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?

Here

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lV-rhiGRFTE

I'd say that you were at fault. Big time I'm afraid, but lets just be glad that you and your child were not injured or killed.

The lorry could have crushed you both. They need a lot of space to make turns safely, especially if it is an articulated truck with a long trailer. They have enormous blind spots and cannot look into all of them fully when out manoeuvring on the road, especially up the inside on the left. That is why many do now have notices printed on the back of them to remind other drivers and cyclists.

As for whether it was indicating or not, maybe it was or maybe it wasn't. Lorries' indicators can often be in the very top and/or bottom corners of the rear of the trailer, so not always the easiest to spot. You really need to have your wits about you.

The lesson to take from this is to give them space, and NEVER go up the inside of them. If it turns left then the trailer can clobber you and crush you. If it turns right then the trailer may still initially swing in towards you in a way you might not be anticipating. All because of the amount of room they need to make the turn.

You've learned a harsh and expensive lesson this morning and I am very glad everyone is OK. You will learn from it and you won't make that mistake again.

There are times in everyone's driving career when we do something daft and realise how lucky we have been and how a guardian angel must have been watching over us that day. Luck and guardian angel were with you today so be glad of that.

If a HGV driver is at a junction of a single carriageway road. He/she is looking left and right at traffic on the road they are turning into. You would not expect someone to squeeze up the side of you on a road that is not designated to have anyone at the side of you. To then check your mirrors before you pull out into another road erodes into the small time window you have. In the time you've checked your side mirrors anything could have changed on the main road. Road users not taking the Mick and giving larger road users space to make a manoeuvre is better practice.

OP

when did you sound your horn, just before the lorry caught you or afterwards?

When we are on a motorway, around where we live many lorries from the EU ie left hand drive as we overtake them on m-ways, to try to so it as fast as possible as the have massive blinspots - lorries scare me and i try to steer clear of them and if i can't, i am always looking for a way out and horn at the ready - this method has served me well to date

All lorry’s have them do they? No.

Thank god you don't drive.

I don't drive myself but if he was in the right lane he was in the wrong lane to be turning left. He's obviously realised his mistake too late so therefore he was at fault.

there was only one lane

Yeah.....this is why people have driving lessons before they get behind the wheel.

Personally I think it's at least partly the HGV driver's fault. Blind spot or not, you check. That's why they have mirrors and have a professional driving licence.

HGVs cannot see every single blind spot even with mirrors.

@Topsyturvy78 Yes, good thing you are not a driver.

Lorries often need to move out to the right in order to take a left hand turn, especially a tight one. It is because of the size and length of the vehicle. They would not get the rear of the trailer round safely if they didn't. So yes, they can move over to the right in readiness for a left turn and are still correct to do so. Conversely, when turning right they may need to stay further over to the left for exactly the same reasons.

The trailer takes a much narrower angle getting round the junction than the front of the lorry does, so would mount the footpath, fall into a ditch, trash people, buildings and anything else in its path etc.

I just came here to post this!

I'm glad you're ok @Trexraaa. Lorries are a breed apart, honestly.

I used to commute on the motorway and they very often moved suddenly into the lane to the left when I was in their blind spot. Scared the living daylights out of me every time. I bought faster car in the end so I could get away quickly.

Take care, and I am glad you are safe.

Sorry OP my fault for not reading properly. Just remember they need to g square round roundabouts and for turning they need to pullover. My friend was squashed on a roundabout for trying to go alongside both going round but she didn’t realise he needed the room.

You missed up but you ok. Put this down as a lesson learnt to never slip into the blind side of a lorry. Sounds like lorry was there first. It might be 50:50. What did your insurance say

It was the man’s fault. Obviously.

He almost certainly hadn't made a mistake at all. He was planning how to get the whole of his very large vehicle (especially the rear end of the trailer) around the junction properly and safely.

Honestly, I know we all make mistakes, but the amount of ignorance being displayed on here is scary.

I can't understand the picture. Where would you and he be on that picture. I can't tell the scale of anything. Where is the right turn and left turn. It's a weird picture

What did the lorry driver say? Was he quite calm afterwards or cross?

Can you do a diagram? If I wasn't sure which way a lorry was going (not indicating), I'd just wait.

And people wonder why we have a national shortage of drivers when they are subjected to what they get and yet people still blame them whilst on piss poor wages.

I interpret it that you'd be face on with the vehicles at that angle. OP would be on the right of the picture turning left (right looking at the picture). The HGV would then be to the left on the lane, I'd imagine more central to allow for the swing left.

I was helping a friend with her theory revision and this scenario even came up in the mock test, with a bus approaching a roundabout in the 'wrong' lane. If I'm approaching an HGV or bus at a junction I keep well back. Likewise I get the fuck out the way as quickly as possible when passing lorries on motorways (or any vehicle really, the amount of people who hang around in the side-by-side danger area instead of actually overtaking is quite astonishing). I have a friend who is an HGV driver and she has seen some crazy stuff.

50/50 perhaps

If it was a single lane, it's entirely your fault. Just because you can squeeze in, doesn't make it a dual carriageway.
You squeezed into his blind spot, he may not have been indicating because there was was no one to indicate to at the time.

You didn't follow the rules of the road. He wasn't straddling lanes, there was was one lane,, wide enough to allow him to turn.

Your error.

How can It be 50/50? If you were sat at a junction and someone mounted the kerb to squeeze into the space next to you (not a lane) and you couldn't see them, and hit them.

Would you be accepting half the blame?

There wasn't a lane, she drove up the inside of the lorry drivers lane. undertaking him. He wouldn't expect her to be there, because she should not have been there.