Accident help

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Felstmiester

MB Enthusiast
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Jul 17, 2013
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1,150
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Range rover sport
My son was traveling up a long strait A road the few weeks ago and as he was I would say over 300ft away or more he noticed a car pull up to the give way line at a right hand turning and seemed to be waiting. It was a 60 limit so he said he rolled off the throttle but at 100ft the car was still waiting. My son was virtually on the junction when the car just pulled out. He said he had 3 options. Either hit the passenger side of the car, swerve over to the wrong side of the road or swerve to the left where there was a car and a bits width of grass verge so this is what he did ( it was around 10:30pm ) due to the fact at this particular point he was obviously traveling faster than the car that had pulled out he managed to miss him but went past him on the verge before the car started to slide to the right and skidded a full 180 and ended up facing the opposite direction on the other side of the road kind of going backward for a while and hitting a cyclist riding in the opposite direction to where my son was going in the first place.

I had a call from my son and arrived at the scene around 10 mins after it had happened. Everyone was ok gladly. My son was very upset and in a state due to hitting the fella on the bike. My son had called an ambulance the second it happened but the cyclist had a few scrapes and bruises but other than that he was fine. The fella that pulled out on my son was an elderly gentleman with his wife and another person in the car. He waited until the police turned up and was openly admitting he didn’t see my son in front of around 10 people that had stopped to help. I heard him say to someone “ I just didn’t see him” at the moment of the accident there was only my son the old fella and the bloke on the bike. Due to the fact the cyclist was traveling the opposite direction to what my son was driving he really should of seen everything. He did say to my son that it wasn’t his fault as I was standing right next to them when he said it.

So my son had no contact at all with the fella that pulled out on him he only hit the cyclist with the back of his car as it span. The police didn’t breatherlise my son or even look at his car. They sent all the people off that was nothing to do with the accident as soon as they got there and took statements from the 3 involved. We didn’t get to really talk to anyone apart from asking if the cyclist was ok. The police then told us to exchange insurance details with the elderly fella and we could go. My sons car had no back window and the tail gate was bent to oblivion. I was surprised they just let us drive it home.
I rang the old fella the following morning and asked if him his wife and passenger was ok and asked if he could shed some light on what exactly happened and he said he’s not saying anything because he’s always been told to not discuss anything with the third party.

We rang the insurance the following morning also and was told that the elderly fella had been in touch and said he wasn’t in the wrong and my son must of been speeding and the whole incident would be down to my son because he’d undertook the car that pulled out. I at this point got on the phone and disagreed. Yes I understand that the cyclist is the one at worst for this and totally understand he has to put in a claim against my son but none of this would of happened if the old fella hadn’t pulled out. My son is only 19 but I know my son and I trust his word on what happened.

The insurance are now saying it’s under investigation. It’s been nearly a month now and he’s having to drive around with his rear window taped up.

We have no way of contacting anyone other than the fella that pulled out. Do or will the insurance contact the police regarding statements??
 
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This is the length of road.66DE3FB7-B08A-43DD-B7E1-F2599132AB80.jpegit was at night so lights would’ve been highly visible from that right hand turning.
 
1. Been in somewhat similar situation before, it all boils down to the police report. Chase them up if you haven't heard anything back yet. Then send a copy of the police report to your insurer.

2. Also, once it has been established that the other driver is at fault, you do not have to deal with your own insurance any more, but deal with the other party's insurer directly.

3. The fact that the other party's car did not come into physical contact with your son's car is irrelevant, he is still involved in the crash, and he can still be found to be at fault by both the insurers and by the police (should they decide to press charges).
 
So if I phone the local police will they give me the report? I was told it’s not worth phoning them because they will only release that sort of thing to the insurance companies.
 
This is ridiculous, and another reason why I think having a functioning dashcam should be mandatory for all cars.
 
4. And I would advise against contacting any of the involved parties directly (apart from your son, obviously), at least not until you get a copy of the police report.

5. As for the claim that your son was 'speeding', this has no weight whatsoever anyway, because the other driver could not reliably estimate the speed of your son's approaching car, a task which is difficult enough in broad daylight, but nigh-on impossible in the dark.... it is just not humanly possible to correctly estimate the speed of an approaching light source ;)
 
The other drivers excuse was he didn't see him. How then could he say he was speeding? Fact is he didn't look!
Careless driving? Undue care and attention?
 
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So if I phone the local police will they give me the report? I was told it’s not worth phoning them because they will only release that sort of thing to the insurance companies.
In my case we got a letter from the police in the post a few weeks after the event saying that they will take no further action (against my wife, who was driving). I sent this letter off to my insurer.

The police might not give you a full report (I do not know), but at the very least they must tell you what they have decided to do (or not to do) in relation to your son.

No harm in chasing them up, though understandably these things may take time.
 
The other drivers excuse was he didn't see him. How then could he say he was speeding? Fact is he didn't look!
Careless driving? Undue care and attention?

In theory the other driver could deny moving forward or causing your son to alter course in any way.

But as long as the other driver accepts that he was in your son's way... and as long as your son's manoeuvre was reasonable in the circumstances... he has no leg to stand on. If he came from a side road and had to give way, then it matters not if your son was speeding or undertaking etc.

I mean, he could get creative and say that your son was driving with his headlights switched-off... etc etc.

But in essence if he was in your son's path while we was supposed to give right of way, his reasoning regarding speeding or undertaking are irrelevant.
 
I will try and get in touch with the police tomorrow. We need to do what we can due to the fact his insurance on his car is ridiculous as it is without a claim. He’s been saving for a newer car for a while and this is going to **** it right up. His car is clearly a right off due to this and at what the cars worth he’s going to walk away with less than £600 after he’s paid his excess.
 
There's more bad news .. It can take up to 18 months to sort...been here a few years back.. what was worse still my insurance wanted to settle on 50/50 despite having priority on a roundabout, and the other car colliding with me..
 
There's more bad news .. It can take up to 18 months to sort...been here a few years back.. what was worse still my insurance wanted to settle on 50/50 despite having priority on a roundabout, and the other car colliding with me..

Dave I recommend you get a Dashcam mate, if you like pm me and I’ll send you a link to mine, the video quality is amazing and it was only £35!
 
In theory the other driver could deny moving forward or causing your son to alter course in any way.

But as long as the other driver accepts that he was in your son's way... and as long as your son's manoeuvre was reasonable in the circumstances... he has no leg to stand on. If he came from a side road and had to give way, then it matters not if your son was speeding or undertaking etc.

I mean, he could get creative and say that your son was driving with his headlights switched-off... etc etc.

But in essence if he was in your son's path while we was supposed to give right of way, his reasoning regarding speeding or undertaking are irrelevant.

Besides whatever the other car driver might say , you also have the cyclist as a witness - who apparently stated at the scene that it wasn’t the son’s fault - his statement is likely to be key to all this .
 
I will try and get in touch with the police tomorrow. We need to do what we can due to the fact his insurance on his car is ridiculous as it is without a claim. He’s been saving for a newer car for a while and this is going to **** it right up. His car is clearly a right off due to this and at what the cars worth he’s going to walk away with less than £600 after he’s paid his excess.
It is unreasonable for your son ( an innocent party in this incident ) to be expected to drive around in a car which cannot be locked up securely . Point out to insurers that if car or any contents are stolen as a result of vehicle not being secure , due to their inaction , they will be responsible .

I’d push for insurance to either authorise repairs or offer a settlement - if damage is just to tailgate , you can ask for cash in lieu of repair ( below write off value ) then just buy a tailgate from a scrappy for £50 and fit it yourself . Find one in correct colour and you won’t need to paint it .
 
Hi,
Tell your son that providing he is wearing a seatbelt and that he is in safe car - if this happens again - make sure he t-bones into the side of the car that pulls out on him.
At least it would then be obvious who was at fault!
A good friend of mine had an accident last May.
He was driving through a small village at night when two lads on motorbikes came out from a side turning without looking or stopping.
He swerved to avoid them, rolled the car and crashed into a tree.
His wife was in the passenger side and luckily was not wearing a seat belt - as she was thrown from the vehicle and was found dangling from the tree.
I say luckily - as the roof where she was sitting was caved in - so she would have been more injured if she was still sitting in her seat.
Somehow she only really injured her legs - but she has endured a year of bone and skin grafts and is still in plaster and unable to walk.
The two lads on bikes were still hit and died at the scene. They were both drunk and the police took no action against my friend.
Had he just ran straight into them - his wife and the other passengers would have been relatively unharmed.
1F319BD5-BB95-46A6-8796-4559F2061687.jpeg

That’s his car!
Cheers
Steve
 
Also, for the record, the other driver's admission of fault at the scene, and the cyclist's words to same affect, are irrelevant.

Neither the driver nor the cyclist are qualified accident investigators or trained traffic policers. Their assessment of who is at fault is only their subjective opinion, and not a fact.

The facts as they saw them do matter, and so are the statements they made to police at the scene.

The police and the insurers will then decide who was at fault based on the statements made by the witnesses at the scene (and other factors). But they will not take into account witnesses' comments about who was at fault.
 
Surely there's another dynamic at play here- that of insurance companies trying to minimise their losses/ maximise their profits . IRRC policy holders involved in an accident are actively advised not to admit culpability at the scene of any accident they are involved in, whatever they may actually feel at the time. My guess is that the old gent, on reporting the accident to his insurance company will have been told in no uncertain terms to keep his mouth shut/ not admit liability-- hence the change in his attitude. Now whether this "advice" from the insurance company forms part of the terms and conditions of the policy and failing to comply would render the policy null and void or at the very least the insurance company very unco-operative remains unclear to me- perhaps someone can confirm? And while this may appear to be morally reprehensible nobody likes hikes to their car insurance premiums either, so we reap what we sow?
 
Rang the police today. Got through to collisions after the normal press 1 for this and press 2 for that only to get an automated message telling me they only give details of there reports to insurance companies or solicitors. So it looks like we’ve got to hope the insurance company gets digging. But what grober says above seems to make a lot of sense.
 

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