rear ended --HELP!!!

well, today a friend thought he'd screw with me by driving 15 in a 55, two lane road, while a line of cars built up behind me. so of course, i passed him, which he tried to block. when i got in front of him, he tailgated me. I hit the brakes to startle him, and he rear ended me. no damage to my mountaineer, but the front of his 86 cadillac eldorado is toast.

He wants me to pay for the damage. I feel bad, but he was a real ####### about it, and I believe he's really at fault, and i told him this.

so, he goes and reports the accident to the cops, who say they will be mailing each of us an untold number of citations!!

so here's the deal: Do I have any legal obligation (in wisconsin) to pay for the damage to my buddy's car??
what can I say to try and contest the tickets? if I get any more points I'll lose my licence!!! wisconsin is really strict, I have two speeding tickets in the past year, so this is really it.

 

[BrianDye]

Omg dude, im not gonna lie, id have probably got out, and smashed his face in to match his car, thats his fault! he was doing 15 IN A 55!!

Here in MI, its illegal to do more than 20 under the speed limit, unless of course your towing/pulling/etc etc.

Basically when you guys goto court, or however that works, id say he was doing 15 in a 55, then when i passed him, i slowed back down to the speed limit and he smashed into me

 

[derek54401]

yeah, i know it sucks. i really don't want to go to court against him, but that's where it'll probably end up

 

[IZwack]

Do I have any legal obligation (in wisconsin) to pay for the damage to my buddy's car??

I think technically he would be the one paying since he did the rear ending.

But I'll come out and say it instead of beating around the bush - it really sounds like you guys do need to take time out from driving for a bit. Horsing around like that with traffic is pretty stupid.

I know "boys will be boys", and "you're young", but its time to grow up once you get the license to drive.

yeah, i know it sucks. i really don't want to go to court against him, but that's where it'll probably end up

Settle this outside of the court - talk to your "friend" (with parents involved) and I'm sure you guys can come to an agreement as to what needs to be done.

 

[RockRanger]

Sounds like its time for a call to judge judy. Just make sure to wear an explorer forum shirt if you get on.

 

[DeRocha]

Um.... why did he report this to the cops and what exactly did he say? If he said what exactly happened (like you described) you both could be in a boat load of trouble. The police and courts don't take kindly to people screwing around in traffic as it puts many lives at risk. Settling this out of the court system is definitely the way to go..

 

[celly]

You guys both sound like idiots. I cannot stand it when I see people screwing around on the roads like that. This is Darwinism at it's finest except no one was killed (this time). Sorry, but not sympathy here if that's what you're looking for.

All things equal, the guy doing the rear-ending should be at fault. All things equal. Because both of you were acting like fools, you should agree to just walk away from this and be done with it. Something tells me that won't happen. Maturity isn't a factor here so logic probably won't prevail.

Yeah, Judge Judy would have a riot with you Bozos. She'd probably throw it out of court, but it would make for some good laughs....and they wouldn't be laughing WITH you.

 

[solitary ogre]

never admit to anyone that when you passed you went over 55 and never admit to slowing down intentionally fast. there was a cat/dog/goat/cow on the road that made you slow down.
talk to a lawyer before you say or do anything else.

 

[celly]

never admit to anyone that when you passed you went over 55 and never admit to slowing down intentionally fast.

You forgot to add "...on the Internet."

 

[gijoecam]

Subscribed... op:

 

[924dr4x4]

isnt it the same in all state's where "if the person behind you hit you,its there fault" cause they shouldn't have been following as close and didnt have enough reaction time to stop causing the accident,if you get rear-ended its automatically the person that hit you's fault

 

[derek54401]

thanks guys, i know it was idiotic.

really laughable how stupid that was!

 

[celly]

isnt it the same in all state's where "if the person behind you hit you,its there fault" cause they shouldn't have been following as close and didnt have enough reaction time to stop causing the accident,if you get rear-ended its automatically the person that hit you's fault

That's the way it works here too. No matter what the speed or situation (whether your trying to avoid an animal or whatever). If you slam into someone, it's your fault. I'm told the only exceptions to this rule is if your rear brake lights aren't working. I've also heard that tinted tails can also cause the cops to ticket you instead of the person doing the hitting if they're too dark.

 

[Maniak]

Here in AZ they would consider that road rage which gets you almost enough points to suspend you license all by itself.

Last I checked, the person doing the rear ending is always at fault unless there are witnesses saying the person in front did a swoop/brake manuever.

My guess is he was trying to get it so your insurance would pay for the damage (or his since he rear ended you).. but many insurance companies don't take kindly to illegal/reckless driving that causes the accident. Some may even try to deny the claim.

~Mark

 

[celly]

....but many insurance companies don't take kindly to illegal/reckless driving that causes the accident. Some may even try to deny the claim.

Or cancel your insurance outright.

The stats surrounding male drivers under 25 and accident rates are pretty convincing and it's why this demographic gets hammered by insurance companies. I venture to guess that the original poster and his "friend" driving the Caddy fall into this category.

 

[solitary ogre]

anger management.......it works for some people, (hopefully)

 

[BrianDye]

isnt it the same in all state's where "if the person behind you hit you,its there fault" cause they shouldn't have been following as close and didnt have enough reaction time to stop causing the accident,if you get rear-ended its automatically the person that hit you's fault

Yeah here in MI, basically NO MATTER WHAT, its the "hitters" fault i mean even if a car pulled out in front of you, around here, it'd be your fault...

but i do wish you the best of luck man, hopefully things go your way

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

dang taht sux do u got pics

 

[Heath]

I agree with the majority here... You shouldn't have been dinking off with traffic involved...

On your side of things... Everywhere I've lived if you rearend someone its your fault... Pretty much no discussion about it... You should have left yourself room to stop... So your friend is hosed as far as I can see...

 

[joshuaj0214]

The same goes for Delaware, if you rear end someone, its your fault. I would deffinetly talk to a lawyer because if goes to court you both will probably loose your license anyways. The judge will make an example out of the 2 of you and honestly it wouldn't be a bad call.

What kind of "friend" pulls a dick move like that anyways and then threatens to call the cops. I too would have made his face match his car.