Who is at full fault if I rear-end someone changing lanes?
1 Answers
If the other vehicle forces a lane change, causing the rear-end collision, the lane-changing vehicle can be held fully at fault. The liability determination for a lane-change rear-end collision is as follows: when changing lanes, if the lane-changing vehicle fails to yield to vehicles already traveling in that lane, resulting in a traffic collision, the lane-changing vehicle bears full responsibility; if a rear-end collision is caused by a preceding vehicle changing lanes, the lane-changing vehicle can be held fully at fault. Relevant explanations are as follows: Same-direction side-swipe traffic accidents: In a same-direction side-swipe accident caused by one party changing lanes, the lane-changing party bears full responsibility; in a same-direction side-swipe accident caused by one party overtaking another, where the other party is driving normally in their lane, the faster party bears full responsibility; if one party is oversized and fails to set up obvious warning signs as required, and a same-direction side-swipe accident occurs during the overtaking process, the oversized party bears secondary responsibility, while the other party bears primary responsibility; if a side-swipe accident occurs while one party is oversized and driving parallel to or overtaking another, the oversized party bears full responsibility. Opposite-direction side-swipe traffic accidents: if one party rides or drives over the centerline or enters the opposite lane, causing an opposite-direction side-swipe accident, that party bears full responsibility; if one party is oversized and the other is driving normally in their lane, causing an opposite-direction side-swipe accident, the oversized party bears full responsibility; if both parties are driving in their respective lanes and cause an opposite-direction side-swipe accident, both parties bear equal responsibility.