Unfortunately I backed into a parked car.
The car was illegally parked with a clear No Parking sign in front of the parked car.
Also, the parked car did not use the Emergency Flasher lights.
I am told that it is 100% my fault according to Japanese law.
Is this correct?
or, is there any recourse for partial liability of the illegally parked car?
After all, if the car obeyed the no parking sign then the accident could have been prevented (is what I would say to the judge).
Any advice on the Japanese law in this situation is appreciated.
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/vdsgh4/hit_a_parked_car/
11 comments
even in the US that would be your fault
Pretty much the only time when it goes 100% to your fault is when you hit a car that is not moving.
The other party might get a parking violation. That however does not diminish your responsibility of the accident.
the car could be parked anywhere and it’d be 100% your fault
europe, US, japan, doesn’t matter, you’re the one at fault if you hit a parked car
Where are you from originally that this would not 100% be your fault?
>Unfortunately I backed into a parked car.
Sorry to hear that.
>The car was illegally parked with a clear No Parking sign in front of the parked car.
That doesn’t matter; its still your fault.
>Also, the parked car did not use the Emergency Flasher lights.
That doesn’t matter; its still your fault.
>I am told that it is 100% my fault according to Japanese law. Is this correct?
Yes; it is correct.
>is there any recourse for partial liability of the illegally parked car?
No.
>After all, if the car obeyed the no parking sign then the accident could have been prevented (is what I would say to the judge).
The accident could also have been prevented **if you were watching where you were backing up**.
What if the said car is parked illegally in the middle of the street after a turn? Would it still be OP’s fault?
> I am told that it is 100% my fault according to Japanese law.
> Is this correct? or, is there any recourse for partial liability of the illegally parked car?
Yes, it is 100% on you as the other vehicle was not in motion and you were backing up, so pretty clearly you had the opportunity to ascertain your surroundings. There is no recourse to you – and you should probably invest in a rear camera.
The only case in which there *might* be recourse is if you were traveling in an area (such as an expressway) where you had no reasonable expectation to encounter a stopped vehicle, the stopped vehicle was in the roadway in an area with limited visibility (such as around a curve) and not on the shoulder, and you were driving at or under the speed limit. In a case like that *some* responsibility would be on the other party – but you still have a responsibility to drive in a manner that would allow you to avoid such obstacles and would still take majority fault.
Do you have a backing camera or sensors on your car? You’re lucky it wasn’t a pet or a kid.
> After all, if the car obeyed the no parking sign then the accident could have been prevented (is what I would say to the judge).
“But Your Honour! If that guy hadn’t been speeding this morning, he wouldn’t have been in the intersection at the exact moment that I ran the red light and T-boned him!”
You’re in trouble. There was a stationary car, and you backed into it. You’re at fault. It doesn’t matter if the car wasn’t supposed to be there. It was there.
It’s behind you Tyrone. Whenever you reverse, things come from behind you.
Honestly though. 100% your fault. It sucks but that’s how it goes.