brake Checked!

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dsb

dsb

dsb

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One of my drivers was brake checked over the weekend.

Back story.

Both driving along a single carriage way A road, 2 cars ahead of my driver slowed to about 25 mph I assume looking for a junction. A short while later the car slowing traffic indicates left and takes a side road. As the car turns left my driver flashes his headlights. Both my driver and the car in front accelerate then the car ahead slams on his brakes causing a 44 tonne truck to turn his 4 seater into a 2 seater.

Our insurance company has stated its our fault due to lack of room given but brake checking like this is considered dangerous driving. Is there any law or caselaw stating this i can send over to the insurance company.

This is all on dashcam but i cant upload for legal reason i would assume at the moment.

Ok here's the footage. Although my guy is not perfect!
https://youtu.be/p0gUw3K_rCU


Any guidance is appreciated.
 
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dsb said:
Our insurance company has stated its our fault due to lack of room given but brake checking like this is considered dangerous driving. Is there any law or caselaw stating this i can send over to the insurance company.
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Without seeing the footage, it'll be hard for anyone here to judge.

If your insurance company has stated that your driver hasn't left enough room, then it's a pretty open and shut case.

You could send the footage to the police for them to decide on whether it's worth prosecuting the driver. But ultimately it'll still probably come down to how much distance your driver left in front of him.
 
Brake check or not they could have had a reason to emergency stop and your driver would have still turned them into a 2 seater through no fault of theirs.

You're also not supposed to flash your lights for any reason iirc even though we all do it so they may start questioning that as well.
 
Why did your driver flash his headlights?

It sounds like that was his first mistake, and driving too close to the car in front was his second.
 
Flashing lights at someone, and driving too close to the car in front. And it's somehow the other person's fault for braking for what ever reason. What if flashing caused them to lose concentration or blind them.
I despise trucks that drive so close like they own the road, of someone wants to go slower so be it.
 
robj20 said:
Flashing lights at someone, and driving too close to the car in front. And it's somehow the other person's fault for braking for what ever reason. What if flashing caused them to lose concentration or blind them.
I despise trucks that drive so close like they own the road, of someone wants to go slower so be it.
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Absolutely 100% this.
Your driver sounds like a tool and needs some retraining before you let him behind the wheel of a 44 ton artic again.
 
dsb said:
Our insurance company has stated its our fault due to lack of room given but brake checking like this is considered dangerous driving.
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Definitely need the footage. How do you know that it was a brake-check and not a genuine need to slow? You might have a case if this was obviously a brake check and not the first brake-check.
 
Your guy is a right bell, why flash him for slowing down to let the car turn into the junction? Both to blame really.
 
Your driver is clearly a ******* for driving like that in such a heavy and therefore dangerous vehicle, I can see why the insurance company have said what they did. Far too close to the car in front, flashing the driver in front for doing nothing (slowing to allow another car to turn!!) etc.

I'm not surprised he got brake checked, and agree with the insurance companies decision.

Furthermore as his employer I'd put him on disciplinary and put him through mandatory re-training.
 
Got to agree. Way too close. Then flashing and moving out for him slowing down when someone is turning?

Professional drivers should be able to read the road which didn't happen here. The guy infront was constantly on the brakes, that alone would've made me create more distance.
 
I've always been of the opinion that the driver who rear-ends the other is at fault by default. You should always leave enough room to allow for unforeseen actions.

EDIT: Thought I should probably watch the video, and it didn't do anything to change my opinion. Your guy needs to learn how to drive, particularly spending significant amounts of time at the wheel of such a large vehicle.
 
Yeah your driver is a *******, road conditions clearly dictate his braking distance.

That video is cut and dry tbh, he is in the wrong.
 
Having watched the footage it's a tough one on your driver as the brake check looks stupid just past the junction. However, it's very wet and hard to see anything ahead so he should have left more room accelerating away from the junction (as he was doing for most of the video!)
 
Why does it look like the truck was about to overtake the car at the junction, or is that just me. Seems like there in a rush and didn't like being held up by others.
 
robj20 said:
Why does it look like the truck was about to overtake the car at the junction, or is that just me. Seems like there in a rush and didn't like being held up by others.
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I assumed he took that position as he didn’t think he would stop in time, hence also flashing the driver.
 
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