Yesterday I was in line at the gas station waiting for the cars in front of mine to get gas and leave so I could pull up. My tank is on the drivers side so I was sitting with the correct flow of traffic. When the car in front of mine left I procedded to pull strait to the first pump so the car behind me could also get to the pump.
Before I made it all the way to the pump this car comes out of no where and pulls in front of me with it’s front enr facing mine so it was goaing against the flow of traffic. I had stopped my car before they hit me and it became a stalmate. I would not back up because of the car behind me and they refused to back up so I could go foward. After a good 4 minutes one of the gas attendants told them to move. They then backed away and both driver and passenger gave me the finger.
What I want to know is If I had failed to stop in time and the cars collided who would have been at fault?
Would the correct terminolgy be this person hit me or I hit them.
Yes it is illegal in NJ to pump your own gas, what happens is you pull up to the pump or get in a line of cars then stop at the pump and wait for the gas pumper to come over and pump your gas.
I don’t know that there is a standard right of way or flow of traffic at a gas station.
That said, it seems that if you both were driving toward each other, and neither of you were going faster than is safe for the conditions, and neither of you had any reason or ability to see the other before colliding, then you would probably end up each paying your own damages, which should be negligible given the slow speeds involved.
IIRC, inasmuch as you’re on private property, e.g. the gas station lot, rules of the road don’t apply. Each party would elect to repair their own vehicle less deductible. In the event of a large claim, then the insurance company would subrogate, but that’s a different matter.
As I understand this , in NJ they’d each end up paying their own damages anyway (or their their respective insurance companies would) – NJ has (limited) no-fault auto insurance.
IMHO, the person that pulled in and blocked you off was being a total jerk. But “city rules” can be “might makes right”, so I don’t know how to make the call. It is extremely annoying to have someone butt in front of you just because you aren’t as aggressive as they are, that’s why I don’t live in the city anymore. FWIW.
All other factors being equal, Bearflag70’s on the right track. Private property, such as you find in almost any parking lot, is generally unburdened by traffic laws. In this particular case, an accident would not have much of a criminal aspect unless there were another activity involving something besides cars & drivers–assault, for instance. Because there “ain’t no crime if there ain’t no law” cops typically won’t make an appearance at a parking lot accident unless there are injuries or some possibility that a (applicable) law has been violated.
That said, there is always the possibility of civil law taking over. The other guy might have decided no to stop despite having ample time to do so. Assuming he was travelling at a prudent speed but just chose to ram you, there would still be a breach of duty to avoid an accident. This would make him negligent, and thus liable for the property damage.
zagloba’s link is a little vague on a couple points. Colorado has not been under a no fault system for over 18 months. When it was, the only thing it addressed was injuries. Property damage was handled under Collision or Property Damage Liability, as appropriate. Only if your medical injuries exceeded $2,500 could you file a suit/pursue a claim for pain & suffering, loss of consortium, etc. I could be wrong, but I’ve not heard of a state where No Fault applies to the cars involved in an accident.
This is a lot more complicated. Here it really depends on the state, and the type of damages.
Michigan is such a state. In Michigan, you can’t sue the other driver for damages to your car. There is an exception to this rule that permits a “mini-tort” against the other driver for up to $500 or the amount of your deductible, whichever is less.
This is the sort of issue that is normally resolved by social convention instead of law. Remember the Seinfeld episode where they are fighting about whether the person who passes the parking spot and prepares to back in gets the spot against the claims of the person trying to pull in front first?
I don’t understand why, if there are attendants pumping the gas, the OP’s situation ‘became a stalemate’ for four minutes before the attendants made the schmuck move?
Reading the OP, and knowing how New Jersey gas stations work, the OP should have been waved up by the attendant when he was finished with the first car. Any moron swooping in from the opposite direction would be refused service at that pump, and directed to the proper pump. Period.
As for the accident aspect, the moron is at fault, should pay, and be sued for negligence, as well.
This station has 4 islands with 2 sets of pumps per island and there was only one person working it. He was ignoring the situation while taking care of all the other cars
It would also make sense to point out that if one treats an island as a median, there is no way that cars with the fuel door on the right side could ever move “in the flow of traffic” at a gas station, because the driver’s side will always be closer to the island/median. The fuel door would always be on the oppose side from the island/median. So, clearly the normal rules of the road can’t apply at a gas station, because otherwise the right-side fill cars could never get any gas.
But, per the specifics of the OP, I’d say that this case fits the rule of thumb that Dopers are in the right 90 percent of the time, and it’s the rest of the world that are ignorant jerks.
(says me, who drives a car with the fuel door on the right)
But in any event, New Jersey no-fault insurance does not appear to prevent third-party suits for property damage. (Looked up the statute earlier, but now the site is down :eek: )
