Drivers clash over a video of two cars colliding at a highway intersection – who was in the wrong?

‘The red car should have moved over’: Drivers clash over a video of two cars colliding at a highway intersection – and some say BOTH were at fault

  • NRMA has released animated video of car merging onto highway before a crash 
  • But who’s at fault? The clip has challenged Facebook users to figure it out
  • The seemingly simple video sparked a flurry of online debates between users

Video released by the NRMA showing two animated cars colliding on a highway has left some drivers up in arms over who is really at fault.

The clip shows a blue car (car A) travelling along adjacent to a highway, before it reaches the merging lane. 

Then, without slowing down or giving way to cars already on the highway, the car travels over broken lines and collides with a red car (car B) which was driving inthe left-hand lane. 

The clip finishes and poses the question to viewers:’Who’s at fault?’

The video, posted to Facebook, has left some users scratching their heads as to who is at fault, questioning whether the NRMA is asking a ‘trick question’ or not.

The video, viewed some 80,000 times, has more than 1600 comments, with hundreds taking part in the heated debate.

One Facebook user commented ‘A (blue) is at fault, and anyone who disagrees needs to hand back their licence’, before someone challenged their argument ‘Yes it’s A but morally B should have let him merge, merging is a two car process on a busy road.’ 

‘I was taught to never make any manoeuvre that causes another driver to have to brake or change in any way’, read another comment. 

One driver commented that the blue car shouldn’t have waited so long before merging, saying: ‘It’s very dangerous when people in car A stop at the end of the merging lane.’  

More than 1,500 Facebook users have been debating whether the red car or the blue car should give way

NRMA’s tips for safer merging 

Where the lane you are driving in ends and you have to cross lane lines to merge with the traffic in another lane, give way to traffic in the other lane

– Always check your mirrors and blind spots before merging and use your indicators

– Merge at a similar speed to the traffic you are merging with 

– Avoid stopping in the merging lane,  when entering freeways, as this can make merging more difficult 

Another user thought although car A was at fault, there was more car B could have done to avoid the crash.

‘A is at fault for not giving way, but if I was driving B, I would probably back off for a second and avoid a collision,’ they said.

So who gives way to who? According to the New South Wales Roads and Maritime Services website, it depends. 

Sometimes the lane line ends before the lanes merge, leaving a gap. So when merging, the trailing vehicle gives way to the vehicle ahead. 

Where the lane you are driving in ends and you have to cross broken lane lines to merge with the traffic in another lane (as seen in the video), give way to traffic in the other lane. 

However in the video, because the lines on the highway are broken and go all the way up to where the merging lane finishes, the blue car (A) does in fact have to give way to the red car. 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk