Question:
Halacha says that people who are running on erev Shabbos and they cause damage – they are exempt, because they had reshus to run at that time. A person who is driving erev Shabbos very close to the zman and because of his hurrying to park the car, dents someone else’s car, is he exempt from paying?
Answer:
Reshus to run doesn’t mean that you can damage someone else, it means that we can’t say that the runner was totally at fault because the other person should have also been careful. However if there wasn’t another person that was capable of being careful, such as a parked car, then the person who damaged is liable, and has to pay.
Sources:
Pischei Choshen Nezikin 1-29 ftnt.71,72, Horav B. Rubanowitz shlit”a.
