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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Was this accident my fault?

69 replies

TafeaJovouzto · 09/05/2023 17:30

Had a minor scrape and I don't know whether I should argue that it wasn't my fault, or whether I should accept some responsibility.

The location of the accident is a horrible corner to negotiate and I am sure there are regular scrapes there.

I am the orange car, going up a steep hill where there is a wiggle around to the left then I immediately turn right, and the larger blue van is coming down the hill, wiggling around a sharp left hand turn then immediately going around to the right. The vast majority of traffic at this corner follows these paths, it is quite rare for cars to go in the other direction as it doesn't lead anywhere except to a few houses. I do this bend at least twice a week as it is between home and my child's school, they get the bus most days but occasionally need collecting. It's normal for drivers in both directions to pause and establish whether someone else is coming the other way because you don't want to be doing the bend at the same time as someone else.

On this occasion I believe I am clear to go and am just at the first corner when I realise the blue van hasn't stopped and is swinging around the corner. I stop the car on instinct because in the event of something going wrong in a car it is a lot better to be stationary. The van swings past me but scrapes my back right bumper.

Damage is minor and probably cosmetic, there is no change in shape to the bumper but a big white scrape. There is no damage to the side of the van, so it's only my car that needs a repair. I am getting an estimate tomorrow.

Van driver says it is partially my fault because he judged where I would have been if I had kept going and if I hadn't stopped there wouldn't have been a collision.

I feel that stopping is never an inherrently unsafe thing to do.

However if we go through insurance I will lose my no-claims bonus. I have 12 years officially "no-claims" but have had 2 claims in the last 2 years - once when I was a genuine idiot and had a brain fart while parking and scraped the side of my car, and the second when someone went into the back of me and it was 100% their fault. I didn't lose my no-claims status with these as I had paid the extra to protect my no-claims bonus, but I have been told if I make another claim this side of September 2023 I will lose my no-claims status.

So I am considering sorting it out between me and the van driver if that will be cheaper than the impact of losing the "no-claims" but I need to be sure of myself on whether I should be accepting partial responsibility or whether it was all his fault. Please could you vote?

YABU - you share the blame and should expect to contribute to the cost

YANBU - you are blameless and the van driver is fully responsible.

If you vote YABU could you comment as to what proportion of the cost you think I should be accepting? (e.g. 100% if you think it's totally my fault, 50% if you think we are equally to blame)

Was this accident my fault?
OP posts:
Divorcedalongtime · 09/05/2023 17:33

If you were stopped dead and he carried on driving he can’t claim that he thought you would be elsewhere. Do you have dash cam?

DingsBum · 09/05/2023 17:34

Where was the van when you stopped?

Shoxfordian · 09/05/2023 17:35

Yabu and stopping clearly can be the wrong thing to do as this accident shows op

Sissynova · 09/05/2023 17:35

I feel that stopping is never an inherrently unsafe thing to do.

Of course it is. Stopping in the middle of the road while driving can be one of the most unsafe things you can do.
You can be driving dangerously slow too.

It’s really hard to tell from your description who is at fault but you aren’t automatically in the right for stopping.
It looks like there are two lanes on the approach and on the road you were turning into. From the map it seems like you just needed to keep driving and you would both be fine.
Randomly stopping probably added to the confusion in this situation.

LakieLady · 09/05/2023 17:36

Fabulous diagram, OP, if there was a "diagram of the week" award, it'd get my vote!

It looks as though the van was quite wide and that the accident wouldn't have happened if he'd stayed closer to the kerb on his side, so I'd say he's more to blame than you are, OP.

I expect the insurance companies will deem you both to be equally to blame though.

Original poster
TafeaJovouzto · 09/05/2023 17:38

No dash cam.

At the moment when I stopped the van was right in front of me coming around the corner. It might be that if I hadn't stopped I would have gone into the side of the van but maybe it would have been fine, it's impossible to know. The collision wasn't until a second or two later, once the front of my van had gone past the front of my car - the side of the van scraped along the read right corner of my car, if I had been 2cm further forward there would have been no impact.

OP posts:
OhmygodDont · 09/05/2023 17:39

I mean he hit you, a stationary object. You where the inanimate object really. Bit like when you shout at the coffee table when you accidentally kick it.

Circumferences · 09/05/2023 17:39

Just sort it out directly, sounds like a paint job nothing big.

junglejane66 · 09/05/2023 17:41

Circumferences · 09/05/2023 17:39

Just sort it out directly, sounds like a paint job nothing big.

Although as we all know you have to inform your insurance company you've had an accident, whether you claim or not

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 09/05/2023 17:43

TafeaJovouzto · 09/05/2023 17:38

No dash cam.

At the moment when I stopped the van was right in front of me coming around the corner. It might be that if I hadn't stopped I would have gone into the side of the van but maybe it would have been fine, it's impossible to know. The collision wasn't until a second or two later, once the front of my van had gone past the front of my car - the side of the van scraped along the read right corner of my car, if I had been 2cm further forward there would have been no impact.

That says to me that if you'd carried on driving, the van wouldn't have hit you.

I think you're probably equally at fault, to be honest.

Original poster
TafeaJovouzto · 09/05/2023 17:56

But if I hadn't stopped I might have gone into the side of him instead?

This is (a) the point where we both were when we clearly both thought that we were safe to proceed

and (b) the point where we both were when I stopped - there was no collision at that point but I suspect there could have been if I hadn't stopped.

I guess if I had stopped AND THEN managed to restart immediately after no more than a 1 second pause there might not have been any scrape. That sounds like pretty advanced driving to me and I am not sure it's a reasonable expectation.

Was this accident my fault?
Was this accident my fault?
OP posts:
ChaoticCrumble · 09/05/2023 17:59

It looks to me as if he should've paused at the junction and waited for you to go past.

Jezzebell · 09/05/2023 18:06

Hindsight is a wonderful luxury, but we have no way of predicting possible outcomes. Life is like a choose your own adventure

Thriwit · 09/05/2023 18:09

I don’t think it really matters tbh. He could easily just say you were on his side of the road and he did his best to avoid you.
My experience would be that insurance companies won’t be bothered - it should be a low-cost claim, they’ll just say 50/50. It’s probably not worth the increase to your insurance premium.

If I were you, I’d just sort it myself. Well actually, I probably wouldn’t because my car’s 11 years old, has done 130,000 miles and has multiple scrapes and dents anyway 😅 If necessary, smooth any sharp edges, clean, spray with paint/anti-rust stuff if metal showing

Leftphalange100 · 09/05/2023 18:11

If its minor cosmetic damage I'd just pay for it and sort it myself. I'm sure someone will come along and say you must report any accident to the insurance regardless of how minor, but back in the real world

Spookysnake · 09/05/2023 18:15

Stopping dead is not defensive driving, and it sounds like 50/50 unless you were over the line in which case it's your fault, stationary or not.

DaaamnYoullDo · 09/05/2023 18:16

Equally at fault.
It sounds like a paint job though, why would you even bother your insurance. I'd actually try to get it off myself before i even bothered a garage with it.

TempName247 · 09/05/2023 18:19

He may not have hit you if you hadn’t stopped, however he must have been driving too fast

TempName247 · 09/05/2023 18:22

And firstly he should have stopped at the junction and waited for you to pass. I think you were right to stop when you realised he was coming

villamariavintrapp · 09/05/2023 18:23

Well I think he's at fault, looks like he's pulled out of the more minor road onto the bigger road meaning you've had to stop to avoid him, and then he's scraped your car because he's been going too fast to stop himself. But I don't know what it's worth with your insurance etc.

NumberTheory · 09/05/2023 18:31

It looks like his fault to me. He shouldn’t have pulled out in the first place, you had right of way on the road, and if you think you’re going to hit him, which you did, then stopping is the right thing to do. He could have stopped too, but didn’t.

However, you won’t have proof of what happened and I highly doubt the insurance company fight your corner.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 09/05/2023 18:31

TempName247 · 09/05/2023 18:22

And firstly he should have stopped at the junction and waited for you to pass. I think you were right to stop when you realised he was coming

But he wasn't turning onto OP's side of the road so he probably thought it was safe to pull out.

GabriellaMontez · 09/05/2023 18:36

Is the road wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass?

If so, why did you collide? Was someone on the wrong side of the road?

NumberTheory · 09/05/2023 18:40

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 09/05/2023 18:31

But he wasn't turning onto OP's side of the road so he probably thought it was safe to pull out.

Show quote history

From OP’s diagram, he was turning into both sides of the road as it’s too narrow for two vehicles to pass - that’s something that a competent driver should be able to judge.

NarwhalsTusk · 09/05/2023 18:42

As others have said, just don’t involve the insurance companies, not worth it for a scrapped bumper.