"So basically, the driver in front of you has no liability to not cause an accident at all?"
*** Obviously, that is an over-simplification of the facts. The driver in front of you has no obligation to prevent YOU (driving behind him) from having an accident. And the fact that your husband was NOT complying with the law IS the cause of the accident.
Tennessee State Code:
"55-8-124. Following too closely.
(a) The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway."
"That makes perfect sense."
*** Yes it does.
"I understand that it might show that someone was following too close, but, in reality one would realize that even the driver's ed books do not in that case and fact give you an efficient distance to keep between cars."
*** Actually, you are not correct. This is taken from the Tennessee drivers Handbook (page 53):
"Tennessee law states: “The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway.”
When another driver makes a mistake, you need time to react. Give yourself this time by keeping a “space cushion” (see Chapter 10 for more details on this topic) around your vehicle. This space cushion will give you room to brake or maneuver to avoid hazards when needed.
Good drivers keep this safe following distance or space cushion to have a better view of the road. The more space you allow between your car and the car ahead, the more time you will have to see and anticipate traffic hazards, or accidents down the road.
Many drivers don’t see as well as they should because they follow too closely (tailgating), and the vehicle ahead of
them blocks their view of traffic and road conditions. Rearend crashes are very common and most of these crashes are caused by drivers who are “tailgating”. They have failed to allow an adequate space cushion and find themselves unable to stop before hitting the vehicle ahead that suddenly stops.
Two Second Rule: Nationally, safety agencies and driver education programs have tried to define a safe following distance for drivers to maintain. This has ranged from a 2 to a
4 second following distance. To share the road safely, make sure you are a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you."
The Drivers Handbook can be found at:
http://www.tennessee.gov/safety/graphics/Manual.pdf
"Who figures in how long each individual's reaction time to the accident is?"
*** See above.
"How long it took the other driver to stop? Was it instantaniously or was it a drawn out skid?"
*** Those factors are all determined by the accident investigator on his examination of the scene.
"I think that law is bogus and I can prove it. I can name so many accidents that I have witnessed that the one that stopped was indeed more careless that the one that rear ended them."
*** Sorry, but those are your opinions and NOT proof. See the LAW as stated above.
"Also, on Nada I believe it was, in their "who's liable section" it stated that really an accident is based on who was negligent and to what extent."
*** Not exactly true..... and doesn't apply in this case. The simple FACT is, the truck driver may have been negligent in not securing his load properly. And that drivers negligence caused the car BEHIND him to have an accident. That has absolutely NOTHING to do with your husband who was negligent in failing to provide sufficient space (time to stop) from hitting the car in front of him!!
"Ie: I see a cat and decide it is more important to stop dead still in the middle of 35 mile per hour traffic and cause a 20 car pile up instead of swirve and just take out my own car or take the small damage hitting the cat would cause. If drivers 2-20 still rear end me and in chain reaction each other then who is at fault?"
*** That is a ridiculous argument.
"I started it all with my own bad choice correct?"
*** Again, your example is NOT at all similar to the case in point.... your husband following too close and not leaving sufficient space to stop in an emergency.
