Minor road collision, looking for opinions

[Tiptoptip1]

I've only been driving for a few months, and I am hearing conflicting things about insurance and how to handle these sorts of situations.

I hit the side of a van on a roundabout a couple of days ago, I do this roundabout almost daily with no issues so I'm disappointed in myself. It's got a few different lanes and one lane can be used for straight on or right. I thought I was in the correct lane, I felt the van was going too fast as they had been tailgating me prior to entering the roundabout, but regardless I hit them and I'm not blaming them.

At the scene their van was luckily unaffected (just said a small scratch) my car was damaged but I've fixed it now. They were saying I was in the wrong lane, they didn't want my details and just sort of shrugged it off in the end and left.
I've notified the police and my insurer, just paid myself for the damage as it was under £100 to repair.
They've said it has to stay on my record for 6 months, technically the van driver could claim for the scratch but unsure if they will.

I've heard people say never admit fault at the scene, even don't claim for it etc. But of course I had to notify. I feel disappointed in myself as I do that roundabout daily, it all feels like a blur. Not sure what I'm looking for really any thoughts?

I'm new to all this I suppose, I'm just glad there were no injuries or significant car damage.

Study up on the correct rules on entering and using roundabouts.
You need the confidence of knowledge.
Practice roundabouts in low traffic for your own peace of mind..

I’m not sure what thoughts you’re expecting tbh, because you’re “not blaming them” and thereby accepting blame yourself. Minor incident, sensibly you reported it and dealt pragmatically. It is what it is. Sounds like you did the right thing.

Learn from it and be more careful at roundabouts - unfortunately just because you're in the correct lane, doesn't mean others are, or that you're 'safe' from accidents.

With experience you'll learn the body language of cars and feel more confident!

You handled it all well by the sounds of it. 🙂

I go on this roundabout all the time, I'm looking more for how to proceed now or whether I could have done anything differently at the scene.

Ahh honestly try not to dwell on this too much and ruminate to the point of misery. I did something very similar when I had recently passed my test at 18. 20 years on and I still think about it when I’m on the roundabout where it happened! Not in a traumatised way but in a ‘now remember, be careful’ way. My extra caution and observance has definitely made me a safer and more aware driver, so I see it as a good thing ultimately. One minor bump where no one was hurt, and the result is I am a better and safer driver for it :) don’t play the ‘what if’ game as that way lies madness. Forgive yourself, it was a mistake, we all make them, and don’t worry about it any more!

If the van driver didn't want details then they were probably in the wrong too or didn't have insurance.

So personally I wouldn't have reported it if the van wasn't bothered about the scratch.

When pulling off a roundabout and youre not in the left lane, use your left mirror to check for anyone else also exciting or still moving round.

It sounds stupid but I do it all the time as I say and I'm sure I was in the correct lane (if I'd been in the wrong one all these times surely I would've been beeped/near miss/another collision by now) but maybe not..

Thanks I'll just chalk it up to experience and be extra cautious from now on.

I read my insurance could be cancelled if I didn't notify them?

Can you draw a diagram of the roundabout and explain where you were etc and hopefully we can help.

It's 3 lanes, one for straight ahead, one for either straight ahead or right, and one for right, i was in the 2nd from left lane to go right, van driver was going straight ahead, tbh it just felt like a blur but I will just be extra careful and use it as a lesson.

You may well have been driving correctly, but accidents happen, as a PP says, it doesn't help to ruminate and dwell, don't torture yourself by the what ifs!

Are you neurodiverse? I only ask as I am, and used to be prone to ruminating.

Have you got someone you can go and do the roundabout with to get them to clarify with you the lanes? It may well have been that you were in the correct lane! When I had my bump, I was in the correct lane, the car I hit was in the wrong lane. I was going straight ahead, and they were coming in from my left. However, even though they were in the wrong lane, the insurance still went 60/40 (40 my way) because I was told I needed to make sure my exit lane was clear and there was nothing coming across it before I left the roundabout. It’s hard when it’s a big roundabout and you’re moving quickly, but I’ve always remembered thag and the number of accidents I’ve avoided over the years by not assuming people are in the correct lane and checking has been astonishing. So it may well be you were in the right lane, unfortunately we can’t always guarantee others are!

You're right, I just don't know why I hit them if I were in the correct lane, all I remember is that they entered the roundabout behind me then they were in front just as I hit them.

No one can truly tell without being there or seeing a video but:

Option 1: it wasn't your fault at all, you handled it well, and with more experience you'll gain confidence and avoid this happening in future

Option 2: it was your fault, you handled it well, and with more experience you'll gain confidence and avoid this happening in future

Option 3: it wasn't anyone's fault, both in correct lanes, but was bad luck, you handled it well, and with more experience you'll gain confidence and avoid this happening in future

So you see it doesn't really matter, the main things are that no one was hurt and there wasn't much damage.

we need a diagram of the roundabout and any road markings that are on it. you could use google to view it from above.

problems happen on roundabouts where there are two lanes in but only one out in the direction youre going.

or when the road markings are not what you’d expect, for example the left lane saying turning left only instead of the more usual straight on as well as turning left.

apart from that it’s left lane if going left or straight on, right lane if going round more than the noon position on a clock.

you're insurance will go up next year even if it cost them nothimg as you are now seen as more if a risk. it’s an absolute joke. insurance companies are money grabbing bastards quite frankly.

white van man is unlikely to claim as he doesn’t want his insurance going up if it’s his van, or he wont want to tell his employer if it’s their van.

There is an island near me OP that is a nightmare. It’s 3 lanes going on to it but then the left becomes a bus lane. The other two are marked as straight on or left for the middle lane or straight on and right for the third lane. The amount of chaos it causes is unreal and the island basically has 3 lanes that all then become the same one once in the island if you want to go straight on.

With experience you start to be able to predict who is going to be an idiot and avoid them.

It does sound like this van driver was being a bit of an impatient idiot though if he entered behind you then ended up in front.

You handled it well though. Well done.

The other thing is to get a dash cam. Because an accident can happen quickly and you don’t know how it happened in the moment, a video of the accident can be invaluable.

Why would you believe a van driver just because he says you were in the wrong lane? Either you were or you weren’t - you should know. I don’t know why you bothered to report it in the circs.

If i didn't report it they could say i left the scene or claim for the scratch then it will look like I failed to tell my insurer.

You have done the right thing regarding the insurance . If you hadn’t told them and the other party put a claim in your insurers could say you were in breach of your policy conditions as you hadn’t informed them within a certain period . They would have to pay out under the Road Traffic Act but could if they wanted to recoup the money from you . ( I used to work in insurance )

But if you say you don’t know how it happened therefore don’t know who was to blame then the other driver should have also notified their insurer too.
YABU for not posting a diagram, or even better a screenshot of the actual roundabout off Google maps!!!

Did they stop and pull over or just stop in the lane. Get a dashcam make your life easier and they should be reported as vans drivers always do as they please

I'm struggling to see how the van driver ended up in front of you when they started behind you, were they in the right lane then cut across you to go straight while you were going right? Because if so that sounds like his fault.

Although just to check, is this UK (driving on the left)?

You did the right thing to tell your insurance company about it. It will be a requirement in the terms and conditions.

i think you just need to recheck the roundabout road markings/signage as others have said.

With experience you learn to drive defensively as there is so much terrible driving these days especially on roundabouts. I never assume people are going to take or stay in the correct lane.