Posted On: July 11, 2007, 7:24 am CDT

Posted By: Ray

Big Insurance - On the surface of your description you were at fault in that accident. You backed into the street into the path of a vehicle in the roadway - you failed to yield the right-of-way and were the proximate cause of the accident - and it is obvious that your insurance company realized you were at fault since they are surcharging you for the accident. The fact that the other driver was doing something wrong does not change the fault in the situation you describe. Whether they had insurance or a current registration or (in YOUR opinion) was speeding is not germaine when you back into traffic.

A good example of that type of situation occurred here recently. A person, under the influence, stopped at a stop sign at a four way stop. Then drove into the intersection where he was struck by a minister's wife who failed to stop at her stop sign. Granted, he was DUI, but her actions caused the accident. We could never really convince her that she was at fault, but the insurance company did surcharge and rightly so.