Car crash debacle

[guesswhatteapot]

So I picked my son up from school and drove home the usual route. Pulled up outside my driveway on the left hand side of the road. We have a shop opposite and it's a main road so always busy with cars parked outside the shop. I sat in my car waiting for the traffic to go past, looked in my rear view mirror, no traffic. Started to reverse onto my driveway. Next thing a car hits the side of me and rips off the front of my car. She must have been parked across from me on the opposite side after going to the shop. She must have pulled out when no traffic coming, completely ignored my reverse lights and ploughed into the front of my car. We exchange numbers and she says she will text me later with her details... no text. I phoned my insurance company, my car is undriveable . I text her and she replies with "Your fault, I was stationary, you reversed into me, not going through insurance company, etc.
I replied that if she was stationary and I reversed into her A) why was the damage to my car at the front and not the back and B) why was she parked across my driveway blocking my access to my driveway?
AIBU to think that she just doesn't want to go through our insurance companies and is trying to blame me for this?

Is her version really that she was directly behind you? Because from the diagrams it looks like you might be right (she was at the shop), or she could have just been driving on the road normally and you didn't see her / she was in a blind spot?

Either way... I think you were probably at fault? Even if "your version" of events is accepted by the insurance companies, she would have been on the carriageway? You had a reverse light on but the car would have swung out onto the road, and even if she saw the car swinging and stopped completely, she wouldn't have been able to stop the collision unless she reversed away from you as you were swinging out? She would have been relying on you to see her.

That's just what I'm getting from the diagram.

Also, I'm not trying to be shitty, and maybe it's just the way you worded the post, but if you're doing a manoeuvre and "next thing something slams into my car" were you really continuously checking all around you (inc blind spots)? If you were, wouldn't you have seen the car pulling out? And wouldn't you have expected the collision because you'd have clocked her as she was coming towards you and slamming into you?

I'm just trying to play "devil's advocate" here because without cctv evidence and only the diagrams and your account, the above seems like the most logical conclusion of who was at fault. Usually in the case of a car reversing vs a car with right of way, it's the reversing cars fault unless you can prove the right of way car was speeding or not paying attention, and I'm assuming it's a 30mph road (not like a car park) and the RoW driver could easily have noticed you were reversing but not known you were going to swing right out in front of her (so she can say she was paying attention).

Forget all the report it to police comments, they won’t be interested as there were no injuries, and don’t get into a blame game with the other party, pass all the details you have to your insurance company and let them deal with it, that’s what you pay them for, they’ll go after the third party assuming in their view they are at fault

Report the incident, get a crime number and contact her with this number, stating you have cctv evidence as well and that she has 24 hours to provide you with insurance details before you take the evidence to the police.

you can still pursue it through her insurers. You don't need her to do it herself so if she's refusing to ahead and ask your insurers to look into it ir contact her insurers direct if you can find it who they are (I think there is a way(

*find out

She has to be insured... she works in a primary school as I found out by Facebook. Think she's being told to go down this road by her husband who is 'willing' to do the repairs to their car because they don't want to wreck their no claims bonus. Why pay out through your insurance when you can fix it yourself even if it screws over someone else who is prepared to follow the rules

But it makes no difference to you whether she goes through her insurers or not. You just contact your insurer with the details you have and they will sort it out with her insurer, if she has one, regarding liability etc.

@guesswhatteapot

She has to be insured... she works in a primary school as I found out by Facebook. Think she's being told to go down this road by her husband who is 'willing' to do the repairs to their car because they don't want to wreck their no claims bonus. Why pay out through your insurance when you can fix it yourself even if it screws over someone else who is prepared to follow the rules

You can check online her insurance/tax/MOT details.. I would. Sounds dodgy. It doesn't make sense that they don't want to go through their insurance if she truly believes it was your fault

Why are you engaging with this woman, just give all the details you have, your version and diagram to your insurer and let them get on with it.

It doesn’t matter whether she wants to go through insurers etc. That’s for your own insurers to worry about. Just pass on the information you have and leave it to them to deal with her. Regardless of whether or not it was your fault you have cover, and you’re paying your insurer to do this work for you.

@Apandemicyousay

You don’t need other car insurance details, if you give her registration to your insurers they will track down her insurance (if she has it).

Don't engage with her any further. Just pass the details you do have onto your insurance company. They will track down her insurance or lack of it.

It sounds like it will end up being a 50/50 claim.

Just leave it with your insurance company. They will contact hers

You have evidence and a diagram, and the damage to both cars will show what actually happened

Meant to say I agree with @apandemicyousay.

It will either be 50/50 or your fault.

@Chloemol

Just leave it with your insurance company. They will contact hers

You have evidence and a diagram, and the damage to both cars will show what actually happened

this 🚘🚖

I wonder if the "You reversed into me" was what she told her husband and that her version of the damage to your car is minimalised so he doesnt find out what happened through the insurance. I have a friend who did that because she knew her "D"H would go through the fucking roof if he had known that she had had an accident.

Should add.....that she is daft if she thinks that will work as you have her name and reg so can go through her insurance whether she likes it or not....thats sort of the point of having it!

@Apandemicyousay

You don’t need other car insurance details, if you give her registration to your insurers they will track down her insurance (if she has it).

Absolutely- don’t try to do detective work, your insurer will handle it. And if she hasn’t disclosed the accident to her insurers she’ll be in trouble. Not disclosing can invalidate her insurance. So she’s being very foolish.

Send the details you have to your insurance, you have name reg and phone number- this is their issue. No idea who they will find at fault given you were reversing down the road, and she pulled out across the road.

This sounds like her fault to me, based on where you say the damage to your respective cars occurred. She swung into your lane and struck your car, hence the damage to your front.

But I'd echo everyone else - just don't bother engaging with her any more, and pass everything you have - including the photos - to your insurer. They'll have experts who will be able to unpick the truth and apportion the correct responsibilities.

Oh, I also think that she's not come clean with her DH - sounds like she's blamed you and wants to avoid the full truth coming out.

I hope you're OK, even a minor smash can really shake you up.

I don’t understand the issue, what am I missing? You have insurance. You go to your insurer and lodge a claim providing the details you have for her - rego and number. They take it from there and arrange for your car to be fixed. If you are at fault you have a small out of pocket and lose some no claim bonus. Why are you contacting her at all, why isn’t this all being left to your insurance company to deal with?

I can only echo what is being said here - call your insurer.

Are you insured Op? Can't understand why you don't just let them get on with it. They'll probably sort you a courtesy car to use instead of taxis which will solve your other problem.

I get it's stressful and unpleasant but there is no need to over complicated it or play detectives.

Just give her recto the insurance company, they.l do the rest. No name or address required.

Look just tell your insurance company and the police

This is so strange. Why didn’t you just walk indoors and phone your car insurance when it happened and give them her number plate instead of waiting for texts and trying to be a super sleuth! The reason you have insurance is so they deal with stuff like this.