Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Car accident - who was at fault?

296 replies

NCasOuting22 · 29/09/2022 10:40

I was recently involved in a car accident where 2 cars collided where the red and blue lines cross on the attached photo.

the left lane has white arrows painted in the road indicating to go straight on and has “petrol” written underneath it. The right lane also has white arrows painted on the road with “exit” written underneath it.

who was at fault?

YABU - blue car at fault
YANBU - red car at fault

Car accident - who was at fault?
OP posts:
mountainsunsets · 29/09/2022 11:40

It seems to me that blue is arguing that they were Indicating and in the middle of changing lanes when they drove into the side of you?

gatehouseoffleet · 29/09/2022 11:40

or has the insurance company (incorrectly from what appears to be the road markings) assumed it isn't two separate lanes in the carpark and red was "overtaking" when blue was indicating to turn right

but even if they were, they should have waited for someone coming up on their right. If you were on a motorway and pulled out into the path of someone overtaking you, you would be clearly at fault.

The only thing I am wondering is if the OP was behind the blue car and pulled past at the last minute, rather than being in the right hand lane for a while. I can see that would be less clear-cut (despite the blue car turning into a no entry!)

LimboLass · 29/09/2022 11:40

The blue car for turning into the red car.

It also seems the blue car was attempting to drive into an exit only junction.

ivykaty44 · 29/09/2022 11:40

Red car driver should have held back
red car driver shouldn’t have been overtaking
red car driver should have anticipated blue car drivers intentions
blue car was indicating then that’s ok to turn

these responses made you cross and you think they’re ridiculous?

if the red car drive was on a bike, that’s the responses they’d get.... believe me it’s infuriating

diddl · 29/09/2022 11:42

All I can think of is that it being a car park you should have been driving slowly enough to stop in time.

The other driver saying that he checked & you weren't there?

Not that he should have been making that manoeuvre of course.

AryaStarkWolf · 29/09/2022 11:42

Blocked · 29/09/2022 10:46

How is this even a question. Someone tell blue car you can't just go driving into people if they're in the lane you want to move into, you have to wait Confused

Not only did they cross over but they crossed into a one way lane :/

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 29/09/2022 11:44

Definitely the blue car, as they shouldn't even have been turning right. The arrow in that lane is facing the opposite way so is an exit only.

AryaStarkWolf · 29/09/2022 11:44

NCasOuting22 · 29/09/2022 11:01

Thank you. I’m the red car and the blue car drove into the side of my car, damaging my passenger door. The blue car had damage to its front right wing.

the insurance company have decided that I was “fully responsible” (me driving the red car). I had a witness and video footage taken after the accident. Plus screen shots from Google maps similar to the attached.

it’s gone to an independent arbitrator and they have also decided that I was fully responsible.

does anyone have any idea on how to make them see sense?

wtf?? That is batshit crazy, I'd fight that all the way too

Explaintome · 29/09/2022 11:45

OP you haven't said what it is about their story that's more plausible? Is it more plausible?

Passthetena · 29/09/2022 11:45

Given that they hit your passenger DOOR not only were you beside them, you were marginally ahead of them! How can anyone say that's your fault?!

Fladdermus · 29/09/2022 11:47

gatehouseoffleet · 29/09/2022 11:35

Insurers do take weird lines at times. My husband once turned out of an opening and stalled as there was something wrong with the car. He put his hazard warning lights on while he was trying to restart the car and someone came whizzing round the corner and into him. Said DH had pulled out in front of him. Damage clearly didn't show that but insurers agreed 50-50.

Another story was that a friend of my mum's stopped in a layby to eat a sandwich. Someone ran into the back of her and said she'd pulled out in front of her. The insurers preferred her version of events, even though friend of mum didn't have her engine running and was clearly located in layby.

Mine tried to pin an accident on me on the basis that I should have anticipated other road users being unaware of the new road layout. Old road layout would have meant I was at fault but definitely not under the new road layout. The new layout had been there longer than I had and I'd lived there 30 years.

SirChenjins · 29/09/2022 11:47

NCasOuting22 · 29/09/2022 11:35

It was on a supermarket car park and my insurer is requesting the cctv.

there was also an independent witness, who’s details I gave to my insurance company at the time, who has now been asked to give a statement.

I’ve told my insurance company that I’ll be taking it to court if necessary

Good for you - don’t take this lying down (unless you were overtaking at speed, in which case they might just have a point)

randomsabreuse · 29/09/2022 11:52

Insurance companies can make some crazy decisions, especially LV... 2 vehicles reversing into each other in a car park should go knock for knock - nope, fault of car reversing along the "road" (unsigned dead end due to building works) at fault over person reversing out of bay into their path...

arethereanyleftatall · 29/09/2022 11:52

Passthetena · 29/09/2022 11:45

Given that they hit your passenger DOOR not only were you beside them, you were marginally ahead of them! How can anyone say that's your fault?!

If she was speeding past.

Because actually, if the cars were neck and neck at the start of the manoeuvre as the op has detailed, then it is highly implausible that the blue car would have just decided to turn right. He would clearly have seen the red car.

The only possible way this can be sorted is cctv. Otherwise it's your word against his and no one who wasn't there knows.,

AuldReekie1905 · 29/09/2022 11:58

I'm not even a driver and I can clearly see it's blue's fault.

Hankunamatata · 29/09/2022 11:59

So did both cars start where box's are then blue car turned right into the one way rod on the right?

sparepantsandtoothbrush · 29/09/2022 12:02

This makes no sense. If you were beside them they wouldn't have turned (unless they didn't see you) so you've either come up alongside of him or slowed down as he's gone to overtake?

I'm guessing you went to overtake as he's turned though?

Midnights · 29/09/2022 12:05

I'm more confused following your updates!! I can only guess their story is perhaps manoeuvring into a space (preparing to reverse park or similar?) and you came speeding along in that lane to exit and that's what caused it? Lord knows! Makes me want to get a dash cam tbh.

whynotwhatknot · 29/09/2022 12:05

you have a witness and theyre still insisting the other car is correct? yes take it further-i know private car parks have no enforceable lane rules but this is ridiculous

BadNomad · 29/09/2022 12:08

Were you originally behind the blue car and then moved into the other lane at the same time they wanted to enter it?

Clem8 · 29/09/2022 12:09

prh47bridge · 29/09/2022 11:39

Those talking about the blue car making an illegal manoeuvre are wrong. This is a car park, not a public road. The road markings shown in the photo are advisory, not compulsory. Even if there is a no entry sign at the end of the lane going off to the right (which doesn't seem to be the case), that has no legal effect unless the local council has passed a Traffic Regulation Order. Having said that, ignoring the road markings may go against you if there is an accident.

Whilst at first glance it looks like the blue car is at fault, a lot depends on the sequence of events. Where were the cars relative to each other when the blue car started its right turn? Was the red car going too fast? Did the blue car indicate? What does the blue car's driver say about what happened?

Thanks for this, this is interesting to me.

I am taking my test soon and I have been a very observant passenger for a while and I am struggling to ever remember a time in a car park where you would be driving parallel with another car? Obviously, you have roads going different places and signposted but have I just not been taking notice because I can't seem to understand this bit... Probably just me though! car parks are different to normal roads though

lanthanum · 29/09/2022 12:09

I wonder whether they hadn't registered that both lanes are going in the same direction, and so thought that you were overtaking.

LolaDrek · 29/09/2022 12:14

If this was ops fault due to trying to nip past them when they started the manoeuvre they wouldn’t of hit her door but her bumper.

its definitely their fault. I always thought that someone hitting your side meant it was nearly always their fault, similar to driving into the back of someone!

DrDetriment · 29/09/2022 12:14

What is their side of the story and is there something you are not telling us OP? Otherwise I can't possibly see how all parties, including an arbitrator, thought it was 100% your fault. It is clearly Blue's fault from your description.

CircleofWillis · 29/09/2022 12:16

NCasOuting22 · 29/09/2022 11:03

I’m at fault at the arbitrator found the other parties story “more plausible”

What are the other party claiming happened? I can't imagine a scenario which would put them in the right when they hit the side of your car.