Car accident.. who is at fault here?

[Greenleafants]

I am so stressed so bare with me. Going down the A1 but it’s a single carriageway and turning right into a little side road because I live there. I stop and start Indicating right as there is approaching traffic on other side of the road. I can see a white van approaching my rear at high speed but I still don’t want to turn as there is traffic coming very quickly on other side of road. Then I see a gap but I am really stressed at this point and I stall my car like an absolute fool. So embarrassed. Crash. He goes into the back of me and he was absolutely raging. His van is damaged worse than my car, I have some damage to my bumper but managed to drive home.. I’ll be found at fault for, won't I?

There is case law that says that if a vehicle cuts in front of another car, reducing the rear vehicle's stopping distance so much that a crash occurs, it can be split liability.

You were stationery and he went into the back of you. No way on earth that can be your fault.

He saw you stopped and DROVE INTO YOU. Entirely his fault, the man's an arsehole.

It’s also a well known scam for people with already damaged cars. They are in front of you at a roundabout and it’s clear so you think they’ll move and then They stop and you go into the back of them but it’s technically your fault

What a ridiculous thing to say!

You dont choose to stall.

What did he mean by "you shouldn't be on the main road"? You have a license, you were driving on the main road and stopped to turn off the main road. Were you supposed to maneuver off the road somehow? Or was he implying that you are not skilled enough to be driving where oh-so-skilled drivers like himself do? Roads are not exclusively made for middle aged white van men...

It's the busiest road in the North East. It could have led to a massive pile up. She's lucky it didn't. It was the man's fault and I said that. However, I can understand his anger as stalling on a major road is so dangerous.

How can he possibly be claiming it wasn’t his fault? I’m glad your insurance company are fighting him and not just going 50/50.

He's a man, and I presume you are a woman, so of course it's your fault....😉

Seriously, don't let his reaction bully you into thinking it's your fault. He was responsible for crashing into the back of you. It was totally his fault. I hope you got his details for your insurance claim?

He's in the wrong and you have my sympathy - it must have been frightening

Adrenaline and testosterone can do funny things to blokes after something like that which would have been scary for him too. We can end up becoming both aggressive and defensive! For example, I was once accused of causing an accident in the immediate aftermath (someone had hit me in the rear when they were turning onto the main road I was driving down). When the guy had calmed down, he was much more reasonable and his insurer paid.

To be clear, I'm not defending the van driver's behaviour, just giving some context.

But it is your fault. You shouldn't assume someone will move just because the road ahead is clear. You should slow down and maintain enough of a gap to allow you to react to a car stopping unexpectedly.

It’s no more dangerous than stalling anywhere else. If you’re stalling then you’ve been stationary, and every driver coming up behind should be reacting to a stationary car, which means slowing and approaching at a crawl and stopping if they still haven’t moved. If they stall and you hit them then you were going too fast and too close, doesn’t matter how busy the road is. Every driver should approach a stationary car as if it’s a stationary car! And not imagining that it will move before you get there.

Completely his fault. Have you got his details for your insurance company?

You should never assume someone is going to do something (or not do something) behind the wheel. He learned that the hard way. Absolute fool should have slowed down and been ready to stop already when you stalled.

Sounds like he is trying to bully you into accepting responsibility when it is actually his fault. Do not fall for this. Hopefully you got his details? Put in your insurance claim. It will be counted as his fault.

100% his fault. He thinks by being aggressive and a bully he can convince you otherwise

It's his own fault
You could have broken down, set off and had to stop for a pedestrian, anything
You don't just plough into the back of a car and say it's their fault

Someone crashed into the back of my car. The insurance man said 'you could be the worst driver on the road but if someone goes into the back of you, it's their fault'

i had an incident a few years back very similar... sat at a roundabout waiting to enter and take the 3rd exit.. an HGV came round from the right, i chose not to go.. even though the HGV did turn off before passing me at the last minute..

the Yodel driver came steaming up behind me and went bang into the back.. he claimed he thought i should have gone!

at first he was so angry at me, yelling and screaming as he assumed i was in the car on my own, until hubby... pretty tall, build like a you know what stepped out of the passenger side... van driver shut up and immediatly got back in his van

deemed his fault and ended up paying for my car which he wrote off and injuries to me

This isn't your fault, its the van drivers fault for being so close to you in the first place. I hope you got his insurance and reg!

His fault.

I drive a lot (my job is driving) and these cunt van drivers regularly do shit like this. For example, you haven't overtaken the car to the left but they're basically in the back of your car. This is his fault, stall or not. If he was sensible he would have come to a stop behind you or judged the required speed accurately.

Stereotypical van man here including his overarching reaction being anger.

Your premium will very likely go up because you've had an accident regardless of fault but report his behaviour to the insurers too.

Disclaimer - some van men are lovely.

Have you called your insurance?

His fault. For all he knows your car could have broken down.

His fault.
*bear with me - because bare with me means something totally different!

He drove into the back of a stationary vehicle. Just pass it over to your insurers and they'll decide he's at fault.

I did the same thing once. Was at a roundabout and it was empty, woman in front set off, I set off and kept my eye on what was coming. Went straight into the back of her becusse she'd stopped. Doesn't matter that she had no reason at all to stop, I was 100% wrong to drive straight into her.