Just had an accident, who was to blame?

nitram100

nitram100

nitram100

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Driving down a normal road at 30mph and some guy in a ford focus drives up very aggressively behind me, right up to my ass.

My turn off comes up on the right..

I indicate left by mistake as the guy is stressing me out tailgating me and my little nephew is in the car I quickly correct to indicate right but (at this point he is still tailgating me) and then turn in to my road but by this time he has already overtaken on the right hand side into the opposite lane, scraped along the right side of my car and gone into a fence.

Any ideas?

Damage to my care was right hand side mirror taken off, scratches alone the right hand side, wing mirror gone, side repeater gone.

My damage is not worth claiming for.

What should I do, claim anyway?
 
Depends on how much the respective parties would fight it but I think most likely it would go 50/50.

He shouldn't overtake at a junction however you indicated incorrectly and failed to check your mirrors properly before making your maneuver. Both parties made a mistake that resulted in an accident.

You might get away with it being entirely his fault if you argued it well enough, as an overtake is an 'at risk' maneuver, especially at a junction.
 
Basically my indicator stalk sits out a bit further than normal after a little repair a few months ago, but regardless I did correct well in time before turning right so shouldn't really make a difference?

He was just desperate to get past me as I was the only car on the road.

Well just checked the Government website and it states

167
DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For example

approaching or at a road junction on either side of the road

He also didn't signal right to overtake me, just sped up like a mad man.

I have 2 witnesses that saw him overtake me and crash into me so it should be ok.
 
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Having your indicator on doesn't just give you carte blanche to alter course without checking your path is clear though, whether he should or shouldn't have been overtaking you could have avoided the collision with proper observation just as much as he could have avoided it by not overtaking in a stupid place.
 
Yeh but if he had of been obeying the 2 second gap rule he would have seen my indicator correction well in time and there wouldn't be a problem.
 
Thanks for the opinion. There are things I could have done to avoid it, but end of the day he was driving like a **** and overtook at a junction while tailgating, which he shouldn't have done.
 
Indicators are a hazy area - they essentially mean absolutely nothing aside from showing either good driving practice, or bad.

Legally, I am unsure of actual situations that they can be used evidentially against you, however you did stipulate that you corrected the indication.

Under normal circumstances, you would be at fault for colliding with a car overtaking unless extraneous circumstances applied (i.e. you felt threatened, they were speeding, obstacle in road, weather conditions... etc).

However, you were the primary vehicle and turning right. This tool decided he was going to overtake, and in true challenged tunnel-vision style, allegedly didn't ease off and went for it.

Concerning the indication you mentioned, I would forget about it - they mean nothing for roundabout related incidents, and, as you have mentioned they are easy to knock and you can see thousands of drivers a day leaving them on unduly for miles.

This seems quite clear cut if it as you describe. He overtook a vehicle turning into oncoming traffic (heck, might as well class it similar to a double overtake).

His fault.
 
If you're wanting to quote the highway code, there is also this one:

180

Wait until there is a safe gap between you and any oncoming vehicle. Watch out for cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians and other road users. Check your mirrors and blind spot again to make sure you are not being overtaken, then make the turn. Do not cut the corner. Take great care when turning into a main road; you will need to watch for traffic in both directions and wait for a safe gap.

You both failed to properly observe the best practice advised in the highway code, though him more so, whether it would be enough to prevent a 50/50 judgement I don't know but i'd be surprised.

I know one thing though, you won't fail to check your mirrors in future :p
 
Your indicator is not the point really, he shouldn't have overtaken until it was safe to do so. Any indication on your part even incorrect or cancelled means he should have slowed to see what you were doing before committing to a manoeuvre. You on the other hand knew he was behind you and should never have turned without checking the mirror and making sure you were aware of his position. Both to blame imo, more his fault than yours. But probably 50/50 once the insurance decide on it.
 
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fornowagain said:
Your indicator is not the point really, he shouldn't have overtaken until it was safe to do so. Any indication on your part even incorrect or cancelled means he should have slowed to see what you were doing before committing to a manoeuvre. You on the other hand knew he was behind you and should never have turned without checking the mirror and making sure you were aware of his position. Both to blame imo, more his fault than yours. But probably 50/50 once the insurance decide on it.
Click to expand...

It was also at an intersection, where you should never overtake.
 
Kenai is wrong. Other driver is at fault. Have I "overtaken" someone who is turning left, yep, but I would still say it is my fault if I hit them.

Overtaking is an "at your own risk" action.
 
It's his fault. You never trust an indicator, and you do not overtake next to a junction.

He also should have been leaving enough of a gap between himself and you to react to your maneuver. He didn't.
 
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