Who was in the wrong? (car accident related)

[QuestionableMouse]

Out with my friend in her car today. She's a fairly new driver and has black box insurance.

We came to a blind bend with a car parked in our lane on double yellow lines. Friend moved over and drove around the car at probably 10 mph.

A car coming the other way clipped her car and has done quite a bit of damage to the front end. The car was doing 20mph roughly which is the speed limit.

My friend clipped the parked car and took the wing mirror off, doing some damage to the bumper too.

Both drivers are blaming my friend (she's the youngest/least experienced driver.)

I say the parked car driver is at fault because they were parked on double yellow lines and if they hadn't been there the accident would never have happened.


All been referred to the insurances of course, including pics of the parked car.

I'm feeling very stiff and achy and will probably miss work tomorrow (it's aggravated my already bad back) and poor friend is really upset and shaken.

[MoaningMinniee]

Did you remember to take photos and have you informed the police?

[slipperywhensparticus]

I'm not sure bumping you for more knowledge

[StarEclipse]

Your friend should have stopped and waited for the oncoming traffic to clear before she moved around the illegally parked car.

[Hercules12]

sounds like your friend. car that is stationary can't be blamed and she put herself in path of other car on their side of road.

[Floralnomad]

I don’t see how so much damage can have been caused if the speeds you are quoting are correct , you’d have a job taking a wing mirror off at 10mph .

[fuckitywhy]

If the blockage was in your friend's lane, and she pulled out into traffic, then no matter what, I'd have thought it was on her. You're supposed to wait until the other lane is completely clear and you have time to get around whatever's in the way.

[GreenTulips]

i think the insurance will claim 50/50

She’ll just need to leave it to be sorted with the insurers

[I8toys]

Your friend is to blame. She should have waited until the road was clear when overtaking.

[WTFKeee]

Unfortunate but I reckon your friend was at fault...she shouldn't have pulled out to go round the parked car if there was insufficient room to do so without hitting/being hit.

[littleduckeggblue]

Although annoying about the stationary vehicle, I think your friend was to blame.

[Newmetoday]

Your friend is at fault.

[Pipandmum]

The parkesd car was obviously an obstruction but in passing it did your friend go into the other lane? If she clipped the parked car she was driving to close to it, and if the other lane wasnt clear for her to pass the parked car she should not have attempted it. If she couldn't see around the bend she shouldn't have attempted it.

[LIZS]

Your friend . Even if she needed to pass a parked car she needed to check the road ahead was clear and give it a wide enough berth. If both cars were moving so slowly one or both could have stopped before colliding. Did they try to pass and misjudge the space?

[Blinkme]

Your friend is 100% in the wrong. The parked car should not have been there but it was, it's up to the driver to ensure the road ahead is clear and safe to pass.

I've seen somebody in the situation before, arguing the same thing. A car had parked at a junction, nearly in the middle of the road. Driver had to go round it to get out the junction and hit an oncoming car. Police turned up and insurance details were exchanged. I remember the policeman giving the man a copy of the highway code

[bridgetreilly]

The parked car should not have been there BUT your friend should still have been driving safely despite the hazards and obstables in the road. If the parked car had been, say, an emergency ambulance, it would have been there completely legally and she would still have had to manouevre safely around it.

And since she was the one pulling out into the other lane, it's on her to make sure that she has room and time to do so. She shouldn't be depending on other vehicles to cede their right of way.

[NeutralJanet]

you’d have a job taking a wing mirror off at 10mph

I knocked mine off on the edge of the trolley park thing at the supermarket once . I was definitely doing far less than 10mph.

[TheLovleyChebbyMcGee]

Yes, the illegally parked car was wrong, but your friend was more wrong by trying to overtake it when it wasn't safe and hit another car, sorry, hope you feel better soon, whiplash can be painful!

[ShowOfHands]

It is your friend's fault.

I see near misses most days as near me there is a junction where a tit of a man parks his white van right on a blind corner, on double yellows and you physically can't see to judge whether you can pull out round him without pulling out. Still, if you misjudge it, it's your fault.

[NeedAnExpert]

Your friend is to blame. She should have waited until the road was clear when overtaking.

This. The owner of the parked car won’t be considered at fault. It could have been a skip, an elephant or a circus tent, your friend should have stopped and wound the window down to listen for vehicles* coming towards her before overtaking it.

(*Another reason electric cars are dangerous.)

[QuestionableMouse]

We had no indication that there was a car coming until we were 3/4 of the way past the parked car. I thought I'd said that in my first post. If I can find a bit of paper I'll make a diagram.

[IndecentFeminist]

Friend at fault

[NeedAnExpert]

Was it an electric car? If not, stopping to listen would have avoided the incident.

[adaline]

It doesn't matter if the car was parked illegally - the onus was on your friend to notice the hazard and act appropriately.

The car was parked in your lane so your friend should have stopped and checked it was safe before driving around it. If she'd looked, she'd have realised there was another car coming (who had right of way) and stopped to allow the other car to pass.

The car could have broken down, it could have been a child in the road, a dog, a deer, whatever - it doesn't matter. Friend shouldn't overtake without checking first!

[Retroflex]

As everyone else has said, unfortunately your friend is to blame. She should have stopped her car, waited until the road was clear, and only then manoeuvred around the obstruction. I say obstruction, because although you say "parked car" it could be argued that the car had "broken down"...

[adaline]

We had no indication that there was a car coming until we were 3/4 of the way past the parked car. I thought I'd said that in my first post.

Then if your friend couldn't see if the road was clear, she shouldn't have overtaken the car.