Expert: Bennie719 - 4/23/2009

Question
I was the last car in a 3 car chain collision. The events that occurred are as follows;
I was traveling down a two way (one lane each side) road. The car in front of me was a comfortable distance ahead of me, as well the vehicle ahead of the vehicle in front of me.  I saw that there was a green light in the distance, when I begin to hear screeching of tires, but I didn’t see any break lights coming from the vehicle in front of me. All of a sudden I see the vehicle in front of me swerve a bit, and next I hear a smashing sound (like a collision) and realized (way too late) that the vehicle in front of me just hit the vehicle in front of it. I tried to swerve toward my right to avoid the vehicle in front of me, but no luck. The left lower end (just below my headlight) collided with the right lower end of the vehicle in front of me.
My question is, how much should I expect to be at fault? The vehicle in front of me had major damage to the front end, as that car did slam into the car ahead of it before I hit them. I’m still not sure what the first vehicle was doing, and that driver’s story is still unclear; but I’d like to know (in approximation of course) what I will be responsible for.
Thank you…  

Answer
Hi LaShelle,
It will take your insurance company an extended period of time to fully investigate the accident to determine what percentage of
fault will be held against you for damage and injuries to the vehicles in front of you.

As far as your own vehicle, you are 100% at fault for your damages (which your insurance will cover less your deductible if you carry collision) because state law demands that you drive your car in such a manner as to be able to stop irregardless of what might happen on the roadway in front of you.

I hope that you find this helpful.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area