A driver who smashed into me has lied to insurance and said I caused the accident. What now?

[GunpowderGelatine]

A few months ago on the roundabout near my house, a car went into the side of my car. I was in the right lane going right on the roundabout (exiting at 3 o'clock point) and they were going to the 1st exit (11 o clock point). They did what LOADS of drivers on that same roundabout do - rather than sticking to the lanes they travel to the exit in a straight line, which means they end up in the right lane for a few seconds. This happens about 3 times a week to me on the roundabout, they aren't looking to see if someone is slightly behind them in the right lane so cut across. Because turning the steering wheel for 2 seconds is clearly too much like hard work. Anyway, I have near misses all the time, and this time the back right side of their car crashed into the front left side of mine.

I got their insurance details (though they were cagey about giving a name and we're very indignant about the whole thing) and I put in a claim which has rattled on a bit, paid £150 excess for car repair.

Anyway my insurance have come back and said that I was the one who swerved into their lane and crashed into them!!! fucking lying bastards. I'm furious. Insurance want me to claim 50/50 liability. Which means I only get 50% excess back and my no claims is reduced by 3 years!! I have said no way, it wasn't my fault and they are committing insurance fraud by lying.

I explained that the damage to the areas of the car show they obviously didn't see me (because they weren't looking when they served into my lane) and their back crashed into my front. If it had been me going into them then surely I'd have crashed on purpose as I'd have seen them clear as day?! Also why would I be travelling home in the correct lane and randomly swerve into the wrong lane?!

Anyway insurance have said because there's no CCTV, witnesses or dashcam footage (I have one but my charge point was broken 😫) it's my word against there's and an independent judge would automatically rule 50/50 liability

I'm raging. I also think that's bullshit about the judge. Surely every case without CCTV before dash cams wasn't settled 50/50?!

Any advice on what I can do now? Insurance pressuring me to settle 50/50 but honestly I think they're trying to avoid work for themselves. I refuse to admit it was half my fault and can live without the excess for now. I have heir number and feel like calling them to ask why they're lying bastards (I won't). Why would someone not just do the right thing?!

OP I think you should stick to your guns. I see this all the time and it really pisses me off but I always try and make sure I’m nose in front of people I think are likely to do this so I also have the added bonus chance of being right in that the damage is to the front of their car. Definitely fight this though!!

As a side note to some posters, trucks can’t always follow the lanes exactly round smaller roundabouts because of their length and turning circle they have to cut the lane. Going up the inside of an artic on a roundabout is stupid and to be honest if their trailer cuts into your lane and hits you you should not have been there in the first place and falls under careless driving on your behalf. I think some time in a truck in a controlled environment like a track and on a push-bike on the road as part of the driving test would make everyone more aware on the road.

Because she has no reason to be turning into his lane, but there is a reason why he would be cutting through hers

But what if shes lying and actually she wasn't planning to exit the roundabout where she said she was, Found herself in the wrong lane and swerved over to try and get in the right (left) lane? Or is lying/mistaken over where she actually was and she was over his lane completely by mistake. What reason is there for the TP to be in that lane when he clearly started of in the right lane and had no reason to go into the other lane. What if the OP has the lane markings wrong and/or the TPs direction of travel wrong?

Im not saying any of the above is true but actually we only have the OP's word to say it isn't. Why should an independent judge totally accept her argument but not his.

Lastly you mention that they swerved in front of you.* But you also say, they travelled to the exit in a straight line. It cant be both*

They swerved into me in order to go on a straight line. They should have followed the curve of their lane but didn't

Bowerbird

Chances are your case was very different as police attended. It can take an awful long while for police reports to be obtained. that is not the same situation as the OP

@VolcanionSteamArtillery
What if the OP has the lane markings wrong and/or the TPs direction of travel wrong?

How can you get lane markings wrong on a roundabout? Plus I was going to the 3 o clock exit, so the right lane is correct, and then the 11 o clock exit, so left lane is correct. How could that ever be misinterpreted?!

But what if shes lying and actually she wasn't planning to exit the roundabout where she said she was, Found herself in the wrong lane and swerved over to try and get in the right (left) lane?

Because my house is half a mile off the exit of the roundabout - I was going home from work to relieve the nanny of minding my son. Why would I go "actually I need to go to the swimming pool instead" and suddenly swoop into the other lane?!

What reason is there for the TP to be in that lane when he clearly started of in the right lane and had no reason to go into the other lane

They didn't start off in the right lane, they started off in the left lane and came into the right lane, hence the crash.

I get you OP, and the other driver was definitely in the wrong. I just feel like it won’t look that way and you will be blamed and not being cautious...

Some drivers are proper prats OP and I’m not sure why the other driver didn’t just stay in the left lane and exited properly.

I hope you get justice OP

Well quite @CTRL it's a bit odd that some people seem to think I should be psychic, pre-empt bad and dangerous drivers and be responsible for their bad and dangerous driving

Text her. Tell her you understand she’s decided to change her mind about accepting liability & that you wanted to let her know you’re not willing to accept 50/50 as you know you weren’t at fault & that you will lose 3 years no claims as well as you’re excess. So you’re going to have to take this to court.

She might shit herself/not be arsed & just accept liability or she might stand her ground. I would escalate it 100% OP fuck this injustice.

Whatever the ins and outs:

Your insurers will not incur legal costs which are unrecoverable in this scenario.
Say they have paid 3k out and the other car was 1.5k. The offer to them means their net outlay is 2250. They would be wrong to incur legal costs and risk to recover the outlay in full. You cannot prove beyond doubt what you say happen. They also have the right to settle it as they see fit.

I would only worry birthday that contacting her directly may come across badly and not help my case.

For anyone wondering I say "them" because although it was a female driving her OH was the one who sorted everything at the roadside. She was in a massive huff and couldn't understand what she'd done wrong. He was very nice and calm and explained why it was her fault, which she eventually accepted - I wasn't expecting them to lie through their teeth! He seemed an honest guy

Your insurance company can make a valid commercial decision to settle 50/50. So you've got absolutely no possibility to challenge them at all.

So sure you could personally take the other driver to court. But expensive financially and the emotional cost. And you could very easily get a judge who'll decide 50/50 to.

My advice after seeing many many many people be outraged about these kind of injustices and exhaust themselves with it - is to accept it and move on. In the scale of things its not a life altering injustice and you will cause yourself more stress challenging it then just accepting it.

My similar tale is where I had to take full responsibility.

I was on holiday in the South of France. I was going round a car park and suddenly another car flew round the corner and our bumpers hit each other. She didn't speak english and my French doesn't extend to conversational speech. The police didn't really speak english either. I had never been in this situation and being in France I had all the family including DCs with me. The woman seemed lovely as did the police. There was a bit of chat and then a form was handed me to sign. Bet you can't guess the next bit. In my just wanting to get back to my accommodation and tiredness of it all I signed what the policeman told me to. Yep I admitted liability there and then.

My excess was £200. I have protected my NCB, however I am expecting my insurance to go up in Feb on renewal (the accident only happened in August this year)

I try not to think about it too much and I'm just thankful that the only damage was to lumps of metal and no-one was hurt (just shook up at the time)

I used to regularly come across diagrams where people assumed the markings were one way and when you checked Google Earth you'd find they were otherwise. Sometimes there were even from the Third party insurers and actually proved our policyholders case.

I know 2 roundabouts near me where everyone assumes the right lane services the 2 o'clock and the left the 11. In fact both service the 2 but that could result in similar looking sketch. Similarly theres another right turn junction where commonly everyone uses the right lane but actually the left turns right too.

I remember having a discussion with a policyholder once when they were absolutely convinced of their versions of the road markings despite me having images of the roundabout slip road in front of me.

I was going home from work to relieve the nanny of minding my son. Why would I go "actually I need to go to the swimming pool
Cos people lie.

I'll reiterate im not saying any of these are what youve done at all. But unless there is actual evidence the judge wont automatically assume you are telling the truth anymore than they will automatically believe the other person.

this happened to my mum on a roundabout in inverness. she was on her motorbike at the time when some twat in a beamer cut into her lane and knocked her flying.
Beamer twat did exactly the same-blamed mum. Insurance advised her to admit 50/50 liability. mum is as stubborn as me and said no. it dragged on for 5 years but eventually she won. To be fair, it was a matter of principal with her!!

Actually to be more accurate OP, she changed lanes without looking/checking or indicating. It's not technically a swerve, it's changing lanes. She took a 'crow flies' route rather than following the line of the lane. We all do it lazily when there are no other cars around, the easy path. But there's a good chance many people, (if your 3 x week statement is fairly accurate) and I see it every week too, don't actually realise they are supposed to keep to their lane and curve round.

I don't believe for a minute that people don't realise they need to stick in their lane rather than just fly straight across another lane. They're just lazy.

I use this roundabout everyday, sometimes 4 times a day (only route in and out my village) I'm well versed in the road markings and directions

A lot of round abouts go 50/50 unless there’s witnesses or cctv.
I had one which was clearly the other persons fault, I was 3/4’s round the round about when they joined. But it still went 50/50.
I even had a friends solicitor deal with it instead of the insurance, but they said there’s no point contesting it without witnesses.

It’s shit, it really is shit and unfair. I’m assuming no one else was in your car? Or stopped?

We had exactly the same accident a couple of years ago. Ours was a complete twat who swerved into our lane and knocked out our front left lights and the surrounding bodywork with the side of his van.

He didn't stop but I took down his reg plate (DH was driving). He then tried saying he wasn't there. No CCTV or witnesses.

I'm not offering advice because I'm not legally minded. But we held out and won.

Since you've got legal cover on the insurance, I'd say go for it. You would almost certainly get 50/50, but the very threat of legal procedings may well be enough to scare her into admitting the truth.

I think from your description this happened to me. I was turning right on a mini roundabout, she came from the left straight over so my front and side went into her back because she sped over that fast. They tried 50/50 but I contested, someone came round and took a full statement and it went as her fault. Don't accept it.

The injustice really drives me nuts. But. It's pointless. As a pp said let it go and move on.
I find it hard to let go.

@GunpowderGelatine

I'm raging. I also think that's bullshit about the judge. Surely every case without CCTV before dash cams wasn't settled 50/50?!

Pretty much - it's called "knock for knock". The problem is as you identify that no one can establish who was to "blame"

You keep saying they hit the front of your car. That suggests they were in front of you And you could have hit the brakes to avoid a collision. Would it be more accurate to say they sideswiped you and damaged front and side panels rather than just ‘the front of the car’. Changing the language used can affect how people view this.

I had similar happen. I turned right into a road & a car behind me went to overtake n went into my right side. He admitted it all apologies at the time we swapped numbers insurance etc next thing I got letter from his insurance he said I didn't indicate. (I did!) there was no witnesses so it went 50/50 & it affected my no claims too.