So yesterday i was involved in an accident

Was driving through milton keynes as i usually do, coming up to this roundabout - (coming from the right of the picture)

Im in the fast (right) lane going straight on, there are two clios in the slow (left) lane

Just as im about to exit the roundabout, the clio plows into the side of me!

Pull over and the other driver gets out of his car, get out and says "i was indicating right" (which im almost positive he wasnt, plus the lane was empty aside me and him and 1 other car, he had ages to switch lanes) reguardless i say "You were in the wrong lane" then his reply was " it doesnt matter i was indicating".

Obivously this wasnt going to go anywhere even though there is no argument as he is in the wrong. Exchanged details and went

He had a few scuffs on the corner of his front bumper, my car had this

reported it to insurance etc today

Thing is as he hasnt admitted liability if i want it repaired by insurance i have to pay £500 excess then wait to see IF they can claim it back which is annoying as i can get a new genuine door, fit it and then have it sprayed/sill repaired for £300 - £350

anyway the "witnesses" drove off so the only way i can see it not going through is if he lies which is what im worried about

anyone else been in a similar situation? what can i expect to happen?

cheers

I'm no expert but it looks like he is in the wrong. You had road position and he failed to check whether the lane was clear before pulling across. Whether he was indicating or not has nothing to do with it.

Did you take photos of the cars showing the lane positions etc? The more evidence you can present the better as without witnesses he may be able to lie his way out.

I'm surprised that your insurer is insisting on making you pay the excess - do you have legal cover included? If you do ask to speak to them for more advice.

Personally I would of either argued that he was liable, because regardless of right or wrong, he hit you, but he was also in the wrong lane as you had mentioned, so don't think he could say much. Failing that call the cops and have them settle it on the spot.

 where the police called? in any road accident involving a 3rd party i think the Law states that the police have to be called. Also if the police where there they will take a statement from each person that your insurance company can prove its not your fault

ALWAYS take photos of the incident! Always, sometimes it might be able to help. Obviously this won't help you now but for future (which hopefully you don't have any more accidents). There no CCTV around on that roundabout?

You have my sympathy mate, definately something all of us dread just coming out of a round about and get slammed by some ediot who is arrogant enough to not admit when they are in the wrong, makes my blood boil. This is why I like to come out of roundabouts quite quickly.

i went to the police station straight after, they said if no one was injured they dont need to know and to just contact insurance ive got a call back, apparently he is saying i hit him! not sure what exactly he has said but he is argueing it

I would think that if he was in the left lane and turning right it whould be fairly clear to the insurer that he must have been at fault. The highway code is on your side:

[Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10(1) & 16(1)] 

Another thing: I believe that if the roundabout is dual carriageway you should exit in the lane that you entered so if you were turning right or going straight ahead you should have been aiming for the right-hand-lane at the exit. 

if he goes and tells his insurers the truth then there are no real issues as its quite clear he is in the wrong and anyone with any common sense can see that.

however im concerned that he is going to twist it and say i went into his lane or something which i think he has done, which i did not.

There was a car behind him with 4 people in which i took note of. i think i may recognise from somewhere (lots of people in cars hang around at the hockey stadium here) so ill try to find him perhaps

i think the damage does speak for itself tho, he had a few scratches on the front corner of his bumper and my door has caved it. I had gone past him before he hit me

Just take your time to prepare your evidence. Use the google earth image and plot the positions of the cars. Make sure you highlight that he struck you (his bumper hit the side of your vehicle - it's not possible the other way round). Your insurer will probably reach an agreement with his insurer to proprtion blame and fault. If you disagree with the decision then you can challenge it but will probably need legal advice. They will either blame him and you can make a non-fault claim which won't affect your insurance or they may decide to split blame 80:20 or 50:50 (knock for knock) which will mean you will lose your no claims and pay your excess. Worst case is he lines up witnesses who support him and you end up 100% liable.

 I hate it when people try and get out of things when it is thier terrible driving that created this problem

I had this lmost happen was a cats wisker away from hitting me at the round about at Stansted airport and no one ever stops on round abouts to be a witness so its always hard, i think if i saw a accident i would stop and be a witness just out of good will. Unless i was late

 am i entitled to know what he has said to the insurance companie(s)?

i just need to know if im dealing with a legitimate person or not. As i am not sure if he was legitimatly thinking he was right in saying he had right of way to cut into my lane and smash the side of my car or weather that was just alibi whilst he copped something else up to tell the insurance company

im going to try and find the witness, as i say i remembered the car behind and he came turned round at the roundabout to come get another look so if i can find out who this is i may be onto something

but yeah id definatly stop if i witnessed an accident now, now that i realise the importance that a witness actually is when a non genuine person is involved! :(

NormanHomes:

 

...the other driver gets out of his car, get out and says "i was indicating right"

Turn his excuse in to an admission of liability - ask for a copy of his accident report.

If he's officially declared that he had his right indicator flashing, then simply highlight the fact that an indicator is used to show someone's intentions, it doesn't give them right of way nor does it excuse them for not looking in their mirror before making the manouver.

Good luck.

 

 

 

eyeamsparticus:

NormanHomes:

 

...the other driver gets out of his car, get out and says "i was indicating right"

Turn his excuse in to an admission of liability - ask for a copy of his accident report.

If he's officially declared that he had his right indicator flashing, then simply highlight the fact that an indicator is used to show someone's intentions, it doesn't give them right of way nor does it excuse them for not looking in their mirror before making the manouver.

Good luck.

 

This is good advice . He will be required to submit his version of events so hopefully he will make it clear he was indicating to change lanes - use this against him.

 

 I was always taught that anything upto 12 o'clock on a roundabout you should use the left lane, anything past 12(straight on) you should use the right lane (unless signposted otherwise?). Not sure if this is part of the highway code? But if it is, that would make you partly at fault?

 at the moment im just waiting to find out what he has said to the insurers. but yes thanks i will use this against him

 

the whole reason there is 2 lanes coming in and out of the roundabout is so traffic can pass straight through quicker, its only common sense to use the left lane for going left or straight and the right lane to go right or straight. he smashed into the side of me, so he wasnt even looking where he was going or checking his mirrors or he would have seen me coming up. it is 100% his fault

similar situation i had and argued he was liable but took 4months to get sorted and still paid some excess in the end. so good luck

No matter what he says he is in the wrong.

Diggy had the EXACT same situation not too long ago (same coloured car too), and he got sorted out no bother.

You can't twist that, his drivers side hit your passenger side therefore he was in the wrong lane/ not loking.

Anyone who thinks the outside lane of a roundabout is for going right round need their head slammed in their door a few times.

 

Agree with the above - USE WHAT HE SAYS AGAINST HIM! This is self-incrimination and will mean he is admitting liability even though he doesn't realise it.

Annotate some sat. photo's from Google maps to show the direction of travel. He has 0% of a case against you.

If he lies, and makes it 50/50, you have his address - thermite his fuel tank
(for the old ladies, I'm kidding... Obviously!)

 I always use the right lane to go straight over  where it can be done and not cut any body up, i mean i bet there are loads of people on here who do it but no one goes into the LEFT lane to turn right and if they do have to change lanes they have to check in thier mirrors else this sort of thing happens!

MikeH:

They will either blame him and you can make a non-fault claim which won't affect your insurance or they may decide to split blame 80:20 or 50:50 (knock for knock) which will mean you will lose your no claims and pay your excess. Worst case is he lines up witnesses who support him and you end up 100% liable.

 

Spot on Mike - the 'knock for knock' approach is something that usually happens with accidents on roundabouts. It's a bit gay, but unfortunatley it happens. Happened to me back in '99 when a taxi cut me up - he didn't indicate, went straight across the front of me and took my bumper with him. He was clearly in the wrong but the spineless insurance company I was with back then just rolled over and I lost 4 years NCB (would've been protected when I renewed 3 weeks later!!).

 turning left or straight on use left lane - going straight on or right use right lane - always has been!

 yeah if he tells the insurance what he has said to me then i have no worries, however so far all i know is that he has said i hit him. not sure weather he mentioned that he cut into my lane or not. just awaiting further information!

Be very careful with this - my Mum had the exact same thing happen, with an independant witness too, in a separate car who kindly stopped and offered details.  The other driver was clearly in the wrong and even pretended to be a Police officer when they weren't (criminal offence in itself), yet my old man had to take his own insurer to court to claim back the missing no claims (the other insurer had accepted liability, but my Mum's insurer kept declining that and going for a 50/50 settlement).

From what I can see, it's clearly his fault.  Just be prepared to fight over it.  If I was you, I'd claim directly from his insurer and simply inform mine that I had lodged a claim with them as 'no fault'.

Wigster.

Im not claiming off my own comprehensive insurance only his

 

slight update. have been in contact with another company that a local body shop pointed me towards. Told them the deal and they have been in contact with the other person. From what they have told me his side of the story was;

"i was indicating right and he come up on the inside lane and cut me up" and "there was nothing i could do to prevent the crash"

Lol.

Apparently i will hear from them tomorrow to find out if they are willing to pursue the case. Hopefully

 Chris. knows all about roundabout accidents.... he should be able to advise

Now where has he got to.....

dammmm.  Well he is at fault anyway for being on outside lane going right and should have slowed down to let  other vehicles continue their journey.

But im actually not clear on the rules with dual cari... when it comes to roundabouts as I usually get into the left lane for left or straight on or if the arrows say otherwise.  Right for right..

Haha, mine still isnt settled.  Cant be bothered with it anymore.  Should really cancel it TBH.

Yesterday I almost had a bad accident on a roundabout myself. Just when I was coming off (indicating of course and in the correct left-hand lane) for the second (12 o' clock) exit, a joker from the 9 o' clock exit (who had been "patiently" waiting for his turn) pulls out suddenly. I literally slam my brakes on (blasting my horn at the same time), but funnily, he did not give a single glance at me.....presumably because he instantly recognised that he was in the wrong. Now, if I wanted to I could've plowed straight into him, side on......

So now, if he was a lying crook, what would have been his response? Something along the lines of: "it's not my fault, you should've slowed down towards the exit and let me pass...." 

Let you pass??? Whose right of way is it??!!

This is why sometimes I think with the number of crooks trying to shift blame on a completely innocent driver and lack of reliable witnesses we should install some sort of an onboard CCTV system that monitors the road all the time whilst driving.

Not only can you threaten the other driver with your video footage, but if any insurance companies out there start getting clever you also have something to fall back on. Not all of them are bad, but some can be a right pain to deal with because all they mainly care about is profit-maximisation rather than the situation in hand. Who heard of high quality customer service, eh?

So, can CCTV systems really work for situations like that? That's another debate.....

~Flamous

 I think it's an age thing

bouncerMk4:

 I think it's an age thing

It is probably more common to see a blue moon than a person go through the above emotions like that!

~Flamous

 have tried claiming through 2 companies and both have pulled out

 

aparrently chances are it will be split 50/50!!!

NormanHomes:

 have tried claiming through 2 companies and both have pulled out

 

aparrently chances are it will be split 50/50!!!

That being the case, depending on your NCB, I would probably drop it.  You said yourself you could get it repaired cheaper than your excess.  If you go ahead, and it is 50/50, you will loose all your NCB and have a claim against you (regardless of fault, this will affect all policies for 5 years).  I have been in this situation before, and fought it.  Wasn't worthwhile in the end.

Its a current right enough, but you gotta do whats gonna be best in the long run, and it sounds like it'll be best just to take the hit and move on.  You can always get your revenge another way by causing him more damage than he caused you .  Not that I condone the use of any substance that may strip paint off every panel of a car...

Had a similar incident a while back, I took loads of pictures of the area and used Google earth to prepare a 5 page document explaining the road layout, signage and traffic flows. It took over a year to sort out but I won in the end even though the accident investigator that came out said I had no chance as without a witness nearly all accidents on roundabouts go 50/50.

Be persistent and keep pestering the insurance company or they will take the easiest solution (50/50)

I was always taught give way to your right on a roundabout so if you can prove his right hit your left then you should be in with a good shout.