I’d say vehicle 2 is at fault for the most part, but I think vehicle 1 may have been in the wrong a tad as well though with the current info I can’t say he/she is.

I would say vehicle 1, though legally, I’m not sure, it seems like vehicle 2 might share responsibility, “morally” if not legally. While it’s human nature, probably reflexive even, to try to avoid the accident, to swerve, you can’t just swerve, cross into another lane and run into people. Good and interesting question though. I really don’t know. Vehicle two instigated the chain of event that caused vehicle 1 to swerve and hit the other cars but did the driver of vehicle 1 have other options, other than crossing into the left lane? Could vehicle 1 have somehow avoided both accidents? The accident with vehicle 1 and with the other cars? Slamming on the brakes, swerving to the right maybe? I have no idea.

Why is there direct access from a McDonald’s straight onto the highway? Isn’t this why we have on-ramps? Or am I visualizing this all wrong?

Honestly, I have no idea. Ethically, I feel #2 (probably), but legally, I just don’t know.

@Aethelflaed I’m thinking it wasn’t a highway, as in freeway. I was just asking someone the other day what you actually call these roads, but I was picturing my local McDonald’s on Rt. 202, a 4 lane divided highway, 2 lanes south, 2 lanes north, no on or off ramps, and someone could easily exit that McDonald’s, cutting someone off, in the northbound right lane, “forcing” them to swerve into the northbound left lane where there just happened to be two cars.

@lillycoyote I’m probably going to need a picture of this to really get a handle on the situation.

@Aethelflaed I’m working on a forensic computer animation for you right now. :-)

right of way [ link ]

Aethelflaed, this McDonalds restaurant was not off the interstate, it was next to a state highway and direct access to the public road.

@john65pennington So then it sounds like possibly the state for creating a situation drivers cannot reasonably deal with.