Did you witness this car accident in Ahwatukee? (insurance, how much)

[stillz1]

There was a 3 car rear ending accident on east bound Pecos Rd at 40th street signal light in Ahwatukee on Sunday April 17, 2011 (Palm Sunday)around noon. Car in middle was a black Scion with pink wheels and grill. Need witness to the rear ending due to red light. Very important!

[keninaz]

If you were rear ended it should not matter unless I misunderstood what you are saying or looking for.
I have been rear ended a few times and the bottom line is that if you are hit from the rear the guy that hit you is at fault.

[Captain Bill]

Which car were you in?

[stillz1]

We were the black scion in the middle. Unfortunately insurance companies now in mutliple car damages want to split up the costs so that now the middle car is getting charged for being hit into the car in front of them. It's called "double hit" and that way the end car that caused the damage doesn't have to pay for all the cars involved. If you stop short due to the person in front not sure of a changing light in a photo red light intersection and you don't hit them but the person behind you doesn't stop and plows into you, if you don't have witnesses, the insurance jumps on that. The people in the front car did not say they were double hit until they talked to the rear car's insurance company. That's why we need a witness since there were many people at that intersection but no one stopped to be a witness to it probably thinking it would be a typical rear ending.

[AZRon]

That sucks!

[ivanabacowboy]

I was recently rear ended. Even if you were the car in the middle, the idea is that you should have had sufficient distance between you and the car in front of you so you did not hit them. That said, if the other car was travelling at an excessive rate of speed, ie if they were travelling 80 in a 25 and the only reason you hit the car in front of you was the impact literally pushed your car further, you may be able to make an argument. If they were going posted speed for example and you didnt have sufficient distance to brake, then I suspect your insurance will be on the hook.

Are you the vehicle that stopped short? Sounds like you thought the car in front would go through the light but didnt, so in the last moment he stopped and you didnt leave sufficient braking distance if I read it correctly.

[stillz1]

no, the first car stopped short and we stopped quickly but did not hit the car in front until rear ended by another car.

[Jkgourmet]

how did the police report explain this accident?

[stillz1]

The report was written up as I have stated. All people involved in the accident had been spoken with by the police at the scene.

[ivanabacowboy]

How much distance was between you and the guy in front of you? You said a few times he stopped short. What exactly does that mean? Was the guy behind you excessively speeding? The way traffic law works you are required to have sufficient distance between you and the vehicle in front of you. In my last accident, as soon as I felt the impact I laid on the brakes so I didnt hit the guy in front of me, so there was sufficient braking distance. I could hear my brakes as the impact pushed me forward, but they broke enough of the momentum that they did stop my vehicle in time.

That said, I was also rear ended about four years ago. By a freaking armored truck. I was at a stop, he was cruising along at 45 and wasnt paying attention. I could tell the minute he saw me because I heard his brakes grinding. In a car he may have been able to stop, but his vehicle just had too much weight. I had nowhere to go because the light was red, so just laid on the brakes and prayed. Because I knew at his speed he would have pushed me into oncoming traffic. My brakes gave enough resistance that by the time he hit me, oncoming traffic had seen him and cleared the intersection. He pushed me a good distance. Totalled my car that had less than 3k on it.