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Accident, whose fault is it?

So whose fault was it?

  • Its your fault moron, next time watch you *bleep*-ing door

    Votes: 10 19.6%
  • His fault, maybe next time he'll stay awake behind the wheel. He should Invest in some NO-DOZ

    Votes: 38 74.5%
  • No-fault here, To Idiots to make a right.

    Votes: 3 5.9%

  • Total voters
    51

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laserspeeddemon

20+ Year Contributor
6,717
61
Jul 26, 2002
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Ok heres the situation. Once again, I was involved in an accident. And Again it was with my wifes car. The Mazda 626LX. I think that it was the other guys fault, he says it was mine. And the MP's refuse to make a decision. Heres what happened:

I was driving down a one way street, looking for a parking spot. Now this area has parking spots on both sides. And its hard to find a spot, you most likely would have to fight for it. I found two on the right side. I pull in the one closest to me. Shut off the car. And open the door. Right as I get the door half-way open. A SUV comes into the spot next to me. I tried to close the door, but he had already made contact. The force of the impact bent the door open, and shoved it in the fender some. He obviouisly was going faster then the 20 kph (11 mph) speed limit, as he couldn't stop in time. After he hit me he reversed out and we stepped out. I noted the postion of our cars. I was in my spot with enough room on the driver side, that a car should not have any problem parking next to me. His back-passenger side tire however was crossed over into my spot. The MP's said that because he reversed, they can't use that. Another fact I noted was that he was moving and hit a parked car. But they said my door was opening and was infact a moving car. Then I noted that I had no way to see him or know if anyone was coming, but he had perfect view of me, and should've yeilded to me. They agreed and made a verbal statement that the other driver was at fault. But this was put in paper anywhere.

So whose fault was it? Make your vote, this is just a fun post. I will not use this in court.....belive me.
 
I don't know if you getting out of your vehicle is classified as a moving vehicle. I'll check with my bro about that. He would have clear view....almost the same situation with being rear ended.
 
I would say it's definitely his fault....but it's always a good idea to check real quick before opening your door.
 
If your door was in your parking spot, there is no way that it can possibly be your fault. Now, if the dude was pulling into the spot and you opened your door into his car, then I'd say it's your fault. But that doesn't sound like the case.

I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure that, you opening your door does NOT make your vehicle moving. If I am remembering right, you and your door are considered a pedestrian, which means, he failed to to yield to a pedestrian. Also, like I mentioned if contact was made in your parking spot, then he wasn't driving properly; that's the same deal as crossing the center line.
 
It could probably go either way. But, I think it is your fault. Just compare it to parking on the street and opening your car to traffic. If you are not watching, you could be hit or at least your door is goning to get ripped off.

If you are in an area where traffic/cars are moving or have the possiblity of movement (ie. in a parking area), it is your duty to watch for cars that are in motion. It is also not a bad idea for to watch for moving cars just for your own saftey.
 
take thats to jag man...you know how the MP's are they ain't the brightest things on the planet. jag will tell you the truth. hth.
 
I think the cop and the SUV driver both need a nut kicking.

However, you really should check before you open your door.
 
SInce you were exiting your vehicle you were in the process of becoming a pedestriain therefore he should have been in the process of yielding to you.:)
 
Quick note: There was a van next to me. I checked my mirror, There was no movement behind me, he ripped into the parking spot. He was going faster then the 11 mph (20km) speed limit. So does his speeding put him any more at fault or not? Another Poll
 
I can think of no logic that would lead me to believe it was your fault.
You are an immobile object and he hit you. He obviously pulled into the spot pretty quickly to 1, not see your door open, 2 bend your door.
 
If you'd collected a bicyclist with your opening door, it'd be on you. However, since you were stopped and the other guy was moving, your presentation -if it's correct, of course- shows it to be his fault, I think.
How badly did it eff up the Mazda?
 
Yea, the MP report showed it to be his fault. The door isn't that bad, just the hinge bent. You have to slam it to get it to shut all the way. So I didn't report it to his insurance. But after talking to alot of people in the last couple days, I'm thinking that I should've. How long do I have to report it to his insurance?
 
Originally posted by laserspeeddemon
Yea, the MP report showed it to be his fault. The door isn't that bad, just the hinge bent. You have to slam it to get it to shut all the way. So I didn't report it to his insurance. But after talking to alot of people in the last couple days, I'm thinking that I should've. How long do I have to report it to his insurance?

In NJ, you have 48 hours to report the accident to your insurance company. Don't know the rules where you are.
 
failure to control on suv part
a certain level of control is expected of any lic driver
sort of an 'expect the unexpected'
in this case it is not unreasonable to pull into a parking spot and EXPECT
someone to open their door, kids jumping out of vans or running between cars, etc.
my $0.02
 
Originally posted by BruiserNJ


In NJ, you have 48 hours to report the accident to your insurance company. Don't know the rules where you are.

seriously, you only have 48 hours? i know here it's at least 10 days, because my mom was in a minor accident and didn't report it for like 8 days...it was on a monday (the accident), and she didn't have time to report it for over a week. she works very hard at her job.

and in one of my accidents, i didn't report the accident until the guy started talking sh!t to me about it. then he had to pay to get my hood straightened.
 
It's your fault.

22517. No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open upon the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.
 
22517. No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open upon the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.

Interesting. But that just doesnt make it his fault. He checked before he got out. If the car had not been exceeding the speed limit the accident would not have occured since he would have been at a different spot at the time the door was open. Are you sure that opening the door interferes with traffic. I didnt realize a parking spot got traffic. Thats my opinion.:rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by GST 6SiC6


Interesting. But that just doesnt make it his fault. He checked before he got out. If the car had not been exceeding the speed limit the accident would not have occured since he would have been at a different spot at the time the door was open. Are you sure that opening the door interferes with traffic. I didnt realize a parking spot got traffic. Thats my opinion.:rolleyes:

Well obviously it interfered with traffic otherwise the accident would not have occurred. The fact that the accident did occur is proof that it did interfere with traffic which is proof he is at fault. :rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by igs


Well obviously it interfered with traffic otherwise the accident would not have occurred. The fact that the accident did occur is proof that it did interfere with traffic which is proof he is at fault. :rolleyes:
Well, obviously not, because the drivers car ended up in Laser's parking spot. If the crackhead would drive his car the proper way, it wouldn't be an issue. Looking back on it, there is no way that it would be Laser's fault. It's like saying if I was in my driveway, and opened my door, and some crackhead swerved from the road 60 feet away to and hit my door, it would not be my fault, that the dumbass couldn't stay on the road. Last time I checked, parking spots aren't considered part of the road, just like my driveway isn't considered part of the road.

I don't know how long you have to report it, I know you have 3 years to settle before your statute of limitations is up.
 
But it's the responsibility of the guy opening the door to make sure the door won't hit anything. If he kept his door closed and the crackhead hit him then it would be the crackhead's fault. But since he opened the door it becomes his fault. As long as the door remains open it is his fault.
 
Originally posted by igs
It's your fault.

22517. No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open upon the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.

According to this statement, I am not at fault. It states that my door would have to be in the path of moving traffic. My car was parked perpendicular to moving traffic, not parallel. My door wasn't available to moving traffic. So the SUV had to pull away from moving traffic to get into the spot. Once I parked I was no longer in the way of moving traffic. If you think that just because a vehicle is in motion that its consider "moving taffic" in legal terms, your wrong. Once a car stops traveling on an official road or abiding by traffic laws, its not traffic. Good point, but you need to know more about the legal terms before you can use a legal violation.
 
Originally posted by laserspeeddemon


According to this statement, I am not at fault. It states that my door would have to be in the path of moving traffic. My car was parked perpendicular to moving traffic, not parallel. My door wasn't available to moving traffic. So the SUV had to pull away from moving traffic to get into the spot. Once I parked I was no longer in the way of moving traffic. If you think that just because a vehicle is in motion that its consider "moving taffic" in legal terms, your wrong. Once a car stops traveling on an official road or abiding by traffic laws, its not traffic. Good point, but you need to know more about the legal terms before you can use a legal violation.

Correct, you need to know more about the legal terms. Parking at an angle is still considered parking on a roadway.

22503. Local authorities may by ordinance permit angle parking on any roadway, or left-hand parking upon one-way roadways of divided highways, except that no ordinance is effective with respect to any state highway until the proposed ordinance has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Department of Transportation.
 
What is that supposed to mean? I'm not local authourities that doesn't apply to me. You sound like one of the barracks lawyers around here... Always acting like they know law, but they don't. Heres a small clue for you. I know alot about law, my parents both have legal advisers, my father-in-law is the administator at his law firm. And I have, plenty of times, manipulated the law in my favor. I ran a stop sign hit a Mustang and I still made the accident "no-fault," and because my father-in-law, I have +2 points on my record.

You're just puttin up random things, I can do that.

22234.56 Those possessing a motorized vehicle will pull over, disassemble, and disguise their vehicle in the presence of the Amish citizens.
 
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