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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Who was in the wrong? (car accident related)

289 replies

QuestionableMouse · 19/01/2020 16:14

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.

OP posts:
lovelyupnorth · 20/01/2020 06:59

On coming car had right of way. Your friend should have waited. There fault I’m afraid.

The on coming car was also a bit of an arse. Without seeing the road not sure if that parked car is unreasonable or not.

Newmetoday · 20/01/2020 07:23

I hope the posters saying the other driver or the parked car is at fault don’t have a license. They obviously don’t know the rules of the road

ruby2020 · 20/01/2020 07:43

My thoughts exactly @newmetoday, it's rather scary to think these people are driving on the roads 🤨

It doesn't matter if it was a spaceship, a pack of wolves, or the Pope himself illegally parked in that spot - either way OPs friend is the one at fault in this situation.

As for all the people blaming the driver who was going the right way in his lane, are you all on glue? And 20mph is perfectly reasonable. Nobody can be "prepared" for a car coming head-on on the wrong side of the road!

Hollyhead · 20/01/2020 07:48

Why didn’t get get out and wave her round/signal to oncoming traffic op?

cologne4711 · 20/01/2020 07:51

Why didn’t get get out and wave her round/signal to oncoming traffic op

Not a bad idea. Easy to say from behind a keyboard though when you've had hours to think about it.

I hope the posters saying the other driver or the parked car is at fault don’t have a license. They obviously don’t know the rules of the road

The rules of the road say you don't create a dangerous obstruction when you park.

adaline · 20/01/2020 08:03

If the bend is THAT blind, then yes! What if someone had broken down or anything else were in the road immediately after the bend? You can't go flying around blind bends for that very reason.

You can't seriously expect everyone to slow down to 5mph every time there's a blind bend in the road? Every rural road in the country would come to a total standstill with blocked up traffic Grin

The Audi driver was going at a very sensible 20mph, and came around the corner to someone driving straight at him! Presumably he did slam on his brakes which is why the damage was minor.

You can go around a blind bend at a reasonable speed - what you can't do is go around a blind bend on the wrong side of the road and try and blame the other person when you hit them!

adaline · 20/01/2020 08:05

The rules of the road say you don't create a dangerous obstruction when you park

The reason for the obstruction is irrelevant though. The car could have broken down, or it could have been a tree branch, or a deer, or a child, or a skip, or a bin lorry - you still can't just swerve around it into the path of oncoming traffic and hope for the best!

Oysterbabe · 20/01/2020 08:11

Yep it's your friend's fault.
She's already lost her no claims bonus so don't feel bad about throwing your PI claim into the mix too, it won't make much difference to her.

FlashingFedora · 20/01/2020 08:11

She should have sounded her horn to alert anyone coming the other way seeing as it was a blind bend and she had no visibility.

This^ I try to avoid blind bends but there one near me I can't always avoid. I always toot my horn as I go round to warn oncoming vehicles. That's what it's for after all.

LittleLongDog · 20/01/2020 08:13

Rurally, if we come to dangerous spot like this (e.g. a narrow single road coming around a blind bend), we sound the horn - this is what your friend should have done here.

This is what I was thinking. If you had to pass something on a blind bend (which you shouldn’t do).

catmumof1 · 20/01/2020 09:44

As frustrating as it is your friend will be at fault as the obstruction was on her side.
But the car coming the other way shouldn't have barged through just because it was their right of way.
I have a tendency to beep the hell out of obstructively parked cars so they would have heard me coming! Which if I recall is the correct procedure to make oncoming traffic aware of you on a blind bend as opposed to harassing twat parkers but 2 birds eh?

Fatasfooook · 20/01/2020 17:42

It’s your friends fault as she moved into oncoming traffic but parked car should get also done for illegal parking and causing an accident.

user1472151176 · 20/01/2020 17:43

I would say If she could see the car coming the other way then she should have waited but as you've mentioned the car was parked on a blind bend then I would say they are in the wrong - they are parked illegally. Double yellow lines for a reason.

user1472151176 · 20/01/2020 17:43

*the parked car was in the wrong

Zeb81 · 20/01/2020 17:47

Your friend was at fault, she carried out a manoeuvre when it was not clear and safe to do so

Attitude84 · 20/01/2020 17:49

The parked car is at fault. The oncoming car should have slowed down and let your friend pass if she was there first. Tell your friend to argue It and get a dash cam fitted. Best of luck

Localocal · 20/01/2020 17:53

I disagree with others. It was a blind bend, which is doubtless why it was a double yellow line. It sounds like your friend couldn't tell if another car was coming, and the oncoming car's driver didn't know there was an obstruction in the other lane. Your friend should probably not have gone into the oncoming lane without being able to see far enough ahead to be sure it was safe. (I think in her place, having a passenger in the car, I would have asked the passenger to hop out of the car and walk ahead a little to check if it was clear.) But the person parked on a double yellow was most in the wrong for creating an obstruction/hazard in the road. Tell your friend to let the insurance companies sort it out, having sent in all her photos, drawings and descriptions. And tell her not to worry - we all make mistakes and it is sometimes hard to know what is the safest thing to do. If she had been alone, it would have been very difficult for her to work out a safe way to handle that situation.

TeaForTara · 20/01/2020 18:04

Try it the other way round, OP.

"I was driving within the speed limit, on the correct side of the road. I rounded a blind bend and a car was coming towards me on my side of the road and we collided. Was it my fault or theirs?"

"My car was parked at the side of the road and it was hit by a car driving past. Was it my fault or theirs?"

It's your friend's fault. Unfortunate but that's how it is.

Bunnyfuller · 20/01/2020 18:06

The moving vehicle will be at fault (your friend). Regardless of the illegally parked vehicle, she was moving and ought to have waited before it was safe to pull around the parked vehicle.

starfishmummy · 20/01/2020 18:12

Your friend is at fault. The parked car shoukd possibly not have been there but she should have taken more care. Sounding her horn as a warning to other road users would have been appropriate

Twofingers · 20/01/2020 18:16

Without knowing the road and lane widths it’s impossible for us to tell whether the oncoming car was at fault in any way.
Your friend was definitely at fault for hitting the stationary car’s wing mirror but if the rest of the road beside the parked car was plenty wide enough for two cars to pass each other the oncoming car should have moved over to allow that to happen. If it was not wide enough then your friend should have waited until the road was clear of oncoming traffic.

Pop2017 · 20/01/2020 18:17

More than likely it will be deemed your friends fault as she was on the opposite side of the road. Although it’s frustrating that the car was parked where it shouldn’t have been I don’t think they can be to blame and definitely not the person who was on the correct side of the road.

Sunnyskies111 · 20/01/2020 18:20

@TeaForTara
"My car was parked at the side of the road and it was hit by a car driving past. Was it my fault or theirs? I was parked illegally and right on a blind corner, by the way"

NellieEllie · 20/01/2020 18:22

What can you do if you can’t see round the bend, and a car is parked illegally, forcing you to go into the other lane to continue?
Well, I think the answer is that you cannot continue because it’s clearly unsafe to do so. No one slows so much going round a bend that they could not risk hitting a car if one is on their side of the road. In all circumstances, pulling out to go round the parked car risks an accident.
Obviously most drivers are not just going to sit there, but I think that would be the legal position.

I’d say your friend and the parked car driver would be considered perhaps equally liable.

akkakk · 20/01/2020 18:26

faults for all three:

  • parked car should not have been there
  • your friend was not at fault for going past the car - you are allowed onto the other side of the road to overtake an obstacle, so her being there is not intrinsically wrong - however she is at fault for having hit the parked car - on seeing the oncoming car she should have stopped
  • the oncoming car was at fault for not stopping in time when seeing what was going on - being on 'their' side of the road only gives them priority - not a right of way - i.e. there is no presumption of law that they are allowed to drive without stopping / that they can hit anyone in their way - what if it had been a broken down car on their side of the road? what if it had been a child run into the road - they should be able to stop in the space they can see...

insurance will sort it out between all three

what should she have done?

  • stopped
  • checked why the car in front was blocking and if there was a driver there, asked them to move
  • perhaps asked you to get out and check ahead
  • maybe also used the horn