What Are the Fault Deciding Factors in a Rear End Accident?

Car accidents occur for any number of reasons. Distracted driving, intoxication, and traffic violations can all play direct roles in a crash. Of all the car accident types, rear end collisions are among the most common. Rear end accidents are, often, “fender benders,” that are more of an annoyance than a cause of injury.

One of most widely held beliefs about rear end collisions is that the rear car is almost always at fault. This holds true so often than insurance companies will rarely investigate liability on their own. Instead, negotiations focus on damages that resulted from the crash.

Why is this such a widely-held rule? Is a rear end collision always the rear-enders fault? Let’s examine how the law handles these types of cases.

Following the ‘Rules of the Road’

When you were a teenager and finally got your coveted driver’s license, you inherently agreed to follow the rules of the road. Essentially, this means you agreed to obey all local traffic laws, including signaling before a turn, stopping for signals and signs, and yielding to pedestrians, among other things. You also agreed to exercise “reasonable care” around other drivers. In the eyes of tort law, we all have a responsibility to be reasonably careful around one another or to not neglect our responsibilities as drivers.

Rear end collisions are text book cases in failing to exercise reasonable care. Law enforcement officers refer this neglect as “failing to assure a safe distance” or something similar. Failing to assure a safe distance may be tailgating, but not necessarily.

Assessing Vehicle Damage

People who rear end others often try to spin creative tales for insurance companies and law enforcement. “They slammed on their brakes,” or “they were driving to slowly” are common refrains. Fortunately, all police officers must examine the evidence in front of them. If there is damage on the front end of one vehicle and the back of another, this is all the police need to arrive at a decision. The rear-ending vehicle committed a moving violation and is at fault.

What About Rear End Collisions Involving Multiple Vehicles?

A common question people ask about rear end collisions is what to do when multiple vehicles are involved. For example, what happens if a rear car in a line hit another vehicle so forcibly it sends that car into the car in front of it, creating a domino effect?

Multi-vehicle car accidents are a little trickier when it comes to determining fault. Generally, in these cases, the fault is still clear – the third car is at fault. However, there are still some instances when your own negligence may have played a role. In those types of cases, the courts look at the notion of “comparative fault.” This concept is more easily illustrated with an example:

Say you were involved in a multi vehicle rear end collision as the middle car. The third car is mostly at fault for the accident, but since you were following the car in front of you too closely, you are slightly at fault. You file a personal injury claim against the third car’s insurance, and a jury awards you $100,000 for damages. If a judge finds you 20% at fault for the accident, you’ll only be able to collect $80,000. This is the comparative negligence rule: you can collect damages from another negligent party, minus your degree of fault.

Though there are extenuating circumstances, rear-end collisions are almost always the rear vehicle’s fault. Though fault is obvious in these cases, none are the same. Discuss your incident with an experienced attorney to be sure.