AIBU to think I have no liability here? (diagram attached)

[WiggyClawsThe2nd]

I think I'm fairly sure on this but can't stop panicking so I thought I'd ask on here.
Friday night I had a car accident. It was a real shock and it's only now that I've stopped to think about it that I'm feeling really really cross.
In the diagram I'm the blue line, the other driver is the green line. The thick lines show where we went, the thin lines indicate where you would have expected us to be going. Given that the lady tried to tell me she'd been going straight on when obviously she didn't makes me wonder if she had a mad moment!
Anyway, this particular roundabout leads onto a bridge over a dual carriageway. On the other side of this bridge you can go left onto a local road, or right to join the dual carriageway.
When we joined the roundabout, the other car was to my left. Neither of us indicated before joining the roundabout, however I did indicate left after I passed the 1st left exit as I was planning to go over the bridge and turn right to join the duel carriageway. As I was about to leave the roundabout the lady turned in front of me to head back round the roundabout and I hit her in the side of the car. Slow speed, maybe 15 mph.
It turns out that we have the same insurance company just to complicate matters.
I'm pretty sure that she is liable for this accident, what do you all think?

YABU: you are liable
YANBU: you are not liable

You asked if people thought you had liability. I gave my opinion…

But after OP had posted the resolution. Did you not at least read her updates which showed your opinion was not correct ?

No

Says it all. You only had to click on to see all OP's posts, you didn't have to RTFT.

Why not ?

Glad it’s not just me……..

Funny how none of them came back to the discussion after the OP said her insurance company found in her favour.

Perhaps they are all amazed at the coincidence of both parties having the same insurer, and that an insurer was able to be so definitive based on one parties report. Usually you wait months for the most basic of responses while they chase the other party . So a good result ;)

Nah.

Why does it bother you so much?

This is from Google :
”When approaching a roundabout, the right-hand lane should be used when exiting to the right or going straight ahead if the exit is after the 12 o'clock position”
and
”Left lane: Generally used for left turns or going straight ahead on a roundabout with a limited number of exits.

Right lane: Typically used for right turns or going straight ahead on roundabouts with more than two exits, especially if the exit is past the 12 o'clock position. ”

Just because the insurance company have “sided” with Op, doesn’t mean she was right. What’s likely happened is as both insurance policies are with the same company, and they aren’t going to fight themselves, they’ve just agreed to find both not at fault. The other person was in the wrong lane but would have assumed OP, being in the right lane, was going around so didn’t matter what lane she was in (which is obviously wrong but a fair assumption).

Yes, well you can go from Google all you like, as a great many people said throughout this thread, the Highway Code does not say that you cannot use the right lane, nor does it say you can only use the left lane, Those who said it did were unable to provide evidence.

Your Google evidence says "should", "typically", and "generally". None of those words are absolutes.

It doesn't bother me at all.

What does Uncle Google tell you about if the 12 o’clock exit is the last exit off the roundabout and you intend turning right a few yards down the dual carriageway at the next roundabout ?

What else is the right hand lane round the first roundabout for ?

The clue is in the use of the words “generally” and “typically”…….

You are right, they aren’t absolutes. But the other driver may have assumed that OP was doing what most people generally do. So although they were in the wrong lane, they didn’t think on this occasion it would matter as Op would be going around .

lots of sites mention this way of approaching a roundabout so it’s not like it’s an unknown thing.

Op is lucky both insurances were the same as if they weren’t she may have had a fight on her hands.

You were right to make a point of how dangerous it is to make assumptions when driving.

Great news!

You are right, they aren’t absolutes. But the other driver may have assumed that OP was doing what most people generally do. So although they were in the wrong lane, they didn’t think on this occasion it would matter as Op would be going around .

You are completely failing to take the layout of this island into consideration when spouting off about 'most people'.. like many other people on the thread who have quite rightly piped down now they've all been proved wrong.

nearly everyone ON THIS ISLAND drives straight ahead into the right hand lane of the dual carriageway.. there is NO RIGHT TURN at that island, so the only direction people in the right hand lane can go is straight on (into the right hand lane of the dual carriageway ahead, as OP was!) or back the way they came, there are only two exits.

So no, any assumption that people are going anything other than straight on is just stupid. As is your comment about the insurance company finding both parties 'not at fault', I'm pretty sure anyone who leaves their own lane, turns across an active lane of traffic to go in a completely different direction without indicating or even looking, directly into the path of someone driving perfectly legally, causing a collision.. most certainly WON'T be let off from being found at fault by their insurance company.

The mind boggles.

So you admit that straight on wasn’t the only route? That people could go around and back off the roundabout?

Op should have been in the left lane if going straight. On this occasion right would be for going back around.

I have to confess to feeling quite bemused at some of the comments on this thread.

In the immortal words of Elsa, "let it go......."

It's pointless explaining so I've attached a visual aid seeing as you don't seem to understand how a dual carriageway works... don't worry though you certainly aren't alone on this thread! does the picture help explain why you are 100% wrong in your notion that people can't possible go straight ahead in the right hand lane?

Or are you honestly telling us, that someone who starts in the right hand lane, drives around the island in the right hand lane and exits straight ahead into a right hand lane, EXACTLY AS THE PICTURE is in the wrong lane?

Genuine question.

It is absolutely peak Mumsnet. The insurance company have spoken. Liability has been decided but no! There are Mumsnet users who are convinced that they know better mixed in with mumsnetters who think their irrelevant opinion is needed so urgently they can't pause a beat to read the updates.
Come on people, have you not got massive salads to prepare? Urgent phone calls to 101 to make? Secret outing hobbies to attend?

Jesus Christ.. it’s a well known idea that those in the right lane should use that lane if they are going right or straight(if “straight” is past the 12 o clock point.).

If someone enters from the 9’o clock position, they’d plow into the red car as it would be cutting them off. It doesn’t work.

You obviously have more time on your hands than me so you are welcome to google this .

I notice that you didn't answer the question.

YOU are talking about islands with single lane carriageways as exits and the 'rule of thumb', which is left for left and straight on, right for anything after.. it's common knowledge.. It is also completely irrelevant to OPs situation as she was exiting on to a dual carriageway in the CORRECT LANE. Your rule of thumb does not apply to dual carriageways where multiple lanes/cars exit side by side.

The diagram is pretty concise, if you don't understand it or think it is somehow wrong then you probably shouldn't be driving to be honest.