You’re investigating a fender-bender at a red light involving a compact car in t

Question

You’re investigating a fender-bender at a red light involving a compact car in the front and a larger pickup truck in the rear. The driver of the compact says, “The truck didn’t see the red light and rear-ended me.” The driver of the truck says, “That light turned green and the compact hit the gas... in reverse... and backed into me.” The skid marks left after the collision indicate the compact moved forward and the truck moved backward. Because the bumpers are at the same level and absorbed most of the impact, assume the collision was mostly elastic. Who is at fault? Prove it.

Explanation / Answer

compact car driver fault if truck had hit the compact from front , the truck could not have moved backwards. It would have lost some of its forward motion to the compact vehicle, but could not have rebounded from the lighter one. The only way the truck could have moved backwards is if it was hit by the compact reversing. The lighter compact then rebounded from the truck.

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