they both made mistakes.

Seems like if you are hitting things that are in front of you that maybe you are going too fast, or can't stop in a short enough distance.

Edit-

I think there is little value in blaming the driver, even if it is largely his or her fault, because you can't do anything about them. You are riding a bike with explosion powered boxes made of steel, glass, plastic, and inattentiveness flying by at unreasonable speeds. In this situation I worry about what I can do to stay alive and in one piece because the drivers sure as hell won't.

Due to Seely's clarification at the end of page one, I think this driver caused the incident.

most likely. Pretty good riding to stay upright though.

Yeah, with the much more detailed explanation, she does sound at fault.

BikeForums Rashomon!

+a lot

+1.

if it wasn't my fault, and me/my bike were okay, there's no way i'd stick around to deal with the aftermath. nothing but trouble....

Use an uncool mirror and zig-zag yer bike like its about to fall over
to the right of the lane. Cars slow down and stay behind you if they cant
figure out whats going on. Dont want to risk a scratch on thier car or
miss the sale at walmart.

Though legally, at least in Ontario, hitting someone from behind means an automatic fault, any cyclist knows this kind of situation all too well. Somebody speeds past you, cuts in front of you, and hits the breaks (often to turn, obstructing even more of the lane). Happens to me nearly every day. It's bull*****, really dangerous (though seldom for the people in the car) and rarely saves any driver more than 6 seconds. Unfortunately cars tend to give people an instant ego boost, a Formula 1 complex and a huge decrease in visibility. To further complicate matters, most people around here seem to assume a fixed speed of 15-20 km/h (about as fast as they can go with their Huffy MTB with low tire pressure and a rusty chain) for every bike they see, regardless of what their eyes tell them, causing them to preform all manner of dangerous manoeuvres in front of them thinking they've got time.

That said, I very rarely hit people from behind, because I'm cautious, ride with a break, and have a keen sense for when somebody's going to do something stupid.

You F%#$ed up her car. Probably cost hundreds to fix, at least. And didn't get hurt.

In short, you won.