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?

I can't believe you did something so stupid!

He's at fault if not indicating. Edited based on update from OP, it was a single lane.

You were foolish.

Insurance will pay either way.

Thank your lucky stars! Big shock, take time to process.

There’s dashcam footage so I guess that will show everything.

Was he not indicating?? 🤔

It sounds as though you were at fault to be honest. It was also a very dangerous thing to do and you could have been killed- as others have said, just give them space and a wide berth.

Even if you weren't in the wrong, lorry drivers are usually member of powerful unions so can argue the toss in their favour more often than not.

Bit OTT. The OP knows she made a mistake she's just asking if the lorry driver was partially responsible too due to road positioning/failure to indicate. I'm sure the insurance companies will sort it out and the OP will know not to make the same mistake again.

The latter.

As a new driver I stop miles away from anything that is bigger than me. I take no chances. I leave overconfidence to 20-somethigns😂

Your insurance will sort it out and decide on blame.
I would just learn from this not to assume which way anyone is turning even if signalling.
I had my new niece in the car when I went across a van as he was signalling to turn - it really frightened me as it was a near miss.

Oh in that case, you were at fault even if he wasn't indicating.

I assumed you were in a separate lane.

State the facts to your insurer and provide the dashcam footage. They can decide. The lorry should have indicated and even if they were going straight on, they may need to move across lanes so always safest to avoid their blind spot.
Glad that you are all ok.

Never go up close next to a lorry.

You should have waited in your lane behind him even if there was a late enough gap to go alongside him.

He should have indicated but you shouldn’t have made any assumptions and waited for him to finish his manoeuvre

Unbelievable.

And even if he had been turning right it sounds like you would have been in his swing space anyway.

A good rule of thumb OP, as you're a new driver, is if you see any large / long vehicle that is going to be turning, reversing, maneuvering in some way (especially if it's not clear what they want to do, as in this case) just hang back and let them do it. Lorries, tractors, vehicles with trailers, just keep well out of the way. Make sure you can see the driver in their mirrors.

Even turning right, trailers on lorries swing out to the left when they do so, so he'd still probably have hit you if he had been going right.

As for fault, I'd just leave it to the insurance companies to work out. You can take a photo of the road, draw a diagram, show exactly where everyone was and who was / wasn't indicating, what you thought was happening and why you moved to where you did, and they'll decide who was at fault and by how much.

If it was a single lane you shouldn’t have gone down the side of him no matter which way he was turning

Loads of posters who have never in their life made a bad call behind the wheel of a car.... 🤔

Unless there were two lanes I think you were wrong

221 of the Highway Code has a useful picture.

https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/other-vehicles.html

'Large vehicles.

These may need extra road space to turn or to deal with a hazard that you are not able to see. If you are following a large vehicle, such as a bus or articulated lorry, be aware that the driver may not be able to see you in the mirrors. Be prepared to stop and wait if it needs room or time to turn.'

170 also says
'watch out for long vehicles which may be turning at a junction ahead; they may have to use the whole width of the road to make the turn (see Rule 221)'

If two lanes you would have been misguided but not incorrect. Given only one lane then you were at fault. Glad you are ok.

Well, no. Because I used to ride motorbikes and the moral high ground is irrelevant to the laws of physics. If I'd done something stupid, I would have been a single line tweet explaining why there was a huge tailback as somebody scraped me off the tarmac.

Just be pleased no one was hurt and you have learnt a lesson.

I know I've made many mistakes while driving, thankfully without causing an accident. I just hope I've learnt from them and to not do them again

Good that there's dashcam footage. I had a woman drive into the side of my car at a junction, while I was stationary with the handbrake on. She then told her insurance I drove into her (!) and the insurance ruled it 'no fault' because our accounts were contradictory, no witnesses and I wasn't claiming for damage.

Since DD passed her test I have drilled it into her that being alive is more important than being right.
It was an easy mistake to make OP and technically you may have been right but you dont go up the inside into a lorrys blind spot for safety reasons.