Had a car accident on the way to school

[Zaina89]

Was on the way to take my kids to school this morning, exited a roundabout 2nd exit with my left indicator on. I assumed my indicator had turned of because I had turned and I have played back the dash cam footage and can’t hear any indicator. Neither when I was driving could I hear the indicator hadn’t switched off.
was driving 40 on a 40 road. This was 1/2 minutes approx after putting my indicator and exiting round about.
next thing I know driving down this 40mph road a car on a give way on my left with his indicator on turns out in front of me, immediately as I see him turning I slam my brakes on and beep my horn. Because of my high speed you can hear on the dash cam footage the noise my brakes are making because I slammed down. He didn’t even attempt to move back and he hit into the left side of my car. The man wasn’t even getting out of his car he just reversed back. I got out of my car shouting “ what have you done?” “ why did you just do that?”
only then he got out of his car and even then didn’t check his car or mine and just stayed at his drivers door. When I kept asking him “ why did you do that?” He just remained calm, smiled weirdly and said “ you had your indicator on to turn left, I’ve got it all on camera”
my indicator wasn’t on when I immediately got out to check my car, he didn’t even bother to check for any damage on his car and didn’t bother to see mine.
I asked him for his phone number and details and that I would be going to drop my kids off at school because we are now late and they are in shock and upset and he refused and said “ it’s a company car, just take a picture of my reg” and got back in his car. He didn’t even move away from his drivers door, didn’t check the damage, didn’t make any pictures or videos of our cars or the damage. Refused to give me his name and phone number and just said take a picture of my reg and got back in his car and drove away like nothing happened.

im just in complete shock, my son was sat in the passengers side and im just getting a panic attack thinking if I wouldn’t have slammed the brakes as soon as I saw him doing what he did it would have been a bad accident. No one is hurt, my car isn’t badly damaged mostly just bad scratches.
I genuinely did not know my indicator was on ( if it even was!) I can hear when my indicator is on and I couldn’t hear anything even looking back at the dash cam footage you can’t hear the indicator just me and my children casually talking and then you can hear me beeping and slamming down on the brakes and then the collision. If my indicator was on, I’m not sure why it hadn’t turned off or made noise because I exited the roundabout a minute or 2 before the collision.

surely by my speed going 40mph and not slowing down or intending to turn he should have known I was not turning and shouldn’t have pulled out! Trying to remain calm but it’s just so strange he refused to give me his name and number and also very strange he didn’t seem concerned to atleast check his own car and any damage, didn’t even take any pictures or videos!

Whilst not giving you his name was wrong
As you were shouting he decided the best thing to do was not engage

It’s recommended not to in these situations.

Just report and leave it to the insurance companies

You were moving and he was stationary and pulled out in front of you so this is definitely his fault.
You should always be sure a driver is definitely turning before pulling out anyway even if they are indicating.
If he won’t admit he’s at fault it will go to your insurance to decide but I’d be very surprised if they don’t decide he’s at fault.
Did you get his reg number? You can get his car details from that if you search, then just go through your insurance.
You can involve the police if necessary because he refused to share details.
Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s uninsured

It’s also recommended not to leave the scene of an accident you’ve caused without switching details with the other party.

I can’t imagine a smirking man in a Range Rover to be intimidated by an upset and shaken woman with 3 young children in the back of her car 🙄

if he was behind a give way line and pulled out and hit you, he is in the wrong, regardless of whether or not your indicator was on.
An indicator is just that, it indicates intention, it does not guarantee that you will turn. It is up to the driver to check that it is safe to pull out before he does so.

I would phone the phone non emergency line and ask for help, simply because he left the scene of an accident without giving his name and address.

am so sorry this happened to you
pit was probably a deliberate scam and he chose you precisely because you were not speeding, your speed was constant, and he’s in a high seated vehicle so likely to be ok
the scammers often target mums with kids in the car.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2pJVThX0XlxZ3Cl2JHPwZvW/how-to-protect-yourself-from-crash-for-cash-scams

That is why I said he was wrong not to give his name

I don’t think any of us can judge This stranger as
‘smirking man in a range rover’

Nor can we assume he even noticed 3 young kids in the car. you can’t see mine, the window's are blacked out

All we know is what OP has told us
and like I said he should have given her his details. He didn’t.
Perhaps he would have had she not shouted
perhaps he wouldn’t
we really don’t know

The point is
He didn’t engage with her which in the circumstances is recommended and whilst I would hand out my details I would do exactly the same
I simply wouldn’t go near someone shouting in this situation, none of us know how things might escalate

I’ve said repeatedly by shouting I meant I raised my voice and asked him why he did this, maybe wrong maybe right but I don’t think I’m wrong for this to be the first thing that naturally comes out of my mouth because after all he did pull out in front of me and hit me.

I was in no means violent or aggressive or being verbally aggressive. I was shaken, upset and in a panicked state and with a raised voice I asked him “what have you just done” which I can imagine would probably be anyone’s natural first reaction! Not because I was expecting him to answer the question but because I was so shocked it was just the first thing that came out of my mouth in a shocking situation. I’m usually a person who gets upset and cries, I am not an aggressive person and have never verbally abused anyone ever nor would I in any situation. If anything he was the man in this situation and far more in a position of power than me so there was no way he felt threatened by me or anything and I wasn’t even being aggressive.

I just wanted his details because I’ve always been taught to ask for the other sides details if there was an accident and he refused to give me his name or details for whatever reason, but I really don’t believe it was because I “shouted” at him. I had every reason to be upset considering he smashed into the side of my car!

Not judging your reaction
Ive been rear ended on the school run with my three kids in the car
I get it
I’ve also had a car slam right into the side of mine crushing the passenger side right in

Both occasions I was in shock and shaking uncontrollably. I didn’t shout in fact I gave the guy who went into the side of me a cup of tea because, we both needed it.
I do get how it affects people very differently though
So not judging,

However
The facts do remain that the advice would be not to engage
other than to hand out details

You are failing to understand that he was also probably shaken. You know nothing about him, he could be in a marriage with lots of "raised voices" and just wanted to get away.
Just because you think you are a reasonable person doesn't mean he doesn't trust you to escalate to a full on tantrum.
One man's smirking is another man's "oh shit" face.
You seem to want him hanged, drawn and quartered when all he's done is accidentally drive into you and left because he felt uncomfortable.
He knows you have his number plate and he probably has yours. No one was injured, thankfully!

He could have apologized or atleast given his details over. It doesn’t matter what is going on at home, or what you are going through. You should give your details over.
i am also going through issues and with everything im already struggling with this on top is a lot for me to cope with, it doesn’t mean I wasn’t willing to hand over my name and details. There isn’t really an excuse for failing to hand over your name and details and just telling someone it’s a company car, take a picture.

plus, he was smirking, and pointing blame at me. Don’t admit to fault I get it but after smashing into someone else you don’t try to say “ I’ve got it on camera” and try to point blame onto me. Even if I shouted it’s not an excuse for his behaviour. Everyone has problems and it’s not an excuse for him to refuse to hand over his name. I wasn’t even shouting or being aggressive to him! I’m not saying he wasn’t shaken, I am saying I have the right to be upset and angry considering he hit into me and trying to blame me smirking and saying I have it on camera.

Apologising is an immediate admission of guilt though, he clearly thought it wasn’t his fault so why would he do that?

Its Up to the insurance company to make that decision.

You have said even if you shouted it’s no excuse for his behaviour.

I wonder how this thread would go if the sexes were reversed

The most important thing to be thankful for is that no one was injured OP

Good luck OP, I hope you have a better outcome than when similar happened to me.

I was driving through my carpark at work and there is an access lane for facilities staff that comes out at the side of the main driveway. This lane is impossible to see out of so there is a blind spot mirror for the vehicles exiting the lane.

This catering van drove straight out without checking the mirror straight into the side of my passing car. I also had my son in the car who was on his first week working there.

The insurance company found us equally at fault even though it was literally him that is supposed to check before pulling out. Infuriating! completely wrote my car off and took over a year to sort.

As I said, I didn’t say or do anything wrong. But as usual people feel the need to say “ if the sexes were reversed” as if I have done something awful and if he had done the same to me it would be worse and wouldn’t be defending me.
I did nothing wrong, he smashed into me and I asked him upset and in shock why he did that. regardless of him thinking it’s his fault or not he still hit into me and I didn’t say or do anything wrong for you to say “ if the sexes where reversed” I didn’t verbally abuse him or shout awful things at him. Alls I did was ask him why he did what he did, because HE hit into me.

he smashed into me and I was in a state of panic and shock, I had 3 children in the car, one of which was sitting on the side he smashed into. I’m not going to keep replying to this now because I didn’t say anything wrong and I wasn’t even aggressive towards him or say anything offensive.

The problem is if you WERE accidentally indicating then to be honest you are somewhat to blame for not ensuring your own safety.. if someone did that to me (not that I would have pulled out either way) I wouldn't be impressed if they then got out and starting shouting at me.

I can't really see why he would say you were indicating if you weren't, there's not anything to be gained by randomly pulling out in front of people on a 40mph road.

If he started to pull out because you were indicating and there was a collision, he will be liable with the insurance company for not giving way but IMO you both have blame in why it actually happened and should BOTH have been more careful.

Jeez how many times has the OP got to repeat that she reacted not in anger but shock - and who wouldn’t do similar?! Enough now, such a ridiculous pile on.

Oh for goodness sake @DryTerryandJUNE that is a really wild leap even for Mumsnetters.

You are seriously going to create an imaginary defence for a man who refused to give his name, address and details as he's legally obliged to.

What is the statistical likelihood that he lives in a marriage with "raised voices" (!) and is the victim?

Mumsnet is full of people who want to come up with the most elaborate defence for the protagonist in a story, just to make the OP seem silly.

Thank you! As I replied to this comment there is no excuse for what may or may not be going on at home to not legally hand over your details and refuse to. I’m also going through problems in my life without having to deal with this to but I was still willing to hand over my name and details but he wasn’t having any of it. The fact is I didn’t even be aggressive towards him, I literally only raised my voice and asked him “ why did you do that” not because I wanted or expected an admission but that was my reaction to someone hitting into me. I wasn’t abusive or threatening for him to feel he couldn’t hand over his name or details.
it has nothing to do with sexes or if the sexes were reversed I didn’t say anything wrong or offensive.

Even if you left your indicator on, he is at fault...for the exact reason that it might be on because it wasn't turned off. It's his responsibility to make absolutely sure you are turning.

This is an ongoing argument with my OP. He gets frustrated when I don't pull out as soon as it can be seen the car has its indicator on. I explained why and indeed, it's happened before that someone with their indicator on didn't turn.

Speeding is a matter for the police not the insurance. Liability doesn’t always align with the law. Once you understand that, you drive more defensively - again, Big Jobber is an education. He also mentioned at one point how many cases a claims handler is responsible for at once. IIRC it was hundreds - well at least a figure that suggests getting an insurance company to change their view on liability and fight your corner/go to court, would be an uphill struggle.

When I was learning to drive decades ago, my dad gave me lessons.

The first thing he said was 'Take no notice of indicators. People forget to turn them off. Wait to see the wheels turn and the car slow down.'

I wonder if people learn this now ?

I wonder if people ever stop victim blaming OPs on here and recognise that sometimes, just sometimes, the protagonist in these stories is the one at fault?!

He's a dick. He is at fault for the accident as he pulled out in front of you. This is still the case even if you were incorrectly indicating. He has also left the scene of an accident without giving his details. The only thing you can do with a photo of his registration is to report him to the police.

It’s an offence not to give your details. Being shaken is no defence in law. His previous experience is of no consequence to this.