Car accident. So confused??? Looking for reassure for my dad.

[Daughter96]

About 2 weeks ago my parents and brother were involved in a car accident, their care was totalled in the accident. Everyone was generally banged up but nothing serious, however, the other driver received a dislocated shoulder.
My dad has taken it very badly, he was in shock for a while after and now incredible down because he is worried about what will happen.
From what my parents and brother say, my dad was pulling out into a road that has a mini roundabout, he looked but saw nothing coming. This road is a bit dangerous as it has a bit of a blind spot as the road from where other car came is blocked by parked cars on either side of the road.
Half way round this mini roundabout a car came out of nowhere it slammed on the breaks even though he did break as there are two massive skid marks on the road, he still hit my dads car spinning it around and pushed it across the road. It hit the car between the drivers and back passengers door which made it spin round. I don't want to say what the make of my dad or the other car is but my dad's car is an estate car and very heavy and the other car was smaller and lighter, which suggest, to me, that the other car was going too fast.
Anyway, while this happened my brother, managed to get hold of my grandparent who came down and helped. my Granda took the car camera down ready to give to the police when they came. However, the women behind the other car was an off-duty police officer, states she saw the accident and it was my dad's fault. Because of this my grandad refused to give her the camera as she was now a witness and she shouldnt have anything to do with the evidence. (my grandad is an ex-policemen so understood procedure)
The off-duty policewomen then went around telling all other witnesses that it was my dads fault and she was a policewoman, my mum seems to think this was very unprofessional and hindered them getting witnesses. ( my mum is also an ex policewoman)
So now my dad is in a state, will not eat or talk, determined he will lose his license and be unable to take my mum to her hospital appointments (she is disabled now) and will go to prison. The policeman at the scene said he will leave it to the insurance company to sort out. But he does want a statement from everyone because this policewoman told them it was my dad's fault even though the care was definitely going too fast. Also, it is highly unlikely that she saw the other car from where she was because she was behind and her vision was obscured.

From what you have said it was a standard car crash. Unless you dad was driving dangerously, or was under the influence nothing is going to happen. If your dad or grandad have video footage send that to the insurance. It will help determine liability.

well if the other guy had time to see the car, reaction time, and apply brakes such that they left a skid mark, then he wasn't anywhere near on the roundabout when your grandfather was, and was both going too fast, and probably didn't even expect the mini roundabout. You give way to people from the right, but not for miles down the road from the right.

If he approached a mini roundabout so fast that anyone on it was going to get blasted out of the way, he was simply going too fast, and ignored the implications of the mini roundabout. The other guy's fault.

The fact it hit the back of the vehicle clearly shows your grandfather was on the roundabout substantially as the second guy approached it.

Policewoman behind is a total arse.

Accidents happen all the time.

People are seldom prosecuted, and usually if someone is hurt. As for going to prison - someone drove into two teenage girls near where I live last November, killed them both, because he was drunk and not paying attention. He got 6 years. Probably not nearly enough, and it shows how bad things have to be before you will be prosecuted. In fact, a cyclist was killed in London a few years ago by a woman who drove into the back of him, and she was not prosecuted. There was a private prosecution recently and she was acquitted, presumably the reason the CPS would not prosecute.

The police have better things to do than prosecute people for minor accidents especially if there is little or no evidence of what happened. The insurance companies will fight it out.

Give your dad a hug and tell him not to worry,

Uh, BTOperator, what makes you say it was op's dad's fault, with such certainty? If her dad was already on the roundabout and was hit on the side by the other car, then wouldn't that mean it was the other driver's fault?

I have a sense that this might be a crash for cash, that 'off duty policewoman' sounds really odd.

hissy it doesn't sound like a crash for cash at all and the off du officer has provided a shoulder number or similar to police which takes two minutes to check.

It's more likely than not to be a normal crash which happens umpteen times a day.

Another reassurance from me. The worst that will happen is your dad's insurance premiums will go up. It seems that you have to do something very serious to get any sort of punishment.
I was stationary in a motorway holdup. A car came up behind at an admitted 60mph - so was probably faster - destroyed two cars and damaged two others. His punishment was to attend a day's driver awareness course!

Oh dear.

This is about your dads mental health, not the accident, and you and your mum would be better off making him see that than colluding with him.

This catatrophising is not going to help him and might make things much more difficult for him.

Firstly, the police don't seem to be prosecuting him...if they say they will leave it to the insurance companies that seems to be pretty clear, so talk of prison is ridiculous, don't collude with this nonsense.

Secondly, how, legally, is it not your dads fault?? He pulled out in front of another car. Possibly the other driver was going too fast, possibly the blind spot meant your dad didn't have a good enough view of what was coming, but he pulled out in front of him (!) of course its his fault. Your dads argument is basically, if the other driver had been going slower, he could have stopped when I pulled out in front of him'

As to all the conspiracy theory shit: The policewoman was hindering them getting witnesses by telling everyone she'd seen the accident and it was your dad's fault, well, that's true, isn't it? What did you expect her to say? What witnesses exactly do you think this hindered you from getting? People who were going to say, 'no the route was completely clear and your dad was perfectly safe to pull out' (!) And you say her view was 'probably' obscured yet say in your op she was right behind the other car.

She gave her details, identifying herself and left it when on duty police arrived. It seems to me she did exactly right, she probably didn't want to be doing this in her off time but had no choice but to step in until the on duty officer got there, its just what she was saying isn't what your dad wants to hear.

If your dad starts on with this conspiracy shit with the insurance company and the police then he'll end up getting prosecuted. Instead, he wants to answer factually about what happened and leave it at that.

Thank you so much! I have shown him the thread and he is feeling a bit better.
I have to admit that my dad is worry about nothing, but as he says with his luck something would happen. I do feel like because my dad was halfway/three third round the roundabout he has nothing to worry about. I think it's more the situation with the policewomen mixed with shock that got him. Definitely gonna try and get him to the doctors soon

As a PP mentioned, it's kind of important what side the car was hit on. If he was hit on the left, then it's likely that the other driver is at fault. If he was hit on the right, then it's likely that he was at fault. So which side was he hit on?

Either way, he's unlikely to lose his license and there's no way he's going to prison.

ITs normal to feel a bit sad and rueful after an accident even if its not your fault..its an after effect of adrenaline and some shock - really great radio 4 programme recently here www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08mb1fr

I've even had it after catching a shoplifter once, for a few days I felt guilty, felt like I'd done totally the opposite of what I should have done, and worried about what it said about me etc etc etc.

Its normal and its about 'the unknown' combining with shock and combining with all the stories you read about drivers prosecuted etc etc etc

I bet most of it though it is unsettles a really big definition of oneself, as a safe careful driver for whom nothing goes wrong. Being dumped off that place is really unnerving and brings about a 'withdraw to the cave' kind of introspection. I got it when I broke a bone and it lasted for about three days.

It sounds like it was entirely your father's fault but I have faith in the system and that besides potentially increased premiums, there won't be any other fallout.

But would like to add that dad did not pull out in front of another car. He is stating if this other drive wasn't going so fast he would have seen him.

three weeks sorry.

Also I suspect the fear of not being believed is a big part too. I was in a conflicted account of a situation where several people thought I was lying, it was horrible as it unsettles who you think you convey yourself as -an honest decent citizen - and then for a while you feel like you might not be, and that's horrible too.

What side did the other driver hit?

To be honest, it sounds like your dad just simply didn't look properly. It's happened to most of us, errors happen! You make it sound like the other driver was driving at the speed of light approaching a roundabout.

The car was hit on the driver side, by the back passage door.

If it was a small mini roundabout then I can't see how it was the other drivers fault. It sounds like he had right of way, sorry.

It's just one of those things and annoying when you are usually a careful driver but everyone makes a mistake. Most of the time we gat away with it, but sometimes we don't.

'dad did not pull out in front of another car. He is stating if this other drive wasn't going so fast he would have seen him'

But this means he did pull out in front of the other car....if the other driver was going slower he'd have seen him and not pulled out means he did pull out in front of him!! Please get him to see this.

Look, it was a mini roundabout, not some big just left the motorway roundabout. Mini roundabouts are installed in areas where there is a closed or blind junction which means visibility of approaching traffic is poor and the mini roundabout acts as a traffic calming measure. (I note your dad says there is poor visibility due to parked cars on both sides of the approach road). All this talk of the other driver braking before the junction must mean too fast etc is ridiculous!!! We are talking about very short distances when it is a mini roundabout.

I must be reading a completely different thread here.
From the info given the small car was completely at fault.
Fuck me, how fast was he going on the approach to a mini roundabout with parked cars all around if he's managed to shunt an estate car out of the way and that's after braking so hard he's left skid marks?

max what makes you think the other driver was at fault?

Virtually the same thing happened to me a while back. I was your grandad. I'm 99% certain the other driver was speeding or texting as she clearly didn't see me pull out and hit my rear drivers side door. Nobody was injured. I had to attend the police station to give a formal statement on tape and it was passed to some panel or other to see if I would be prosecuted. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I was automatically at fault as it was the other drivers right of way and I had pulled out in front of her. I had looked but not seen her, presumably as she "appeared out of nowhere" by driving at warp speed.

I was cautioned for careless driving (I think? Or something similar) but the police decided not to take me to court. My insurance footed the bill for both cars.

I hope your grandad is ok.

Have you ever thought that the "policewoman" behind them may have been with them? so therefore going round telling them all it was your dads fault?

We need a diagram!

Sounds like the other driver was probably going too fast and that would have contributed.

Insurance premiums will go up but prison seems highly unlikely - even if you kill someone that doesn't tend to happen.

Is your Dad old and infirm and worried he shouldn't be driving for medical reasons, and that's why he's worried about losing his licence?

You don't say how old he is, but if he has trouble either seeing or moving his head/body to see around door pillars etc then possibly he shouldn't be driving any more?

If this woman with multiple convictions for driving without insurance wasn't jailed it is very unlikely this would happen to your family.
www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/15228371.Driver_given_a_mobility_car_____despite_having_never_passed_test/?ref=mr&lp=1