My car was hit by a lorry. Who is at fault here?

[Trexraaa]

I approached a junction with a lorry waiting at it. I thought the lorry was going right due to its positioning on the road. I know they have to go wide but this guy was literally in the middle of the road. He wasn’t indicating. I’m going left so I pull up on the left side of the junction where I am now side by side with the lorry. I am stationary and checking left and right for a gap to go. The lorry then decides to go left and crashes into the side of my car. I must have been in his blind spot for him not to see us. That’s my car written off but at least we are all ok. Am I at fault?

No. OP has already confirmed it wasn't. It was a single lane + junction, and lorry was in the correct position for him to turn left. OP drove up in the inside of his left blind spot, so of course he didn't see her & didn't expect her to be there.

How did you pass your test based on some of the things you have said/asked? Your original post implies 2 lanes but then you say it was only 1 so you are 100% at fault. Thank goodness no one was injured. You can replace a car but not your child!

He should have been indicating before stopping his intention so you could respond accordingly it will probably be dealt with as a 50/50 incident holding you both accountable.

research lorry blind spots and avoid them in future

good luck

Where I come from it sounds the same.

It must be wonderful to have never made a mistake in your life! There are real people , including a small child, involved here.

Glad you are ok OP. A friend of mine got dragged along (in her car) by a lorry once because they couldn’t see her when they pulled in to her lane. It completely put her off driving. We all make mistakes. A car can be replaced.

It's so hard to read the vile comments on MN. Stop taking out venom on OP. She clearly made a serious mistake and will be shaken. No need put the boot in.

To the people being rude, it's disgusting and is obviously because you're upset about your own lives because NO normal, content human would behave this way to another.

Whilst I completely agree it mostly her fault - the lorry driver should have been indicating so needs to take some responsibility. She would have never gone where she did if he had been.

was it a single road , or multiple lanes?

if it was a single lane then a very silly move - regardless of where you think they are going , when it’s a lorry with a blind spot! I know in some single lane roads if there is a car indicating to go right , then you can go at the side where the road curves and go left - I would never drive down the side of a lorry to do this - but if a car was indicating to go right then I would . But a lorry - no way on a single road ! They cannot see you , it’s so dangerous .

On a multi lane junction - so with a lane for right and left - if the lorry was completely in the right lane because it was a big junction then obviously that’s ok but if the lorry was also in my lane then again , I wouldn’t . Even if he would be at fault , that wouldn’t be what went through my head . What would be in my head is “ I’m squeezing past a lorry that cannot see me - if I’m hit by it and killed then whoever is at fault is irrelevant, I’m dead !

You need to be so careful with lorries ! They simply cannot see you in their blind spot!

I suspect as it’s a single lane carriageway OP then you will be found to be at fault.

However lesson learned-don’t mess with vehicles bigger than yourself-it could hurt. You know what to do next time and that’s the important thing.

The fact that he wasn't indicating in either direction should have been enough for her not to have gone where she did. She had zero reason to think he was turning right.

Are you sure you passed at test. This is something my 7yr old would know. FFS you never assume and you never stop in a wagons blind spot, and I hate to tell you but even if he had turned right you likely would have been hit as he would have probably swung left to turn right.

Honestly, I know everyone makes mistakes but it was a pretty idiotic thing to do. To drive up behind a lorry at a junction on a single lane, notice it wasn’t indicating which way it was going to go only to squeeze alongside it in the hopes it was actually turning right and then be shocked that it hit you as was turning left. Even if the lorry had turned right you would still likely have been hit due to space a lorry needs. I might understand a little more if it was a dual lane but it just wasn’t.

a very hard lesson to learn but something you hopefully won’t do again!

It’s all well and good saying the driver wasn’t indicating however it doesn’t negate the fact it was a single lane, just because you can physically get your car alongside doesn’t mean you should do so.

I actually feel sorry for the lorry driver as they had no way of knowing that someone was going to squeeze alongside them. Yes, they should have used indicators, perhaps they did but turning the wheel to position at the junction may have just caused them to click off.

you can’t control the actions of others but you can control what you do in situations and in this situation you were very wrong. Yes, you were stationary but only for mere seconds and you certainly weren’t stationary nor at the junction when the lorry pulled up to it!

You're very lucky.

How?

It was a single lane. op has already confirned and shared a picture of the junction.

Thanks for posting this. It's a really great illustration of the problem and worth a watch by anyone driving or cycling on the streets. Heck, pedestrians too.

OP I agree with the majority that you were at fault but I'm really pleased you and DC are Ok. No need to put the boot in folks, we all make mistakes and I don't reckon OP will do that again. Even better some others may learn from this thread and become safer drivers too.

All lorries should, given their propensity to kill

You would think the driver of the more lethal vehicle would have the decency to signal

Even if he was indicating the OP wasn’t entitled to sneak up alongside him.

The OP was daft, made a silly decision which out herself at great risk.

But I'mt the single lane/two lane issue, a simple likely scenario has been overlooked. Many single lane roads open wide at a junction so it effectivity turns into two lanes for that very short distance. Sometimes officially with road markings, sometimes by local custom. So it's pretty normal to have two vehicles side by side at a junction from a single lane road. Obviously you behave more cautiously when the other vehicle is a lorry though.

I can remember the initial bump then breaking after being hit but I cannot remember anything inbetween which is abit weird. I think I was fortunate to be in an SUV, a smaller car and we might not have survived.

looks like this type of lane does filter into two lanes, and therefore she didnt sneak, she assumed, with no indicating he was turning right, or at least not turning left.
a cautionary tale

I always avoid going next to a lorry where I'm in the blind spot, especially on roundabouts where they can drift over, I stick behind them, which I have been beeped at for but for me it's not worth the risk.
We've had a radio campaign I assume locally where they are telling you on motorways not to sit in the blind spot, and only overtake when you can fully overtake them.

The Highway Code is clear. “Local custom” doesn’t come into it.

its a single lane. There are no road markings or signs to suggest it becomes 2 lanes. Just because the mouth of the junction is wider doesn’t mean it becomes a 2 lane road. 😡