The scene unfolds very quickly as one reckless driver doesn’t stop at… a stop sign and hits a car who was passing through the intersection. In his defense he did brake after seeing the other car. Damages are somewhat minimal: the right fender for the victim, the front bumper for the aggressor. Not really a big deal. That’s why we have insurance, right?
The interesting part starts now. If you were to ask the person who failed to stop: “whose fault the accident was?”, a magical moment will take place. You will find out that maybe it was the car’s manufacturer fault that the breaks didn’t stop the car sooner. Or that it is the others driver fault, because he was obviously speeding though the intersection. Or maybe the Stop sign is not visible enough. Or the road is not well maintained. Or whoever is responsible for the road knows that this is a dangerous junction and should have placed a traffic light there. Or maybe it’s because a squirrel chewed on the brakes while the car was parked. See a pattern here? Everybody and everything is to blame, except for the one that should get the blame… at least in his eyes. It’s what I call the “Not My Fault” response.
The response is so common and so well rooted in the behavior of the people in the US that I say that the culture around accountability is the “Not My Fault” culture. Admitting that it’s your fault will cost you. It’s safer to just play dumb and pretend that you’re actually a good person.
And if you think that things are not that bad, think about liability waivers. Why would, for example, a gym need a liability waiver? I tell you why… because if someone breaks their neck while going down the stairs they would actually sue the gym if it wasn’t for that waiver. It’s not your fault that you are a dumb-ass and cannot pay attention while going down the stairs. It’s the gym’s fault for putting the stairs in your way.
When stupidity overrides common sense, “Not My Fault” becomes the default.