Minor Collision - AIBU to think not my fault?

[Chickoletta]

I was driving through country lanes yesterday and met another car coming in the other direction. He stopped and allowed me to pull into a passing place just ahead of us.

It was very tight indeed. As he edged past me, I shook my head and said ‘No, I’ll reverse’. He ignored this, folded in his wing mirrors and continued to edge forwards. I could not have been more tightly into the hedge of the passing place. I had a friend of a friend in the passenger seat who will confirm all of this - I was giving her a lift home.

As we got almost past each other, there was a slight crunch and we had scraped the back wheel arch areas of each other’s cars.

His car has a very slight dent and scratches. Mine has only minor scratches that I probably wouldn’t bother getting fixed. We got out and it was perfectly civil, exchanged phone numbers and took photos.

He texted in the evening to say that he will get estimates for the repair and be in touch.

How would you want to proceed? I want to suggest ‘knock for knock’. He was the one who was determined to squeeze through.

AIBU to suggest ‘knock for knock’ rather than going through insurers?

I’d be surprised if he was able to hear you through 2 cars OP, unless you were chatting anyway?

I really wouldn’t advise not going through insurer’s. All it takes is for him to decide to go through yours anyway and if you’ve failed to inform yours then you’re immediately on the back foot.

Our windows were next to each other and I was shaking my head, mouthing and pointing to show that I would reverse. He understood.

I would inform insurers and say you are paying for yourself and tell him you suggest to do the same as you are not accepting liability for his but are prepared to share liability

You can suggest it to him OP but PP is right. You’re probably best off just telling your insurance. He clearly thinks you were in the wrong and will ask for payment.
I’d possibly play dumb and ask him why he’s telling you that because you were just going to tell your insurance for them to sort it.

So he stopped, you pulled into a passing space to let him through.

When he started edging his car past yours (despite saying no I’ll reverse) did you also move your car or did you sit there stationary still in the passing space?

You were stationary. He pushed through. His “fault” as the moving car.

Knock for knock I guess in reality. Definitely don’t go through insurance for minor damage if you can avoid it.

You can dispute this with your insurance company if he gets his insurance and yours involved. DH did this. Not exactly the same situation but the other person put every scratch on his car into the claim. We told our insurance he was lying. The quotes were huge. It was a tiny minor event. Don’t be pushed into your insurance paying and losing NCB.

He hit you as you were stationery . So he's absolutley lible

If you were stationary (it sounds like you were) then it is entirely his fault, he was the only one moving his vehicle. Claim through insurance.

I wasn’t stationary - we were both edging forwards to get past each other when the scrape happened unfortunately.

I’ve just rung my insurers and they have logged it as ‘for reference only’ for now. Thanks for the advice.

If I was in a passing space tightly next to a hedge and someone was edging past me I wouldn’t move.

If you were both moving at the time then I think you are both to blame, you may have said you’d reverse but you didn’t. Hopefully he will be happy for you both to repair your own cars.

Your first post makes it sound like you were stationary so I think people are going to vote YANBU, I did but I’ve changed it to YABU as you are both at fault.

It may well be a 50/50 accident but you did the right thing to tell your insurer. For all you know he will now claim whiplash and lost earnings etc etc and if you don’t inform your insurer so they can investigate, they can withdraw indemnity.

You were both moving so 50/50

If you were moving it’s 50/50. Both of you were at fault. I thought you said he pushed through.

Why on earth where you moving if you pulled over to get out the way

You’ve obviously never passed anyone in a narrow lane. That’s how it works, you both edge forward otherwise you’d never get past.

Yes, you don't move in those circumstances! Because you'll be scraping your car along the hedge.

No you dont you pull over as far as you can why the other person passes

I live off one and do it several times a week. Either you go forward or back into a passing place or the other car does, preferably forward. You absolutely don't both try and scrape past one another in a narrow spot, and if your car is up to the hedge, you don't edge forward or you'll be scraping your car along it. Sounds to me like they both misjudged it and it's 50/50.

That's not how passing places work.

This. I have never experienced both cars moving, there's no point in a paying place really if you're going to do this!

Why did you move once you were pulled into the passing place?

You said you would reverse but then you say you were edging forward? I think it's 50/50 in that case though id have just stayed still in the passing place.

Both moving so 50:50. Go through insurance and let them deal with it

Why on earth is he going to be in touch with you? Is he expecting to claim off you/your insurance for his damage? If you were both moving then it’s 50/50 and you’d both be better off just sorting your own cars out.