Insurance co. saI am at fault. I don't think I am!

[tcrawle]

I wonder if anyone can help me?

 

It was 20:30 in the evening and dark.

 

I was driving along a side turning and stopped at a T-junction at the end, intending to turn left. I had my headlights on dipped beam.

 

I looked both ways and was clear so I started to pull out. A white Transit van coming along the road I was turning into from my left, pulled out to the centre of the road to straddle a speed bump which was the middle of three across the road. The van was travelling at a speed I would estimate to be 50 mph or more. The speed limit in the road is 30 mph.

 

I had pulled out about 2 feet and stopped to wait for the vehicle to pass as it was straddling the centre white line, was travelling so fast and was half on my side of the road. It went over the speed bump but continued steering to the right, straight at my car.

 

The van hit the front of my car to the right of my nearside headlight, ripping off the bumper, radiator grill, off-side headlight, etc. The driver steered the van to the other side of the road and stopped. The Transit van has damaged on the offside part of the bumper and on the front offside wing.

 

As you can imagine, I was very shaken but, luckily, was not injured in any way. I was lucky that I had not continued to turn because I would have been hit head-on.

 

The driver of the van got out of the driver's seat and said "What was you doing on my side of the road?"

I said I was nowhere near her side of the road and was not even near the centre white line.

 

She then said that she did not see me.

I said "Why was that because I have my headlights on."

She then said she would lose her £500 excess. I said that was her fault.

 

She gave me her name but refused to give me her address and initially also refused to give me her mobile phone number as she said she did not know it. When I suggested she phone my mobile her memory returned and she told me the number.

 

As the van was from a hire company, I wrote down the company's name, address and phone number.

 

I still asked the driver for her address, but she refused to give it and, while I was ringing my wife to bring me a camera to take some pictures, the driver drove off.

 

An off duty police officer, who was walking his dog, also stopped and knocked at one of the nearby houses to borrow a broom and he cleared up the debris from the road. He did not see the accident but could see where my car was positioned, etc. and gave me his badge number in case I needed anything from him.

 

I was nowhere near the other side of the road and was not even halfway across my side. And looking at my damage and the damage on the transit van was it is evident that the van hit me from the left, across the front of my can.

 

I think that because of the speed the driver was driving at she lost control of the van when she went over the speed bump.

 

My insurance company are saying they are accepting 100% liability because the other driver had right of way and I was turning into her road.

I am saying she was driving too fast and should not have been on my side of the road. How could she have right of way when she was on tghe wrong side of the road.

 

The photos I provided show me sticking out of the side turning by about two feet and my insurer suggested I could have reversed my car back into the side turning but it is obvious from where the debris is that I hadn't.

 

Can somebody please give me some advice/ Did she have right of way?

Edited March 22, 2013 by tcrawle
formatting

[tcrawle]

177 Views and no replies!

[Migster]

I'm sure it will be useful if you give the location so people can have a look at the junction on Google Street view.

[Homer67]

I think the lack of replies is because thi scould go either way if you decide to take it to court.

 

IMO I would say it was not your fault, however, you were emerging from a junction onto a road and she was driving on that road and technically has the right of way.

 

I know the highway code is not law but that statement is in there, exactly as that and while they shouldn't, insurance companies do take the HC as law.

 

Her driving sounds terrible but I wouldn't like to put money on it going your way.

 

Send your statement to your insurance company and stick with it, you'll struggle to get them to argue I think but worth a try as you are set lose anyway if they accept 100% fault anyway, might cost you more in court though...

[slick132]

Hi Tcrawle and welcome to CAG

 

There are thousands of such incidents on the roads every week and, whilst this matter is very important for you, it's just a tiny drop in the huge ocean of motor finance.

 

Write to your insurers and be very firm that you do not expect them to just accept liability without challenging the other driver's actions.

 

However, with no witnesses to back up your version of events, I too share the view that you are unlikely to succeed in persuading your own, or the other driver's, insurers that you were not to blame.

[Kiki1]

How long ago did the incident occur ?

[ukdivision]

Did you look left before pulling out onto the road? What if the vehicle approaching from the left was overtaking, passing a parked car, a bicycle, a pedestrian etc. etc and not a speed hump. In my opinion you were at least as much to blame, sorry

 

Many years ago I did a similar thing, turned left after only looking right and found a Landrover heading towards me. I was lucky then as that driver was alert and managed to avoid me. Ever since then I always pay attenttion to what is coming from my left. A lesson I'll never forget.

[slick132]

Hi UKD and welcome to CAG

 

[Old Cogger]

Always remember as a learner Driver in Germany (Army) when I was at a road junction I was pulling out to the right when I stalled the Champ on Tram Lines and a Tram was approaching from the left, had trouble re-starting the Champ = luckily the driver as it got near us stopped, I was told after if the Tram had hit us I would be too blame it was the rule for being in that position = no arguments.

[crem]

I think I would have to agree with the general concensus in that although you can complain about how (badly) the van may have dealt with the speed bump, it wasn't in itself illegal to position for the bump in the most comfortable position. It may have been unwise to do so near a junction but the van was on the main road and had right of way on an apparently clear road at the time.

 

To quote one of our corny driving instructor type of phrases we would teach "never put your car where your eyes haven't been".