My dashcam caught everything — will it actually matter for fault?
So I got into a rear-end collision about three weeks ago and I'm honestly still processing the whole thing. Here's what happened: I was on the highway during normal traffic flow when a pickup suddenly merged into my lane from the right — no signal, no warning — and immediately hit the brakes hard. I had maybe a second to react. I hit him.
Cops show up and guess what? The other driver acted like I just randomly plowed into him. Didn't mention his lane change at all. The officer's report leans toward me being at fault because, you know, I was the one who hit him from behind.
Here's the thing though — my dashcam caught the whole sequence. You can clearly see him cut in and brake-check almost instantly. I've already uploaded the footage and sent it to both insurance companies.
I know the general rule that rear-ender = your fault. I've read all of that already. But does video evidence actually shift anything in practice? Like do adjusters actually watch it and factor it into fault determinations, or do they just default to the standard rear-end assumption?
I'm in a no-fault state so some of it goes through my own PIP regardless, but I'm worried about the liability side — my rates, a potential claim against me, all of that.
Has anyone been through something like this where dashcam footage actually changed the outcome? Or did the insurance company basically ignore it? Really want to know what people's real experiences have been, not just the theoretical answer.