Why did this happen?

[Origamist]

Perhaps. I do tend to watch the traffic in front. What made it more difficult here hill. At the point where the car in front started to brake, the car in front of it was on road that was flattening out, so I lost sight of its brake lights (lower down on the car in front), which normally I'd be able to see.

Of course, brake lights or not, you should always be able to react to what happens ahead of you. Here I didn't (well, actually I did with some fancy steering!).

Still, it wasn't helped by the lack of brake lights!

Indeed, the brow of the hill was limiting your forward observation - this should have made you back off!

I'd imagine if you had collided with the vehicle, liability would have been split.

 

[magnatom]

Indeed, the brow of the hill was limiting your forward observation - this should have made you back off!

I'd imagine if you had collided with the vehicle, liability would have been split.

I was going to ask about liability. Usually a shunt from the rear is the car/cyclist behind's fault. How much fault would be placed on the front driver if brake lights weren't working, such as here?

 

[jimboalee]

I was going to ask about liability. Usually a shunt from the rear is the car/cyclist behind's fault. How much fault would be placed on the front driver if brake lights weren't working, such as here?

A motor vehicle MUST have operational Brake lamps IF FITTED AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT. They should be 21W filament bulbs or 150 cd of LEDs.
Side lamps are 15W filament bulbs or 50 cd.

The following vehicle who rear-ends the vehicle without brake lamps is liable, although the vehicle without operational brake lamps could be prosecuted for an unroadworthy vehicle.

 

[buddha]

Don't know about the rest, but how did you get your head to do a 360 deg turn at 45 seconds?

 

[jimboalee]

Don't know about the rest, but how did you get your head to do a 360 deg turn at 45 seconds?

Magna 'Bobblehead' Tom.

 

[DrSquirrel]

Pooh! Far too easy! Funnily enough I didn't notice it at the time. I was surprised by the car stopping but I was too busy sliding and trying to steer (my back had locked up) to notice why it had happened.

Perhaps I should have been a little further back, but I'm sure if the cars brake lights were working I wouldn't of had a problem.

Easy because a modern car should have a 3rd... took me a few looks to see if the other lights lit up though. At first I thought it was simply someone slowing slowly on the brakes then braking sharper which brake lights cannot show us.

 

[davefb]

I was going to ask about liability. Usually a shunt from the rear is the car/cyclist behind's fault. How much fault would be placed on the front driver if brake lights weren't working, such as here?

maybe he's one of those 'accident causing' idiots who goes round with deliberately removed brake lights!

their plot only worked, because the insurers just went '100% fault' to the guy behind..

 

[Origamist]

A motor vehicle MUST have operational Brake lamps IF FITTED AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT. They should be 21W filament bulbs or 150 cd of LEDs.
Side lamps are 15W filament bulbs or 50 cd.

The following vehicle who rear-ends the vehicle without brake lamps is liable, although the vehicle without operational brake lamps could be prosecuted for an unroadworthy vehicle.

In a civil case any decent ambulance chaser would go down the contributory negligence route if you were involved in a rear shunt and it could be proven that the brake lights of the vehicle you hit were defective when braking. This would almost certainly mean your liability would be reduced.

 

[661-Pete]

Or possibly he used his handbrake? Such things have been known....

Don't know whether I'm misinterpreting, but it looks to me like the car has rear fogs on. Which would itself be illegal in the prevailing conditions.

Whatever: however much you find illegal in whatever that car was doing, it's no consolation if you find out after becoming a statistic. Lucky for you this time, but we should all be aware*...

*don't say it!

 

[Mr Celine]

Actually it looks like the brake lights are stuck on - except for the centre one. The fog light is below the bumper.

 

[Ergates]

Assuming he/she uses his/her brakes. May be they hate their car and punish it by slowing down using 1st gear.

 

[BenM]

in the additional clip there is the distinctive sound of the RFI typically cause by mobile phones... can that have anything to do with your inattention to the car? after all it can';t possibly be because the car has no brake lights can it? after all every car driver is completley perfect in every way

B.

 

[jann71]

I'm disappointed, no girlie squeal !

 

[mgarl10024]

Where possible try to watch traffic ahead of the car in front - it gives you more time to react. In the vid you were following the car too close for the conditions - regardless of whether the vehicle had faulty brake lights.

I'd have to agree. At around 28sec-34sec it looked a bit close. I'm thinking as if I were a passenger in a car, I'd probably clutching the seat a little - and I suspect that you have less stopping ability that a car (?).

 

[magnatom]

in the additional clip there is the distinctive sound of the RFI typically cause by mobile phones... can that have anything to do with your inattention to the car? after all it can';t possibly be because the car has no brake lights can it? after all every car driver is completley perfect in every way

B.

My mobile phone sits in the same pocket as my camera recorder so it does pick up quite a lot of interference from it. I wasn't using it at the time.....honest!