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?

Ex motor claims handler here. 100% his fault. Once had a solicitor ring up to argue this point...very similar case...my response "what if it was a ten year old on a bike waiting to turn right". He stammered "that's different" I asked how, given ou our customer was sat in a much bigger item, a car, legally waiting to turn right. I then asked what his customer would do if a child ran out in the road.

@Greenleafants just to say, please let your insurance company deal with the claim. Do not let them pass you to a no-fault-claim handler.

The no-fault-claim-handler companies often string out the whole claim/fixing process...and in the intervening weeks they hire you a car. Yes, the hire car will be paid for by the third party....BUT...the daily fees are so exorbitant and they string out repairs for every...the car hire bill gets racked up to the 10s of thousands. The third party insurers will often then reject that part of the claim - saying it is not reasonable...they quibble about it between the insurance companies. It is a massive racket. Please be reassured, you yourself would not be liable...but you would be required to faff about making statements/possibly going to court....turning the whole thing into a long and tedious process.

So reject the offer of the "no-fault -claim-management "company. Just say you would rather just deal directly with your insurers. And if you need a hire car you absolutely can get it - but sometimes it is best to let the third party organise it for you - then they will not quibble the cost.

oP, contact your insurance company ASAP. They will follow it up for you. And by the damage to your car, they will know you were rear ended and therefore they will tell you what we havr all told you already.

Make sure you ring your own insurance company if you haven’t already. I had a driver hit the back of me when I was a young driver, he rang his insurance, who then called me claiming to be my insurance. Very naughty.

Get yourself a dashcam too when you have a moment. Better you have video evidence to counteract those that lie.

Absolutely his fault and it makes me angry to imagine the scene he caused with you.
As you say you were feeling stressed and predicted the 'danger' (good driver instincts 🙂) a useful tip next time is to bang on your Hazard lights as a warning to knobheads like him.
Also get a front & rear dashcam fitted.

Report to your insurance. Give them his details. This will be 100% his fault for not stopping.

Your car will be fix/paid out for. If your insurance covers it you will get a courtesy car.

Make sure you inform your insurance if you have any pain as they will do a medical assessment and you should be entitled to compensation.

I was rear ended years ago. I got 3k for whiplash. I still have physio for back issues now 15 years later. Don't underestimate the long term effects of being hit from behind.

His fault.
However, "I stop and start Indicating right "

You should start indicating as you slow down & well before you stop.

Absolutely his fault, no doubt at all. Report it to the police. He was aggressive and intimidating. I hope you're okay.

Adding to the chorus of people, quite correctly, stating that he is 100% liable.
I can imagine it must have been very scary for you. Please don't let it damage your confidence.
Anyone can stall. That still doesn't make it your fault.

He’s at fault.

This happened to me just before Christmas. Very similar.
Highway code states that it is the fault of the person behind. They need to stay at a safe distance in case the person in front crashes, stalls, stops etc.
he wasn't keeping a safe distance. End of.

In the end his insurance paid and all was well.

Yeah absolutely his fault. Honestly being a new driver means nothing, I’ve just got a new car and stall it at least once every journey!

Tough. Lesson no. 1 in driving is never make any assumptions like that. You could see the oncoming traffic and the road to your right better than he could, his possible belief that there was a gap you could have used didn't mean that he could assume that you would go - there might have been something or someone in the road, the gap could have been smaller than he thought, your car might have developed a fault and failed to move, etc etc etc.

He's a bad driver who wasn't keeping a proper lookout, and he is clearly trying to bully you into accepting liability. Pass it all on to your insurers with a full account of what happened and stop worrying.

Definitely 100% his fault.

Report to your insurers and let them deal with it all.
Do not engage with him directly if he tries to contact you. He sounds like a bully.

He's to blame.

should anything like this happen again you could try doing what I did. I was at a busy roundabout but stopped at lights and I could see this van coming up much too fast behind me, clocked a couple of guys in it laughing so not paying enough attention. I leaned on my horn as I couldn't go anywhere. Van skidded to a halt just short of my bumper. Think I probably gave some of the other drivers a heart attack or made them wonder "what's that looney doing?" but I didn't get hit and that's all that mattered to me.

To be fair many people don't feel really confident just 3 months after passing their test.

And even more question their actions, even when it's not their fault, and don't feel confident straight after their first car accident.

Work in insurance claims. If someone goes into the back of you it's never your fault in the eyes of your insurance company!

It's his fault but when you give your account be sure to say you indicated before stopping and not the other way round. I assume this is what you meant and you were already stationary but wording matters.

Don't be ridiculous. Even a very experienced driver of many years can stall occasionally!

The van driver who crashed into her is by far the most dangerous driver in this situation.

Stopping distances exist for a reason. Even an experienced driver should be taking these into account, observing there is a stopped car and adjusting their speed accordingly. Experienced drivers should know this.

Oh and as someone who has to cross a rural dual carriageway, I always slightly over rev when starting off as you absolutely don't want to stall in the line of 70mph traffic

However, I can understand his anger as stalling on a major road is so dangerous.

Not taking action to reduce your speed and allow appropriate stopping distances, especially in busy main roads, is incredibly dangerous.

The van driver was driving in a dangerous way. He chose not to take action which would have reduced the likelihood of hitting the op.

The OP's actions were a simple accident, which can happen to anyone. The van driver's inaction was not accidental.

Yeah police told me that once when someone went into me. Only exception he said is when someone nips into a too small gap and the person behind goes into them.

OP van driver is an arsehole. Not your fault.

Oh behave. Everybody stalls very occasionally, especially when under pressure. Don’t be mean.

He should not be assuming anything, he should be driving to what is in front on him, not what he thinks will be. Totally his fault.

But he was a white van so nothing is ever their fault and they are some of the most careless and bullying drivers out there.

No, he was at fault as he didn’t leave a safe breaking distance