Getting sideswiped is no fun. While most bumper-to-bumper collisions are due to speed and distraction, sideswipes are often caused by people not checking their mirror and blindspot before changing their lanes. The scary thing about sideswipes is it affects other vehicles in adjacent lanes as well. For instance, in any Toronto highway where there are 3 lanes each way, if you get sideswiped and pushed by a vehicle, chances are you might hit a third vehicle in a third lane just from the push. Hence you could be at fault even if it wasn’t your fault.
In the following video, no one gets sideswiped, but it still led to an accident. the driver of the black car decided to pass a Mitsubishi Lancer from the left – partially driving on the emergency lane and the Lancer’s lane. The Lancer having seen the black car so close to him freaked out and instantly changed to the right lane – causing a vehicle in that lane to hit his car. Surprisingly, it’s not the lane change that instantly caused the accident. It was the combination of the recording car losing control and the Lancer slowing down that caused the accident. The offending black car just drove off unscathed.
I suppose the black car thought the Lancer wouldn’t be shocked by a car so close to him driving at highway speeds. While obviously the black car is the true offender here, who else is at fault? Is the Mitsubishi at fault? One thing I also noticed closely was the speed of the vehicles. The Mitsubishi seems to be driving at a slower speed compared to both the black car and the recording vehicle. Who’s to blame in the end? Comment on Facebook and let me know your thoughts.
