How Is Fault Determined If Both Parties Are Backing out at the Same Time?

Because it is the responsibility of the vehicle backing up to yield to oncoming traffic, any ensuing collisions are almost always exclusively the fault of the driver who was backing up at the time. The assignation of blame becomes more complex, however, when both parties involved in the accident were backing up simultaneously. In that situation, both drivers would almost always share the fault of the accident equally, but a few exceptions do exist.

Depending on your state’s accident liability laws, one driver may be assigned the majority of fault in a back-up collision in the event of recklessness or negligence. Consider the following situations:

Fault and Settlements in Back-Up Accidents

In the most likely scenario, the auto insurance companies would find you and the other driver equally at fault for the back-up collision, thereby assigning you each 50 percent of the accident fault. Depending on your state, that would entitle you to a claim of only 50 percent of the damages to your vehicle. In “50-percent bars” states, the other driver’s carrier does not have to pay you anything for a mutual back-up accident if you were determined to be 50 percent or more at fault.