I was stopped at a stop sign on a dirt road. A man hit my vehicle in the rear. He told police it was to dusty to see.?

Question

We both where traveling the same way on a dirt road. The other driver saying it's was to dusty to see a stopped car at a stop sign. And the reason for his insurance said their not paying for my vehicles repair. They said i should have not stopped. Who is at fault. What is the next step to have his insurance pay to have the vehicle repaired .

Answer 1

Let me start by saying, that anytime someone rear ends you, the insurance always pays at 100%. The reason being is the following reasons:

-not paying attention

-following too closely

-not keeping an assured distance.



As a (former) auto adjuster that handled auto claims for 10 years with many companies, there was only (1) instance we paid 50% vs 100%, and that was because our policyholder claimed that the other driver had no brake lights and stopped, not at a light or stop sign, but out of nowhere. When the officer came to the scene, he told the officer, who validated that the guy did in fact had no brake lights and noted on the police report. But, that was only 1 exception, of maybe 500 claims or so, that we paid, or the other insurance paid at 100%.



People stop all the time, be it for a pedestrian, a kid, an animal or something on the road, thus the following reasons I listed above, usually applies, thus rear ending someone.



I agree with others, that if it is too dusty, and he could not see, he should have had his flashers on, drive slower, or even pull over to the side/ditch to let the dirt/dust clear, but, most country roads I have been on, will have signs up warning of approaching a stop sign, so he should have anticipated slowing, or looking for that stop sign, to stop. For an adjuster to state, you should not have stopped, or it was too dusty, is probably one of the stupidest reason I have heard for an adjuster to deny a claim. Did you actually get a letter to from them denying due to this reason?



Do you have collision coverage on your policy? If so, then have your insurance pay and go after them for payment. If, only liability, then if damages less than $5,000, you can sue him in small claims court and do not need a lawyer. You DO NOT sue his insurance, you sue him, since his insurance did not rear end you, he did.



There is no judge out there, that will buy this crap of the dust, so have your insurance, or sue him in court for your damages.



good luck

Answer 2

The person who hit you is talking bollocks. The law is straghtforward: if visibility is poor then a driver must drive at such a speed and with such care that he can stop safely when the need arises.



It could have been anything in front of him, would they have said "you should not have been stopped" if you had been avoiding a child who wandered into the road?



Therefore he should have been driving slow enough, even if it was walking pace, to be able to see you in front of him and stop before hitting you. It does not matter that he hit your car, the same principle applies whether the object is a car or a person (who he could have injured or killed!).



The police should prosecute him for careless driving and his insurance should pay out. This is something that you should not allow to be put aside by lazy coppers.



If your own insurance policy has legal expenses cover then ask your company if they will pursue the case. It would be quicker and easier for you if they can.



This is position in the United Kingdom. I would bet that the law is the same (even if the wording is different) wherever you are.

Answer 3

They actually said you should NOT have stopped at the stop sign? What kind of joke and cob-job insurance agent would tell someone to run a stop sign?! No, if that MORON hit you just because "it was too dusty to see and drive" then what the **** was the guy doing driving in the first place?? He should have been going super slow and had his flashers on. Did he do neither? Nope. That clown is at fault! I used to live in Vermont, one rough part of the country, if I ever might say, and so many darn times, I have seen blood on the street and the damned IDIOT behind the wheel comes out and said "Aauuhhh I COULDN'T SEE YOU" which means the stupid blind bat should have his license revoked. (What the h*ll could he see, he shouldn't be driving, half the idiots around there, I wouldn't let them drive my neighbor's goats across my backyard on a bright sunny day) He should get a seeing eye dog and sell the car. The clown who hit you is at fault.

Answer 4

You have a legal obligation to stop at a stop sign. A rolling stop is not legal. As a driver everyone has an obligation to drive at a speed where they can stop within what they can see.

Driving too close on a dirt road is silly as all you do us such muck into your air cleaner.

It is 100% their fault.

Let your insurance handle it or if you are liability only get a lawyer or an accident management company.

Answer 5

That other guy should be 100% at fault. It shouldn't matter how hard it was for him to see. A stop sign is a stop sign. Think of it like driving through fog. Kind of similar, right? That doesn't mean because it's too foggy that you don't stop. The insurance company is stupid for saying that you shouldn't have stopped. ALWAYS STOP AT A STOP SIGN. Not saying that you didn't, but just emphasizing my point.

Answer 6

It's the other guys fault. Period.



There does not even have to be a stop sign involved. You can just slam on your brakes for no reason. If the car behind you hits you, it is their fault. They were traveling too close. Have fun fighting the insurance company though - they have lawyers on staff that love to fight this kind of stuff.

Answer 7

There was a road. Down the road, there was a stop sign. You were driving down that road. You got to that stop sign, and when you got there, you stopped. Behind you was another car. He did not stop, and he hit your car, while you were still stopped at the stop sign. The guy who hit you is at fault. It does not matter how dusty it is.

Answer 8

the guy in the other car is a complete fool

if your driving down a dusty road and you cannot see what is a head of you, you stop and wait for the dust to clear.

you do not just carry on and hope there is nothing in your way, what if there had been a person walking or a kid on a bike, maybe a mother pushing a pram.

he is 100% in the wrong and his insurance are just trying it on

Answer 9

Most states have a no-fault law. You are automatically at fault if you hit the back of someone car regardless.

Most insurance companies know the laws of the given state that they insure motorists.

Nice try on the party of the guy who hit you., in telling the cop that.

I am sure the cop has heard that line before.

Your insurance company will sue the guy insurance company.

If not, and you are uninsured, you have to sue the company.

Answer 10

Next time this happens always get his license info first, then call the police whether the person who hit you likes it or not. Have an officer take a statement and accident report. That way you can prove you weren't at fault

Answer 11

If you were stopped at a stop sign.............then it is the other man's fault.

A driver, no matter the road conditions, must ALWAYS be aware of what is in front and around them.

Continue to bug his insurance company and complain.

Answer 12

You were obeying the traffic laws by stopping at the stop sign. He hit your car, and therefore, he is liable for repairs.

Your insurance company should go after the other company to pay for the repairs. If your insurance company won't force the other company to pay for the repairs, then they should pay for them. It would be the same as if you were hit by an uninsured driver.

Answer 13

In Illinois where I live the applicable code is 625 ILCS 5/11-601(a). See this ref.

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=062500050K11-601

We call what the other driver did.. "failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident".. He is 100% liable.. here in Illinois.



Let me just elaborate on that a second. If your car was in front of his in the same lane going the same direction and he collided with your car for ANY REASON.. (whether you're stopped, parked, driving slow, suddenly jamming on the brakes, whether you hit a deer and came to a sudden stop or whether you collided with a car in front of you and came to a sudden stop... or an airplane engine fell from the sky and landed in front of you and you had to jam on the brakes, etc).. FOR ANY REASON.. if his car hit your car from behind.. he is guilty of "failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident". .. PERIOD. That's how the courts in Illinois view this law. The burden is then shifted to him to produce an explanation + evidence of why he isn't guilty of that crime. For example, maybe he had a hitchhiker holding a gun to his head forcing him to accelerate. Or a bomb.. (see the movie "speed").. etc. "I couldn't see 'cause of the dust"... isn't going to work for him.



This is why "tailgating" is stupid. A person driving might have to suddenly stop. For a variety of reasons. If you're tailgating, you won't have time to react, you will crash into the car ahead of you, and you'll get a ticket and HUGE bills.. potentially. Medical, car repair, civil liability, even criminal liability.



Your local laws may vary. You need to do some research about them.



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That said.. did the police issue a ticket? If so.. to whom and what was the violation?



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Just to emphasize what David B said, your insurance company will go after his insurance company (provided both of you have insurance). If he was issued a ticket, their case will be stronger. This is why you call the police if you get in an accident. If he doesn't have insurance, your insurance will pay the repairs and go after him.. maybe. If you don't have insurance, and he doesn't have insurance... you're out of luck. You'll have to pay the repair bills yourself and sue him in court.. with your own attorney.

Answer 14

He's at fault, but of course his insurance company is trying to avoid paying. That's what they do.



Give the information to your insurance company. They will take care of it.



If you were uninsured, you'll have to deal with this yourself, which means hire a lawyer.

Answer 15

There is a rebuttable presumption that the person who hit you from behind is at fault. The insurance company doesn't have to make it easy for you to collect, but if you simply offer to sue immediately for the car damage and all incidental and consequential damages arising from their delay, they may change their tune.

Answer 16

If you can't see because of dust then you slow down. The fact that he hit you makes the accident his fault no matter what he says. Your insurance company should be able to handle this for you.

Answer 17

The other man, who hit your car from back, is at fault. He should be fined for his irresponsible behavior. If you could see that stop sign on a that dirty road, he also could see that. That man should pay for his irresponsible behavior.

Answer 18

If you were stopped legally, and he could not see you until it was too late to stop, then he is at fault for driving too fast for the conditions.



If he's not going to pay, let him know you are taking him to court over it.

Answer 19

Too bad for him, he's still at fault. If you were at a stop sign, you had a legal obligation to stop.

Answer 20

This is idiotic. If it was too dusty for him to see you he should have stopped anyway. The law states you must not proceed unless you know it is safe to do so.

Answer 21

If it was too dusty to see, then he shouldn't have been driving. The cop should have taken his baton and beat the crap out of him for giving such a stupid excuse.

Answer 22

If it was that dusty, he should have slowed down to an appropriate speed. Get your insurance company to fight this. That's why you pay them.

Answer 23

Get your insurance company involved. Also, take photos and remember there is also the small claims courts.

Answer 24

His insurance company could not possibly be so colossally dumb as to tell you this is the reason they are denying the claim. Did you talk to them yourself?

Answer 25

You were rear-ended. He pays. Case closed..

Answer 26

get yourself an atty who only gets paid if you win. You need to get legal with that insurance company.

Answer 27

And what country exactly did this take place in.

Answer 28

your ins company should be handling this nonsesne, not you.



pass them the ball if you failed to do so already

Answer 29

This is not true