhere it is my intent in this thread to NOT do that, but also because your scenario is reasonably equivalent to > [@OP](#): > > **bombing through a crowded intersection** ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/42 "2018-03-30T21:32:02Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Although I have reached the same decision since I moved to the U.S., I’d just like to add that it doesn’t have to be this way. I grew up un the U.K., raced bikes when I was a youngster, rode my bike daily for many miles for many years around the U.K., and on trips to continental Europe. I had the odd skirmish with an asshole driver of course, but really no more so than when driving a car. I never felt my life was seriously in danger, and the only collision I recall was being brushed by a wing mirror once. > > Other countries have a culture of being far more respectful to cyclists on the road. The appalling attitude in the U.S. is not fundamental to human nature. And the behavior of some cyclists in the US is appalling. Would that they were all like **Iggy** upthread, following the rules a moving vehicle is supposed to follow. That DOESN’T mean I would ever act irresponsibly as a driver around them, but it is disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/43 "2018-03-30T21:36:38Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > No, I won’t tell you that. In part because I’ve stated elsewhere it is my intent in this thread to NOT do that, but also because your scenario is reasonably equivalent to Then maybe you should have actually responded to the multiple people who have asked what you meant by “bombing through a crowded intersection” and if that simply meant a car running a red light. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/44 "2018-03-30T22:09:47Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I once had someone, at a stop sign, wave for me to cross the street. Right when I was in front of their car (a Blazer maybe) they hit the gas. They weren’t going overly fast, but they pushed me probably 10 or 15 feet. > I mean, who knows, maybe they thought I was waiting and they weren’t watching, but it sure felt like it was on purpose. > > In any case, that was probably 20 years ago and to this day I still get a little anxious when someone waves for me to walk in front of their car. I get anxious when someone waves me ahead of them and that’s never happened to me (yet)! I know they think they are being courteous but from my perspective they are forcing me to put my safety in their hands. I also hate when I am walking and a vehicle stops at in intersection and doesn’t move when they have the opportunity. I don’t want to walk in front of them in case they suddenly decide to go. They also usually stop firmly before the sidewalk so it is a pain to walk around them. I did, however, experience something _vaguely_ similar to what you experienced and it was the douchebaggiest thing anyone’s ever done to me (meaning, it’s the jerkiest thing anyone’s done to me for no reason that still didn’t do any damage.) I was walking in downtown Orlando and there was a green light with a car stopped several car lengths in front of it with no other cars on the road. I could either cross or go around it, so I walked in front of it very carefully and the motherfelcher _laid on the fucking horn long and hard_. I jumped back onto the sidewalk and they still had their car stopped. I walked behind the car and crossed the street behind it, and the light was still green and they still hadn’t moved :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/45 "2018-03-30T22:19:24Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I was walking in downtown Orlando and there was a green light with a car stopped several car lengths in front of it with no other cars on the road. I could either cross or go around it, so I walked in front of it very carefully and the motherfelcher _laid on the fucking horn long and hard_. I jumped back onto the sidewalk and they still had their car stopped. I walked behind the car and crossed the street behind it, and the light was still green and they still hadn’t moved :rolleyes: That’s just Florida. Bugs, tourists, and crazy people. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/46 "2018-03-30T23:00:43Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > No, I won’t tell you that. In part because I’ve stated elsewhere it is my intent in this thread to NOT do that, but also because your scenario is reasonably equivalent to So can you answer my question? If it’s about power imbalances, then are cars always more negligent than lorries/trucks? If a car drives into a space where the truck couldn’t reasonably see them, sure, but the same applies in law for pedestrians and cyclists. But that doesn’t mean truck drivers are never the bad guys when it comes to collisions with cars. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/47 "2018-03-30T23:23:14Z")
Twice, when I was a kid, both times on my bike. Both times were due to me being a dumbass. The first time, I came flying around a corner and jumped off a curb at the end of someone’s driveway, head-on into a car that was just pulling away. The second time was in a parking lot, I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t see the car until I almost flew out in front of it. I hit my brakes and skidded sideways, and side-swiped the car. Both times just shook me up and left me bruised. Now, as far as being on the other end… One night I was coming around the corner to park in front of my restaurant, which was downtown in a well-lit area. My light was green as I was making the right turn, of course I slowed down to make sure no one was in the crosswalk. I can’t remember if I looked away or what, but as I proceeded I hit someone. The funny thing (looking back on it) was, as the guy was sprawling across my hood and his face planted on my windshield, the thought went through my head “hey… I know that dude…” It was Adam, one of the owners of the tattoo parlor across the street from my restaurant. I got out of the car saying something like “holy shit man, I’m so sorry, I never saw you…” he jumped up off the ground, clenched his fists and looked at me for a split second like he was going to attack me, then grabbed his skateboard, jumped on, and took off, never saying a word. I was flabbergasted. I parked my car, and went straight over to the tattoo parlor to talk to the other guys there, to tell them I just ran over their friend and was a bit concerned about it. They said Adam had gotten a phone call and suddenly said he had to leave. He didn’t come back that night. I was a wreck. The next day when I arrived at work, I went over to the tattoo parlor first, and Adam was there. It turned out that phone call was from his girlfriend: her mother had just died. So he was trying to get to her as fast as he could. That’s why he flew out on front of me without looking, and why he left the scene without a word. He didn’t want any delay. I accepted full responsibility for hitting him, but he wasn’t hurt, so that was that. We shook hands and everything was cool between us. I still accept responsibility, even though I think I did everything right. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/48 "2018-03-30T23:29:18Z")
I was hit once. It was the fault of the other driver, who ran a stop sign. He probably couldn’t read the word STOP. No ID, no license, no insurance, the car was borrowed and he _could barely speak English._ The car owner arrived and interpreted but because he couldn’t produce ID he got hauled off in cuffs to the station until he could prove who he was. At least the owner had insurance. Maybe the dude got sent back south, but I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/49 "2018-03-31T00:43:05Z")
One other time on a bicycle. Shortly after we moved her to Taiwan from Japan, I was taking my kids to preschool on a bicycle. We were waiting at the intersection for a red light and when the light turned green, I checked for traffic and took off. A woman on a scooter flew through what was now her red light and nailed us, knocking the bike over. Because it was a heavy bike and I had two preschoolers on it, there was absolutely nothing I could have done, even had I been tracking her with radar. Oh, and you want to know how to get screamed at? Endanger a parent’s children like that. We all had helmets and the kids were both strapped into their seats, but they were crying because of the fright from suddenly getting knocked over. Because it was a woman I simply screamed at her, but I could see how I may have totally lost it had it been a guy. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/50 "2018-03-31T00:58:22Z")
I just got hit this morning. This area is pretty bike friendly, there’s bike lanes everywhere. However, this guy decided he was making a right turn across the bike lane whether anyone else was there or not. He saw me at the last second, and stopped just in time to knock my back wheel sideways a foot or 2. I wasn’t hurt, and my bike was hardly damaged, just a little scraped paint. But it scared the heck out of me. I never saw him coming at all. He drove off without looking back. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/51 "2018-03-31T00:59:11Z")
I’ve been hit twice while bicycling. Both times, the driver assumed responsibility, but the first time, I was probably partly at fault. I was riding on the sidewalk (this was back when I was a teenager), on the left side of the street. The light was green for me, but the driver was making a right turn. She slammed on her brakes as soon as she saw me, and I had only minor injuries, but my bike was a wreck. The second time was all the driver’s fault. We were both approaching the intersection (no traffic light, no stop sign), from opposite directions. I was going straight; she was turning left. She says that she didn’t see me, but I suspect that she did see me, and accidentally hit the wrong pedal, because it seemed like she was speeding up just before the collision. That time, I was unhurt, and only had to replace one wheel. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/52 "2018-03-31T01:17:41Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > …this is one sort of situation I have never been able to wrap my head around–where pedestrians insist the car is at fault for running them over, and not their fault for getting themselves in front of a moving car. You qualify for piloting a HOV, huge ocean-going vessel. They can’t stop as quickly as cars. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/53 "2018-03-31T01:49:57Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I get anxious when someone waves me ahead of them and that’s never happened to me (yet)! I know they think they are being courteous but from my perspective they are forcing me to put my safety in their hands. In that situation you shake your head, and if they don’t get the hint, pointedly look away from the road until they drive off. Given as one poster here has pointed out, New Hampshire’s unofficial driving motto seems to be “polite to the point of dangerousness,” I do it all the time while on foot and I’ve yet to have anyone get out of their car and force me to cross the road. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/54 "2018-03-31T02:02:54Z")
I was hit by a car at age 11, running across a rural highway to play with the neighbor kids. Could have been partly my fault; I thought I had time to get across. But mostly the drivers fault. He admitted that he was speeding (70-75 on a 65 m/h limit) and that he was looking at the horses in our pasture at the time. He was a large supplier to my parents business. He (his insurance) ended up paying a settlement to me, that was held till I turned 21. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/55 "2018-03-31T03:41:22Z")
Several times as a cyclist, and a couple of times as a pedestrian. Each time it was a driver doing something illegal to save a few seconds. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/56 "2018-03-31T03:47:54Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > … this is one sort of situation I have never been able to wrap my head around–where pedestrians insist the car is at fault for running them over, and not their fault for getting themselves in front of a moving car. Do you feel the same about car drivers who get themselves in front of another car and getting rear-ended? What about car drivers who crash into a car that came out of a side street right in front of them? Or car drivers who let themselves get hit by another driver who ran a red light? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/57 "2018-04-12T18:59:04Z")
Yes, and “sort of” my fault. To be fair, I was four years old at the time, so my judgment may not have been the best. And of course being four years old, I may not have been the most visible target for driver to see. This actually happened when my father took all of us kids to church one Sunday. At one point I realized that one of my brothers was gone, I asked dad where my brother had gone, and dad said “communion”. "I had no idea where “communion” was, so I decided to go look for him – in the car, which was parked a block away, across the busy street. I got to the car okay, he wasn’t there, so I headed back to church. Crossing that last Street, I was thumped by a car. I only have a vague memory of it, the next thing I realized, I was sitting on the steps in front church and my father and several other people were there. I must not even have been bruised much, and apparently I never said anything about it at the time, because when I was about 18 I was talking to mom and mentioned the incident. She was horrified; it turns out dad never said anything about it to her. Yeah, she tore him a new one! All that said: I do believe that in many car versus pedestrian incidents, there is “blame” on both sides. Even if the pedestrian is doing everything he or she can follow the rules, the sad truth is you have to be prepared for the drivers to not be following the rules and be prepared to jump out of the way if possible. I myself was nearly hit once when crossing in front of a car that was waiting to turn out of the parking lot. The driver was looking to the left, and I was approaching from his right. Of course I had the legal right of way to cross in front of him, but he didn’t look to the right before he began to make his turn. As a result, I had to jump back very quickly to avoid getting run over. In hindsight, the safer thing for me to do, would’ve been to walk behind the car so the driver could pull out unimpeded. Of course, it’s not always possible. But it’s much the same as when you’re driving: even if you follow the rules, and are generally driving safely, you need to be prepared to react to other drivers’ idiocy when possible. A very bad part of me, however, when a pedestrian does something blatantly wrong or stupid, wishes that it was legal to remove them from the gene pool. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/58 "2018-04-12T19:03:49Z")
This is probably far too mild to count, but when I was a teenager I was grazed by a motorcycle and the handlebar hit my chest. I think it was a combination of me being too much “into the street” and the moped rider being too much into the curb/sidewalk, so we were both 1/2 at fault. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/59 "2018-04-14T06:27:47Z")
Once it was my fault. Back in West Texas, I failed to make a traffic light in time and ended up running it. The cross traffic had started when the light turned green for them, so the lead car ended up running into my side rear. It was only because I’d run the light that he hit me, so it was definitely my fault. Minor damage thankfully, but scary as it sent me spinning around. ---
**Author:** ![HowSoonIsThen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@HowSoonIsThen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HowSoonIsThen)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470/60 "2018-04-14T12:11:58Z")
Never hit, but came close. Stepped in front of one when I was about 12 or 13. Looked to my right (I’m from Australia) then my left, cars kept coming from my left, and when they finally stopped I forgot to look right again. Guy in the car managed to stop. If I had been hit it clearly would’ve been my fault. Some people have brought up cyclists, so I guess the time I almost hit a motorbike is semi related. I was driving down a one way street with rear to kerb parking on both sides. There was a spot on the right, so I indicated (to the right - but really only so that people knew I was going to park) and started to reverse. I swung out a bit to the left to position myself, which is never a problem considering it’s a one lane street. Except this time a motorcyclist behind me decided he was going to pass me on my left, so he had to break quite suddenly when my swerve blocked his path. Boy, was he mad. Partial resonsibility on my end for failing to take into account he would do something stupid like that, but the brunt of the responsibility is on his end for doing something stupid like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-hit-by-a-car-was-it-your-fault/811470.md?page=2)