the car in front of me stopped abruptly as he had hit the car in front of him as i tried to swerve out of its way but hit the back left side of the car in front of me with my right sided lights, am i liable to pay for the damages on his car? plus it was a company car i was driving.
You are not personally liable but your company's insurance would be. I am a former police officer and fully understand what happened. What the other vehicle did or did not do does not make any difference as far as you are concerned. The law requires you to maintain a safe distance so that if the car in front of you suddenly slams on his brakes, you still have enough time to stop safely. I taught that you should be able to see completely under the vehicle in front of you. If you cannot see under his front tires, you are too close. Also you always need to watch the car in front of the car in front of you. That should be your sight line. That allows you to react as soon as the car in front of you does. Sorry but that is the law on such a situation.
Thank you for this valuable information. I take it all on board whether I can argue that it was a hilly part of the road we were on and that although I could have kept my distance even further from the car in front, the point is better driving next time for all parties involved. Thank you once again for your great advice, it has given me some grounding on my rights on personally paying for the damages.
Thank you for your positive rating, it is much appreciated