Car reversing out of driveway. Who was wrong?

[DontOpenDeadInside]

Walking my dog yesterday and had my earphones on listening to an audio book. She (dog) was slightly ahead of me on extended lead cue loads of posters telling me iabu to use one. Next thing i know a car reversed into me, luckily i realised in the nick of time and jumped forward so it missed me (did very slightly touch my coat). I just gave the guy "the look" and continued on. But when i was telling my nan later on, she said it was my fault for having the earphones on and not being able to hear the engine. I was more grateful i wasn't a few seconds later as he would have went over my dog! I don't think i could of dragged her away as quick as she walks closer to the wall than me. So who was bu? Me or driver?

[harderandharder2breathe]

Both of you. Driver should've checked before reversing but you should be paying attention (sight as well as sound) to your surroundings.

[HermioneJeanGranger]

"How much noise do the people commenting on your headphones think a car makes as it inches out of a driveway?!"

It's not just about the noise - if you have headphones in and are listening to something, you're more likely to be paying attention to that (especially in OP's case when she says it was a book not just a song or the radio) than your surroundings, therefore making yourself more vulnerable.

I often see people with headphones in just wandering into the road because they're totally oblivious to their surroundings.

[DontOpenDeadInside]

You never said you were nearly all the way across at the beginning - bit of w drip-feed there

From op "luckily i realised in the nick of time and jumped forward so it missed me"
How far do you think i can jump? Lol

I posted because i though my nan had a point, but then thought isn't that along the same lines of victim blaming, so was curious to other people's point of view...Which i have had, so thank you.

[NormaSmuff]

Telling a poster to Get a life is Totally unreasonable and uncalled for.


Can I say I dont think I think you should listen to headphones while walking your dog? I am tempted to myself but it feels wrong somehow. when you should be paying attention to your dog and the surroundings. But that is a different issue

[Topseyt]

Some people here appear not to realise that pedestrians have right of way on the footpath. Not drivers.

Of course common sense dictates that both should be aware at all times and act accordingly, but drivers are supposed to give priority to pedestrians whenever they need to cross the footpath, which most of us do have to do to get onto our own drives.

[KungFuPandaWorksOut16]

In an ideal world drivers would be me more careful and vigilant but they're not. I don't get why people basically put their lives in the hands of a stranger who has a massive metal weapon, on the premise that they have right of way.

[Oysterbabe]

The driver was at fault. You have to take a lot of care when reversing and he obviously wasn't looking properly.

[DontOpenDeadInside]

Norma's murder, that's what i thought, but once off lead, my dog is very predictable. Runs through the forest, comes back when i call for her every 5 mins or so etc. And if there are people around i pause it (walk in pretty quiet places though) and if the road is busy i pause it until I've crossed, though if no traffic will just cross.

[DontOpenDeadInside]

Murder? Wtf? Smurf lol

[NameNotANumber]

Driver is in the wrong
Highway Code
Rule 206
Drive carefully and slowly when...
needing to cross a pavement or cycle track; for example, to reach or leave a driveway. Give way to pedestrians and cyclists on the pavement

[Mummyoflittledragon]

Legally the car driver is at fault. Pedestrians have priority both on the pavement and when crossing over the entrance to another road (as long as they are continuing along the same road). However that wouldn't help either you or the dog were you hit. People make mistakes. I almost hit a man about a year ago reversing out of my drive. I missed him in my mirrors. I was devastated and very apologetic, gave him a hug. He's a lovely man, retired, always walking around the neighbourhood. It would entirely and completely have been my fault. But accidents happen and it is good both you and the man saw the car before it was too late.

[DontOpenDeadInside]

What about runners? I'd say the majority of them wear headphones, is that any different? I jog sometimes (though not on the streets) and listen to music and shock horror! walk the dog at the same time.

[OnionKnight]

You're both in the wrong.

I'm deaf and I'm very observant so that I don't get squashed.

[anxious2017]

Oh no! A pet hate of mine is dogs on flexible leads or off lead where there are roads. No matter how well trained a dog is, there are occasions where they could be startled and run into the road. I once had a friend with a beautifully trained border collie. He walked him off lead in a town and he would walk nose touching back of leg. He was the most obedient and intelligent dog I've ever known. A car backfired while we were walking, the dog jumped straight into the path of an oncoming van. I'll never forget seeing that grown man cradling the dog in the middle of the road as he slipped away, sobbing and screaming. Heartbreaking, for the sake of a lead.

[Sirzy]

Official guidance for races is that runners shouldn't wear headphones for safety reasons.

I am a runner but don't agree with runners wearing headphones when running along roads/busy areas for all the reasons outlined.

[ShastaBeast]

Driver is wrong, no doubt. Pedestrians shouldn't have to be on high alert for vehicles driving on pavements. Ignore mumsnet, it's full of people who just want to argue the toss and do others down. I listen to podcasts walking in very built up london, I can hear traffic unless they play some music on the podcast. I also reverse out of my driveway and am very very careful to ensure no one is walking nearby - it would be my fault if I hit someone and hold myself to high standards as a driver. I hold others to the same standards. But I am very anxious about my kids running off down the road in case of idiots not being careful - I've even been told off for being too anxious about that, but we have had some near misses. My kids are school age so far too old for reins but they should be able to run ahead safely, sadly they can't.

[CotswoldStrife]

I live in an area that is heavily used for parking during the week. People with headphones on/sending texts step off the pavement all.the.time even on a short walk to work. Not only dangerous, but extremely annoying! Doesn't matter if it's workers/runners/walkers - take the headphones off and pay attention if you are walking past drives or crossing the road!

Legally, the driver is at fault in your case but if there was a clear line of sight over a low wall and you didn't see him either, I doubt either of you were paying full attention to your surroundings.

[IfNotDuffers]

This is interesting - we've had complaints from local residents (via school) about children scooting or cycling over their driveways, with the implication that it's up to the parents to watch out for cars, rather than for cars to watch out for children. It sounds like legally it's the driver's issue, though obviously I'm not going to rely on them seeing kids and have taught mine to listen for the engine, look for reversing lights etc.

[HmmOkay]

Driver at fault. He has to give way to pedestrians when crossing the pavement. And he didn't.

Clearly he didn't look.

I used to live in a street where all the houses had those little 3 foot walls with spaces for drives. And you'd get small children walking and scooting along the pavements. I would always reverse in to our driveway because it simply wasn't safe to reverse out. The visibility just wasn't anywhere near good enough.

I'm always amazed to see people get into a car and just immediately reverse back without even a cursory glance. I saw a pedestrian get hit by a woman in a car who did exactly this. And then said "where did you come from?" to the poor bloke lying there on the pavement. Erm, he was walking on the pavement, that's where he came from.

[Sprogletsmuvva]

What if i was deaf?

I used to move in cycling circles, and people were constantly coming up with this as justification for riding with 'phones in (and IME, often loud enough to be unaware of someone trying to get their attention from right next to them).
I used to work in an office with a blind bloke, who could navigate from the front door, through the lift, umpteen desks, to his own (albeit with a guide dog). It's doubtful a sighted person blindfolded would have been able to do the same.

[SisyphusDad]

As far as I understand, the driver was completely in the wrong. They are responsible for ensuring that their manoeuvre is safe.

I say this having been found at fault in a minor accident where I was reversing in a situation that common sense (in my completely unbiased and objective opinion - I was half way reversed in to an on-street parking space and the other car drove into the back of me) said that the other party was a complete idiot.

[DontOpenDeadInside]

Reversing light! I didn't even see this as i was already past the driveway post. He must have whipped it into reverse then just started off. Like I say, I'm usually super observant.

[ComputerUserNotTrained]

Op was taking a stroll with her dog, on a pavement, along a residential street, not attempting to make her way through a zombie infested forest or traverse a city full of snipers. Yes we need to have an awareness of our surroundings but it's entirely reasonable that one shouldn't be expected to be on high alert, as if playing CoD or something. At least not in most areas of the UK

The driver was in the wrong. If his driving is that poor that he cannot reverse into his drive then maybe he should park elsewhere.