Rear end a car when they brake suddenly for no reason?

Picture the scene. At a set of traffic lights (2nd in qeue) waiting patiently to move when the lights turn green the driver infront doesn't move. So i sound the horn incase they didnt realise the lights had turned green. They beep back and start driving slowly about 3mph i follow behind about 2 metres away. Then all of a sudden the car infront brakes suddenly i braked too but went into the back of them. There was no damage whatsoever she took my details andi asked for hers but she wouldn't give me hers. I took her number plate and I knew her name anyway (unlucky) I knew the girl she was in the year above me in school. She was just abit annoyed understandably trying to make me sign on the side of the road it was my fault, I refused. Her boyfriend was kicking off telling me he knew who my sister was and where she lived. Which i would say was threatening. So i walked up to him and he squared up to me saying he doesnthit girls but my boyfriends here. Anyway we left at that i was very upset and angry.
I rang my insurance explained what happened and that we took pictures.
Do you think she has a claim? There was no mark from my car at all and none on mine.
I know i was following quite closely but she obviously stopped to cause an accident or something. Even the builder on the side of the road said she had no reason to stop! But he said he didn't want anything to do with it.
Thanks

J G

Sorry, 100% guaranteed your fault, regardless of what petty games your friend & you were playing at the lights. If she was doing 3mph, you should have easily stopped unless you were ridiculously close or not paying attention.

scuppo

It is still your fault, you should have been at a safe enough distance to be able to stop.

Friendly Stranger..

It doesn't matter whether there is damage or not. The accident is your fault. Anytime you hit someone from behind, it is automatically your fault. You were following too closely so at least you admitted that. Secondly, your insurance will pay for this accident, not hers.. You were at fault here and there isn't anything you can do to change that. You shouldn't have been following that closely. Your insurance rates are likely to increase as well. Just learn from this accident. Don't follow cars too closely and you will be fine.

desert camel

if you were threatened then i would have rang the police instantly...as for the bump...it was your fault....
ive even heard of people doing this on purpose,even taking out there rear brake light bulbs to cause an accident!,that may have been the case with your miss hap...we all live and learn.

Louie G

it does not matter,

They can say that they saw a cat and it would still be your fault.

Paul

SO, are you trying to say it's OK to hit someone in the rear if they cannot give a GOOD ENOUGH reason for braking?

WRONG. there MAY have been a dog you didn't see, or maybe the car stalled.

The fact IS, if you hit them, YOU and ONLY you are at fault due the fact you were following too close.......PERIOD!

ragingmk

You'll be classed as at fault, expect her to make a claim for whiplash and for your insurance premium to go up next year.

StephenWeinstein

She has a claim if either the car was damaged OR she was injured. Theoretically, she could have been injured, even if the car is not damaged, but I tend to doubt that anyone would be injured if the cars were only going 3 MPH.

Buslady

Because you hit the horn she was setting you up for that.
But unless you can prove that, you don't have a chance.
It is usually 99.9% your fault if you rear end a car you were tailing. You should have created a following distance.

NEVER sign anything that admits you are guilty.

UCANTCME

You called your insurance company but you should have filed a police report as well and yes they will file a claim against your insurance company.

grenmatta

It was your fault. You should have been further away / concentrating on your driving. Luckily for you she has committed an offence by refusing to give her details. In the unlikely event of her taking it further, mention that and the threatening behaviour to the police and let them sort it out.

gtcelt

It would appear that a few responders are giving you some stick. Yes, you should have been not so close, but at the speed mentioned I wouldn't expect there to be any damage since after slowing down over the 2mtr distance the actual velocity on impact must surely have been around 0.5mph, so what is an insurance cover going to pay for.... moving the air, or even worse, making her fart from her mouth?

It's a petty squabble and you should just forget about it. By all means see whether it develops, but I doubt it will.

WelshLad

The accident would be your fault.

You were right not sign and not admit liability at the scene, as you should never do it, and she should have exchanged her details.

I hope you have taken the builder's name and address as a witness, just in case the she tries to claim bigger damage and whiplash.

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