
Quoting
psychotix
My question involves a traffic accident in the State of: Ohio
Hello, I was wondering whether someone could shed some light on where I stand re a collision in a parking lot.
I was parked in a bay. Prior to reversing out I checked right then left then right again, asking my passenger to confirm the road was clear. I didn't see anything coming and neither did my passenger. I started to slowly reverse out of the bay . . . . and Bang !!!
The rear of my SUV struck the side of a passing car. I was 3/4 way out of my bay and the other vehicle stopped approx 20ft further down the road. I've exited the vehicle and established that no one was injured.
As such I've started to exchange details with the other driver. They demanded a cash settlement at the roadside, but since my car is a rental, I insisted on the insurance route. Eventually the other party admitted they didn't have insurance. We exchanged details anyway and both parties left the scene.
As I'm visiting from oversea's and am not 100% sure of traffic law etc, I went to a police station to file a report (to cover myself). I was told that it was out of their jurisdiction and was referred to a sheriffs office instead. I was told there that because it was on private property and no one was injured that it was down to the insurance companies to sort out and that a police report wasn't required.
That said, the question is where do I stand. ie what is the law re reversing ?
Would I be deemed to be at fault or would the other party be at fault failing to observe a hazzard ?
Any help / advice (good or bad) would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers.