Road rule advice needed

[DEATH_INC.]

Here's a question for all the legal guru's out there....
Someone I know (no not me) had a bit of an oops the other day.
I've drawn a crude sketch to show what happened....the question is, who is at fault?
Both vehicles have reversed from a carpark in front of the local dairy.

[Scuba_Steve]

I would have to say B is at fault given A is already on the roadway but I have never looked into this so it's just my guess/opinion

There is or used to be a rule making it illegal reversing onto the road to prevent these sort of accidents

[Ender EnZed]

There is or used to be a rule making it illegal reversing onto the road to prevent these sort of accidents

How else would you get onto the road? Drive up onto the footpath and through the corner of the dairy?

I'd say B is at fault.

[unstuck]

I,d say b also.

[DEATH_INC.]

The one sticky bit is a has reversed onto the road the wrong way....as in facing the wrong direction. Should they have reversed onto the other side of the road? Or does the fact that they are facing the wrong way not matter?
The argument is that car A should not have been there...

[Bassmatt]

The one sticky bit is a has reversed onto the road the wrong way....as in facing the wrong direction. Should they have reversed onto the other side of the road? Or does the fact that they are facing the wrong way not matter?
The argument is that car A should not have been there...

A must be at fault then, IMO.
edit: although looking again A was travelling in the correct direction for the lane even tho it was facing the wrong way (?) so car B should have been looking that way but then I dont think its legal to drive down the road with the car facing the wrong way, i'm all confused now, its a tricky one.
In car A's position I would reverse onto the opposite side of the road.

[Gremlin]

As you say, is it illegal to reverse down a road? Direction of travel was correct, vehicle the wrong way around. I don't know.

A read of the Land Transport Rule 2004 (http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regul...est/whole.html) shows nothing, just reversing on motorways.

However, the other fact is that there was a vehicle on the road, and the driver of the car in the park failed to see the vehicle on the road when reversing, so that is a fail there.

[Scuba_Steve]

How else would you get onto the road? Drive up onto the footpath and through the corner of the dairy?

I heard this was back from when parallel was the parking of choice, but I've never seen the law myself so ???.
I know the UK has alot of confusion around reversing from a driveway onto a road, many think it's illegal when in-fact it's not but should there be an accident the person reversing is automatically at fault (reverse nose to tail situation pun intended) I assume the same probably goes here

However it is illegal to reverse into an angled park.

[oneofsix]

given the relative positions shown on your sketch B has hit A. A has committed an offence in that A is on the wrong side of the road but what if A had been driving up the road in that direction? B would have still hit A?
Or is B's defence that they thought A was on the other side of the road because the rear end was facing them?
The best defence B has is that they saw the road was clear in A's direction and that A was reversing out of their park, at this stage A wasn't yet turning and would legally be crossing to the other side of the road or turning away from B. B therefore concentrated on the other direction whilst reversing out of their park. I don't think this is much of a defence with A being shown completely across the back of B, even though it might be what happened.

This is one where you give it to the insurance companies to sort.

[bogan]

The argument is that car A should not have been there...

From nzta

Safe parking rules

By law, you must follow these rules when parking:
Indicate for at least three seconds before slowing down to park.
Park parallel to the road and as close to the left as possible, unless you are parking in an area where angle parking is permitted. There will be lines on the road (or signs) to show where you can angle park.
Move as far off the road as possible when stopping or parking on a road with fast-moving traffic.
Always check for passing vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians before opening your door.
Be careful when pulling out of a parking space. Don't forget to:
check for vehicles
signal for at least three seconds before pulling out.
A motor vehicle must not be parked on the road during the hours of darkness unless it is clearly visible to other road users. This means it should be lit by street lights, or you should turn on the tail lights and the side light nearest the centre of the road on the front of the vehicle.
A light, flat-decked vehicle that is parked on the street at night must display a rear red light that:
is on the side of the vehicle closest to the centre of the road
is visible at a distance of 100 metres

Car B didn't check for vehicles when pulling out, and hit one; car A didn't violate anything on that list as far as I can tell. Common sense suggests that yes, they should have backed out onto the other side of the road, but there is a number of other situations (pretty much all of them) where it is a good idea to watch the space where you are backing up into!

[Gremlin]

However it is illegal to reverse into an angled park.

Only when there is indication that it is illegal, or contrary to the direction indicated for flow of traffic.

[DEATH_INC.]

Only when there is indication that it is illegal, or contrary to the direction indicated for flow of traffic.

If you drive forward out of an angled park, you will be travelling the wrong direction on the road...

[DEATH_INC.]

This is one where you give it to the insurance companies to sort.

If only, neither vehicle is insured.....

[iYRe]

I think you'll find that entering a piece of road occupied by another vehicle is illegal (unless covered by some other rule).

So, if you pull out of a car park (or enter an intersection) occupied by another vehicle, you are at fault. Unless you can prove they were not there when you moved (in which case you didnt hit them and there was no accident :P)

[oneofsix]

If only, neither vehicle is insured.....

ouch. Even 3rd party might have helped.