Who was wrong here?

[Suzanne12]

Person A is sat in car in ambulance bay outside hospital main entrance. Person B comes out main entrance holding hands with 2 children and walks behind car to cross the road. Small one-way road no cars coming. Person A reverses and almost hits one of the children but Person B pulls them back. Person A apologises but Person B doesn't respond but body language suggests they're not happy. Person A then changes to shouting at Person B for not using the crossing further down (the other way to where Person B was going) and drives away. Who is wrong? Should Person A have looked before reversing or should Person B have only crossed at the crossing?

Person A is in the wrong, but it sounds a little like they gave themselves a fright and lashed out.

FGS just say who you are!
All this A and B nonsense is tiresome.

A is a dick for being in an ambulance bay regardless. Also a dick for not looking, and being aggressive.

B needs to take road safety more seriously.

Person A entirely at fault

Person B might like to think about setting a better example in choice of crossing point if such a crossing point is available though

Well of course it's A and I'm guessing that's you op seeing as you've disappeared.

Person A is wrong for parking in an ambulance bay and also for not looking before reversing.

Both were wrong but A was worse for parking in the wrong place and then having a go at B, especially as they should have looked.
B was wrong for not using a crossing with two young children and crossing behind the car.
More blame to A though.

A. Person A can't expect person B to know they were about to reverse especially in a venue like a hospital where it's highly likely B would have had a lot on their mind.

Person A

Person A apologises but Person B doesn't respond but body language suggests they're not happy

Umm....you are person A?

I’m sure you’re B, btw.

And really - it’s not just about keeping your kids safe in that moment, it’s about getting them to act safely at other moments too. For years I walked the extra distance and waited for lights to turn at crossings when a totally straight road was clear both ways for a long distance. Not because of any risk on that day - but because how do I teach my kids to use the crossing, if half the time I’m not bothering myself?

If OP ever comes back, I’d like to know why she’s even asking. Is there a prize for “least wrong of two wrong people” going?

I assumed you were B cos surely A would be absolutely sure they were reasonable because they're a dickhead

Both are wrong. A should have been absolutely sure it was safe to reverse and obviously didn’t look properly. B should have walked round the front of the car or used the crossing.

If I was on my own I wouldn’t bother with the crossing but in that scenario with two children I would.

I don’t think A would have included the part about the ambulance bay

It’s just weird that someone who has been on MN for ages would bother with this A & B nonsense. AIBU does not exactly have a history of automatically “aw hun” style siding with the OP.

You’re not going to get a definitive answer here anyway. For all that I think A is “more” wrong, but B was more reckless about her children’s safety - we don’t have the full picture. It’s all very well, saying that A should look first. I’ve been driving for 30 years and not hit anyone, I do check my mirrors, look around where appropriate- but once I had my heart in my mouth and ended up crying with shock at a near miss at a child who appeared from nowhere. I stopped in time, no harm was done. But there ARE blind spots, and there ARE unpredictable behaviours. That’s why I think B was bloody stupid, and getting worked up about A shouting at them is probably more comfortable than thinking about how they endangered their own child.

The OP is clearly person B

Person A.

You can tell OP is person B from the detailing of her walking out of the hospital holding the hands of 2 small children - this detailing suggests she is person B. I’m not sure why someone sat in a car is expected to notice people holding hands....

But person A is more in the wrong for parking illegally. But person B shouldn’t walk behind cars to cross & be teaching kids to always cross at the designated crossings....

Person A was massively in the wrong and clearly didn’t look before reversing.

Person A at fault (and a dickhead for parking in the ambulance bay) because the driver is always responsible for fully checking it's safe to manoeuvre before doing so.

Person B in the wrong for crossing an ambulance bay irrespective of how safe it 'appeared' because it's an emergency access area and they're being selfish and adding additional unnecessary risk factors for ambulance drivers by walking across it, especially with children!

Person A obviously

A is in the wrong - everything they did was wrong. (we're having this convo about reversing out of parking spaces a lot lately)

A is in the wrong but B was also careless

If person A was an ambulance then person B might well have stepped into their blind spot.

Person A would have been legally in the wrong of course, but person B should know to be vigilant around cars especially if moving into a blind spot. A crossing is always preferable, even if slightly out of the way.

Should Person A have looked before reversing

Wtf? Why are you even asking this? Do you think there’s the remotest possibility someone will say that A didn’t need to look before reversing and that people can reverse with impunity without looking to see it’s safe to do so?? Really???