Car accident

Not necessarily, depends on the junction signage and who it says has right of way

If you are aching as a result and have a headache, go and see your GP asap.
You may have whiplash - which can have long term economic consequences - and if it was not your fault, this may form part of your claim against the driver BUT you will need some kind of contemporaneous medical evidence. Go see your GP.

No they wouldn’t and it’s irrelevant that there were children in the car.

There are some terrible drivers out there and the ones who drive too fast and take risks are the worst and most dangerous. Accidents like this do really shake you up, even more minor ones. The OD clearly was in the wrong. For me, I was nervous after a recent accident but needed to go to work etc, so I just took it extra carefully, on alert, still am. Xx

Did I miss the red light bit? If both people were coming from junctions straight opposite the driver driving straight over has right of way over the opposite turning right. They would have to cross ops path

Hopefully your insurance will also arrange a courtesy car for you. I hope you're feeling a little better.

Similar happened to me around 18 months ago, DD 6 was in the car with me but thankfully away from the side that the lorry drove into.
The driver was very apologetic but he had to ring his manager who maintained that fault would be decided by the insurance companies.
My insurance company were really good that they made a direct payment to me withing 12 hours of the incident so I could replace the car seats. All they wanted was proof of purchase which I had in my emails when I'd bought the seats.
Try and focus on how quickly you reacted to try and limit the damage and injury to all of you, proving that you're a very good driver.

Oh op. I had a similar thing happen to me, I was actually stopped and the person behind me didn’t stop. At 50mph. I was 8 weeks pregnant.
i was sore and had whiplash.
I had physio for the whiplash.
Honeslty I had flashbacks for ages.
it does get better
get out driving as soon as you can.
it does take a few months but it does get better xx

Are you sure you weren't at fault? Usually if someone went through a red light at speed then they'd be arrested for dangerous driving - even more so if they hit a car with kids in.

Oh OP, I am sorry this happened to you.
Along with the water and electrolytes, you may need some easy calories - stress burns through them. Hot cocoa if that's your thing, or instant noodles - comfort food.
Another thing that helps with trauma is to remember the things you were in control of & did well. Makes you less helpless.
So tell us... what did you do that you're proud you did? Eg reacting quickly to try to avoid the collision- you couldn't completely, but you probably made it much less serious...

I had an emergency vehicle shoot straight out of a junction and plough into me. It was a real shock so I know how you're feeling. I couldn't tell where it was coming from and couldn't pull over because I was passing the junction. I had damage to the passenger side too.
Their insurers are saying they might be disputing liability. I'm bloody livid as the dash cam should show exactly what happened.
The Highway Code clearly states you mustn't do anything to endanger yourself or others.
There was only me in the car and I was unharmed but I shook for quite a while. The bang was so loud.
I hope it's all sorted OP.

Similar happened to me 28 years ago with my 2 year old in the car (definitely the other driver's fault, and they weren't insured which was a whole extra can of worms back in those days).

I felt exactly the same as you to start with but the feeling did pass - not least because I had kids who needed to be ferried around so had to get back in the saddle - and it wasn't long until I was driving confidently again.

I do still watch junctions very carefully all these years later, but I am sure you will feel better in a few days.

In terms of the fault, find a local Facebook page and ask if anyone witnessed it and would be willing to confirm what they saw to your insurer. See if local business or houses have cctv they can share.

You will feel better driving again, it just shakes you up when it’s your first time.

Make sure you replace your car seats, this is definitely not your fault, the other persons insurance should pay! Feel better soon, sounded really scary

Wow OP that’s scary and stressful, really sorry that you’re having to deal with this.

Firstly, have a big glass of water and something a bit salty to make sure you’ve got balanced electrolytes.

Secondly (while you drink and snack) write down everything you can remember happening and how you physically and emotionally feel, this will help if the insurance company have questions. (Also - and not to freak you out - I had a minor bump that required my boot being replaced and the chap at fault got uppity about the cost because his insurance company wouldn’t cover the repair due to him defaulting on payment. It ended up in him making a failed small claims court application against me.)

Thirdly, do something nice for yourself for 30 minutes. I’ve just finished a job application and I’m watching an episode of The Bear - very good trait-comedy. (The accident with ectoplasm cocktail at the kids birthday is awful but slightly funny.)

Absolutely!!!

Op I'm so so sorry

You will be able to drive again
You take it slowly and you can make it

Poor you :(

You shouldn't see it as not being able to control what people do on the road, as that defeats the point of autonomy. What you'll find once you regain confidence is that you'll be hypervigilant. You'll be treating all other road users like they're total idiots, which in the case of this other driver, they are. Give your little ones a big hug and try to get some rest. You will get past this.

That sounds horribly scary OP, not surprised you’re shaken up. You are all ok. Can you play Tetris? Research says doing Tetris for 20 minutes in the 48 hours after a traumatic event reduces flashbacks and long lasting trauma. It sounds weird but it’s well backed up, there’s a free app for it on the App Store.

Try and distract yourself if you can and get back in the car ASAP, go out at a quieter time and on your own if you’d feel better doing that at first. Do a route you know well and stop and get yourself a treat after, a nice coffee or a cake or something. The sooner you drive the less you will build it up in your head.

The other driver was an idiot. There are idiots about unfortunately, but it’s highly unlikely to happen to you again. Remember if for 7 years you’ve been fine on all the trips you’ve made the odds of it are so low. Hugs to you, take care of yourself x

How scary op, I had an accident last December gave me a massive fright and that’s without my kids in the car, you’ll likely be sore for a few days/weeks but take painkillers and try to rest. The anxiety in the car takes a while to settle, I’m hyper vigilant and a bit twitchy still drive quite slowly and avoid it at times if not an essential journey. Am a better driver than passenger, I find it hard to let other people drive. Take care of yourself and I hope the insurance is sorted soon, I crashed at end of December car was a rite off and I had a new one by mid Jan so it was pretty fast for me.

Remember that you are in shock and it's late at night. Things will be more in balance in the morning and it can help to know that once the worst shock is over, you will see things more clearly and most probably feel a LOT more confident. Things do feel bad at night I know, so just remember that all the facts WILL feel better tomorrow. (3am is my personal bad time. Remember to post on here if you're feeling bad as there is normally someone around).

Also, you say the other driver is blaming you but in fact he is probably just following the insurance advice of never admitting responsibility, regardless of how guilty he actually knows he is.

Give your kids an extra cuddle from me and take one for yourself xxx

Also make sure you tell the insurance you are achey and headaches

It’s hard isn’t it? I’ve had a couple of bad driving experiences recently, 100% down to angry male drivers. You’re right it’s the fear of realising that you can’t control what other people are doing. I’m the only driver so in some sense I was lucky that I can’t avoid driving, so I had to get back on the metaphorical horse straight away and that definitely helped as it got easier each time.

If you were driving ahead through a green light and the bloke turned in front of you and hit you surely he's totally at fault. I don't understand why the police didn't book him. Perhaps a police officer will come on the thread and explain.