And many more cases decided the other way, guess the line "vast majority of times it's the fault of the car behind" is the key. But certainly not always the car behind. I think if it can be proven by the cars black box or some equivalent the car braked itself you would be damn unlucky to be held responsible.
The recent case of Steadman v London United Busways Ltd v Sala proves it is still incredibly rare for courts to blame the driver of the car in front when its been hit from behind. It was brought by a passenger who was seriously injured and made a bus accident claim. In 2010 6,268 people were injured due to an accident involving a bus or coach, and thousands of passengers suffer bus injuries and make a compensation claim after bus accidents. While straight forward, this claim has lessons for all drivers:
Valerie Steadman was a passenger on a bus travelling along Kensington High Street in West London. In front of the bus was a Ferrari sports car, driven by Mr Sala. When the driver of the bus braked abruptly it threw Mrs Steadman from her seat and she suffered serious injuries to her spinal cord, leaving here with tetraplegia.
Mrs Steadman made a claim against the bus company, London United Busways, claiming it was the fault of the bus driver that she had suffered her accident. The driver of the bus said that he had been forced to make an emergency stop because the car in front stopped abruptly and without warning, therefore to avoid a bus crash the bus driver had done the same. He claimed the Ferrari driver should have realised the bus was close behind and it wasn’t safe for him to brake the way that he did.
The court had to decide if the cause of the accident was the fault of the Ferrari or of the bus driver.
Hit From Behind: Who is at Fault?
Mrs Justice Smith had to consider a lot evidence from both parties, witnesses to the accident, experts and CCTV footage.
She came to the decision it was the bus driver’s fault Mrs Steadman had been injured because he’d slammed on his brakes. It wasn’t the fault of the driver in front because he had no obligation to keep the bus in his vision at all the times - the main focus of any driver has to be what is happening in front of them.
And from the bike lawyers website but same principal.
I was hurt quite badly in an accident which was caused by the driver in front of me unexpectedly and suddenly slamming on his brakes at a set of traffic lights. The light switched to amber and I thought he was going for it so I did too. Unfortunately he changed his mind but it was too late for me. I tried to stop but was unable to do so in time and went over the top of the car. I want to make a claim for my out of pocket expenses and injuries now that I am out of hospital but the police officer says not to bother as it’s my fault! Surely I deserve something. He braked too late.
Graham Lovell, Somerset
Answer
The usual rule is that you should leave sufficient space between you and the vehicle in front to allow you to safely stop should the unexpected happen. Therefore the vast majority of cases of rear end shunts are the fault of the person travelling behind. This is for either driving too close to the vehicle in front or simply not concentrating. However, in certain cases the driver who suddenly stops can be held at least partially to blame.
In one such case a judge decided that sudden, unexplained braking can be held to be negligent (Elizabeth –v- Motor Insurers’ Bureau, Court of Appeal, 1981). In Ritchies Car Hire Limited –v- Bailey (1958) a driver who slammed on her brakes to avoid hitting a pheasant causing the driver behind to run into her car, was found to have been negligent to stop “merely” for a pheasant. In your case the driver stopped for an amber light as is required except when to do so is likely to cause an accident. It is on this last bit that you would have to pin your hopes. I imagine most judges will find completely against you but you may be lucky and find a sympathetic one and if I were you I would make an early split liability offer with you accepting the vast majority of the blame. I would be reluctant to take this to court.
