Who was in the wrong in this prang?

[fobiddenfruitcrumble]

I'm not really sure how these things work.

I was driving down a residential road where scaffolders were working, and their vehicle was blocking half the road (i.e. blocking my side of the road). I overtook it and was just level with the cabin when an oncoming car tried to drive round me to get by. I stopped and was thinking about reversing and started to think that one of us was going to have to reverse. She moved forward and, got about half way past me, then scraped her car against my rear wheel arch.

The blockage was on my side of the road - but I was completely stationary when she drove forwards and past me.

The damage is minimal to both cars but you never know, she might decide to say it was my fault and claim to have hers fixed, so I'd like to know where the fault lies.

Unless you have a dash cam this will end up 50/50

If the blockage was on your side and you had not cleared the lorry before you collided it is likely to be deemed part if not all your fault.

Hard to see how it can be your fault if you were stationary.

The problem is proving it.

it's not your fault - you should yield in that situation to oncoming traffic but if there is none and you have committed to going passed the parked van THEN she drives at you she is wrong

but without a dash cam you will have to settle 50/50

Could you see the oncoming car once you started to pull out around the wagon?

Thanks LIZS, I was thinking that might be the case. I would have reversed though, if she'd given me the chance. I imagined that if she was moving forwards, she must be able to see that there was room. It wasn't like it was a wing mirror.

DGRossetti, the scaffolder has given me his mobile number and said he can attest that I was stationary.

I'm hoping she won't claim. She said she didn't want to risk her no claims bonus but you never know what people decide to do later.

Margot, yes, I saw her, so I stopped, waiting for her to stop or reverse and give me a bit more room to get by, but she carried on.

If you were stationary it was not your fault.

No I mean as soon as you started the manoeuvre? When your car was at an angle as you'd just started pulling out? I'm normally craning my neck at that point to see if there's anything coming.

Margot I saw her as I pulled out, which was just as she turned in to the road, but I'd start so I thought, well, I've got time to zip around and get back in. Oops.

If she was joining the road you had right of way regardless of whether the obstruction was on your side of the road

But what if the other driver was turning off a main road onto a more minor road Ninky?

there is no such thing as right of way, you get priority...
that means that as the clear space was on her side of the road, she had priority, or first dibs... but only if there first....

once you started to pass the obstruction you gained priority and she should have given way...

her fault

i called her last night and said if she was absolutely sure she wasn't going to claim then I would leave it too so that's what we agreed.

Neither of us mentioned blame which hopefully means we both knew it was her fault

Still report it to your insurance.

Interesting. Won't that affect my premium?

Best to ask them.

But in your contract, you have agreed to inform your insurer of any incident - even if you don't mean to claim. If you don't, and it later emerges, you could find yourself without cover.

Sadly the world is full of people who, having had a little prang tell the other person "oh, don't worry, it's nothing" and subsequently decide it's payday, and start a claim.