Car accident....who should pay????

so i got into a car accident with a honda pilot that was either an 05' 04' or 03' i was following as close as everyone else was unaware of how close i should be....i was following about 10 feet behind this car going 30mph. this guy slammed on his brakes and came to a complete stop i reacted the same i quickly took my clutch out of gear to prevent stalling (now i hear that may have been stupid) but i did that and slammed on my brakes. the guy behind me didnt hit me but cars all down behind me crashed. just fender benders. i guess two cars were towed. (11 cars involved total) now my accident is just between this guy but im not sure whos at fault. i mean yes, i may have been following too closely but he stopped without any warning so that means he must of been following too closely as well. but the thing is as soon as i crashed into him he moved foward and to the side of the road. shouldnt we of not moved? btu we were blocking traffic this was on the 101 right weher it became the 156.
Additional Details
and so the car i was driving was my moms. and my moms insurance is saying that they didnt cover me?!?!?!? becuase i was a resident in my moms household so i was excluded....i live on campus at college i have my own address how can they exclude me? then the guy i hit its just a little dent in his bumper on the right side becuase he went to the left and i tryed avoiding him by goign to the right. but he has 4 wheel anti lock brakes and i have brakes that i think locked up on me becuase i remember slamming on the brakes and hearing a whooshing sound...not a screech and the cops and my mom looked(i was driving alone she came after i called her) and there wasnt any skid marks from any of the cars?!?!? so how did we all crarsh?
k yes, all of us were following too closely. but why do i need to pay $1005 to buy this guy a new bumper. why cant they just pop out the dent and resand it and paint it? wouldnt that be better? and mayeb it is my fault but i feel that it wasnt my fault becuase he

MSAD

You were following too closely .... no maybe about it.

At 30 mph - you should have had about 30 feet (or approx 3 car lenghts between you and the car in front -- at least).

Unless you are an adjuster, appraiser or body shop manager/tech - you have no training or expertise to say what the damage to his car was. With rear end collisions - it's very common to get the bumper cover off and for there to be damage to the rear impact absorber, reinforcement bar and even rear body panel. The frame ends can also be damaged and need to be pulled. The bumper cover is flexible. So after an impact it can pop back out and hide the damage under it. The only way to see that damage is to take the bumper cover off. If your car was badly damaged....I can tell you right now he had more than just a dent.

You indicate that maybe the other guy is at fault for stopping suddenly..........so are you suggesting that he should have just run over what ever was in front of him and then stopped? Instead of avoiding what ever was in front of him.....he should have just caused an at fault accident?

He did not give warning of his stop? There are no pre-brake light lights. A car is not equipped with lights to let you know..."hey....I'm about to put on my brakes and you will see red brake lights appear when I do." Sorry, but the brake lights are the warning. If he did not hit the car in front of him - then he was not following too closely -- he was able to avoid the accident, you were not.

As far as your mom's company denying coverage - is this car provided for your regular use? If yes, are you listed on her policy as a driver (I am guessing no).

Lots of folks think it's a good idea not to list the kids on the policy because the insurance rates will be high. The problem with this thinking -- is insurance companies are not as dumb as you think. They figured this scheme out a long time ago and most policies have language in them that say if the vehicle is provided for your regular use and you are not listed on the policy - coverage does not apply. Bet this is the basis of their denial. If this is what happened...take the money that you saved by defrauding the insurance company and not being listed on the policy and use that to pay back the insurance company of the man you hit.

If this car is not "provided for your regular use".. that must mean you have another car of your own and an insurance policy on that. If that's the case - call your company and report the claim -that liability coverage will apply.

You caused the accident. Your medical bills are your responsibility.

So, what do you do now - since you were not insured at the time of the accident?

The man's insurance company will set up an interest free payment plan with you. Usually you can pay them 50-100 per month (interest free) until the debt is paid in full. As long as you make your payments on time - you will not have any problems.

If you do not pay them back, they can (and will) have your drivers license suspended, sue you or turn you over to collections. They will not just go away.

As far as the medical bills go - hospitals are usually really good about working out a payment plan as well. Call the billing office. Set up a payment plan with them. As long as you make your payments on time - they will not go on your credit.

Dtownfb

YOu were following too close behind the car in front of you. it's your fault. It's your mother's fault that you were not covered under her insurance esp if she let you drive her car.

friedach

you're liable for all that was infront of you, as you were the last one in that chain. Insurance companies make rules to avoid being cheated and to avoid payouts. It matters what's in the policy wording, and you should have been included on the policy or had your own cover-or you can't expect any mercy. I know you didn't know, but you should have checked, and your mother should have known, because it's her policy and she signed it! You don't EVER sign things you don't read AND understand. you review insurances from time to time, not just renew them. Some ppl learn the hard way.

Ryan W

Starting with the first Question. Who's at fault. -
if you rear ended a car in front of you its your fault you need to maintain control of your vehicle at all times.

Who do you pay?
The insurance company has most likely cut there insured a check for that damages they retain the rights of there insured to recover those funds. You may also have to pay the persons deductible back to him directly if they don't include it in the subrogation demand.

Not covered by your parents policy. Yes any licensed driver living in the same house hold would need to be included on there policy to be covered.

Your parents would have to pay more for insurance if your living at home to be on the policy. If you chose to have your own insurance when you lived at home then they would have to have a wavier that excluded you so that they would not have to pay for you. If they did not update that whey you moved your still excluded.

Because you don't have insurance your license could be suspended thats a fact but you can get it back if you make payments towards the claim. Depending on your state laws. I think In CA they suspend for a year for no insurance automatically.

11 CARS.... There could be a chance where you don't have insurance that each of those 11 cars insurance companies may to subrogate against you for damages . Financial responsibility your negligent for not having insurance.

good luck

frank

you should pay.you were driving too close to the car ahead of you. you are the one who knows the stopping distance of the car that you are driving.

just because he has a better car, with improved stopping ability, it does not relieve you of the responsibility to maintain a safe distance.

being a new driver, your reaction time is probably not as good as a seasoned driver.

as far as your mom's insurance goes, she tried to save money by not declaring you as living in the household. you obviously had access to the vehicle. your school adress is considered temporary, it changes from time to time.

pay for the guy's damages to his vehicle. your medical is your problem.

pay the man for his damages

old lady

Who should pay? If you were not covered by your mom's insurance (and you should have checked that out before you drove the car. You are either listed as a driver or you aren't and it doesn't matter where you live) then you are going to have to pay up because you were followinig too closely. If you weren't aware of how close you should follow, you need to get out your driver education manual and check it out. Just because everyone else was following too closely doesn't make it right. It means you were all at fault. It isn't just the driving laws you were violating, it was the basic laws of physics. It takes x number of feet to stop if you are travelling y miles per hour. And if you are under that bumper of space, you are going to end up hitting something. Sorry, but you were at fault.
And pulling off to the side of the road is also covered in your driving manual. If there are no injuries, you pull off so as not to impede traffic. If there are injuries, you stay where you are.

CwboyBill

Look.... you have wasted pages of text trying to convince yourself and everyone else that this isn't your fault; well it IS your fault. Just stop complaining and deal with it.

kenhebe20

Anytime you rear end somebody you are always going to be at fault. That is just how it works. Sure he slammed on his brakes, but had you had more distance between the car in front of you then you would not have hit him.

As long as your car is driveable it is always suggested to pull off to the side of the road. Staying parked in the middle of the road not only causes a traffic jam, but is also very dangerous. That is why those people who stay in the middle of the road are told to get off the road as soon as an officer arrives.

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