I’m going to throw in an additional opionion, here, though with deference to the swordsman who we’ve learned is also an adjuster.
Everybody has pretty much seen the described situation as having two people at fault:
- The guy pulling into traffic
- The original poster.
I’m seeing three, and my perspective may come from 25+ years on a motorcycle plus the Motorcycle Safety Foundation training I received early on. In the classroom portions of that course, the retired Highway Patrolmen (Motorcycle Division, naturally) emphasized that we should be aware of, and stay out of the blind spots of other drivers on the road. They noted that the rule (not a law, but a good rule to follow) applies regardless of the vehicle you’re controlling. Out here near Los Angeles, it’s almost impossible to stay out of everybody’s blind-spot on the freeway, but there are additional techniques that help and/or make you visible if you have to be in one blind-spot or another.
So I see three people at fault, in order of responsibility if a collision had occurred:
- The guy pulling into traffic. He probably failed to look over his shoulder before moving that car, which is therefore failing to make sure it’s safe before entering traffic.
- The woman sitting in your blind spot. Since you were ahead of her, she could see you without having to even turn her head and/or she saw you as the distance between your front wheels changed.
- The person reacting to #1 whose stupidity could not have been predicted, but not sure where #2 is.
The situation, as described, did not allow time for a head-check (if you don’t know what it is, find out and practice it constantly) and, as someone pointed out, the damage to involved parties would be less between two vehicles moving in the same direction than would occur between a moving and a relatively stationary vehicle.
I, for one, think you did fine. I’m glad you survived because you’re here to chat with us. I’m glad you got rattled, because you’ll be more cautiious and learn from it – and be able to stick around and chat with us.
As an aside, someone suggested you may be inexperienced. In fact, too much experience can be as bad or worse. Insurance statistics show time and again that a huge majority of collisions occur within 10 miles of a participants work or home. [You’ll see that over and over in the monthly Auto Club magazines.] The problem is that, as drivers become experienced and familiar with an area, they stop really looking at it. Then when a detail changes that affects traffic (like a new pothole, a stranger in town, or one of the regulars driving something different), they get in trouble.
–G!
“Why, I know this town like I know the back of my – when did I break that fingernail?”