vash

Had a car crash this morning!!

Did a superb over taking manouver... and just as i was about to go around the lead v slow moving truck.. the white van behind it decided that it would be a great time for him to overtake into the side of me!! Clunk... scrapp...arrgggg.

Pulled over got the details.. the passenger side of my pride and joy is dented and scratched to buggery! From the front wheel back

Its his fault as far as i can tell... Bob (trainee lawyer friend of mine) said i have right of way.. and the highway code says you have to check before you pull out, which he didnt doo...
But its down to the insurance companys now.. and as those evil *******s are controlled directly by Satan.. im sure they will contest!!

It was a long straight road... and i could see a long way down it and there was no on coming traffic.. so it was a safe over take!! But hey... lets hope it all goes smoothly!!

:`(

Nimbus

Commiserations... Nearly happend to me why I first got my scooby nearly 5 years ago.


Queue all the debate now about how you are equally to blame...

steve_nairn_sti

Were you doing a "Sensible" speed overtaking or did you come up on him so fast that he wouldn't have seen you?

vash

I he would have had plently of time to see me if he looked in his mirror before he pulled out.. as to what speed.. i tbh wasnt looking at the speedo.. but i was in 3rd gear!

steve_nairn_sti

Up to 120 then eh?

vash

prolly about 70ish on 60mph road.... i would class that as acceptable when over taking... as tbh you want to get around and back into your lane asap

[Edited by vash - 8/14/2003 1:49:33 PM]

WRX_BLUES

Wow! You get 60mpg out of your scoob!

juan

how many vehicles were you doing during this 'superb' manouvre?

chiark

Wasn't that superb mate, you hit something. Or something hit you.

Get pictures and make sketches of everything ASAP. If there's witnesses, don't lose their names/addresses or even car reg nos.

Hope u get it sorted quickly and painlessly. I've had an old git pull out when I'm overtaking (thankfully I could make space for them), and it seems that if someone can make a bloody stupid move, then they will.

God only knows what insurance will say about this, but I'd put money that they'll go 50/50 blame as a starter.

Cheers,
Nick.

vash

I over took a total of 4 slow vehicles who were also stuck behind this slow moving truck that was doing about 35mph ish... and it was a safe manuvour imo or the guy in the van that hit me wouldnt have decided to try over taking aswell ...

The actual over take was fine.. the nimord in the white van who didnt check his mirrors was the problem :P

Im not going to let them say it was my fault.. im the victim me me me . .. /me waves arms frantically !!! .. And if they try 50/50 i will take it as far as possible... i will even fight them if they have beaches

AvalancheS8

Had the same thing about 6 weeks ago, except that in my case the car pulling out managed to get right out in front of me due to a bit of classy swerving out to overtake without looking and I did about £2500 worth of damage to the front of my car. It's all fixed now and fine but the insurance is dragging on and really doesn't look like going my way. The other party is trying to make out it's all my fault, and with no witnesses, who's to say what happened ? Unfortunately I think mine will go 50/50 at best. Yours looks better to the insurance as they hit the side of your car, so you have a better chance, but don't get your hopes up too much. I wouldn't really say you would be wise to fight it too hard, you were overtaking 4 cars at once, which is not strictly a highway code approved manouver, and also bear in mind that as you said, you don't know how fast you were going but suspect that you were over the speed limit (I was in the same boat - was watching the road not the speedo) so if you admit to being over the limit you are shooting yourself in the foot straight off, it doen't matter that you were overtaking and it's sensible to do it quickly, you were still breaking the law.

I felt, and still feel, as you do that it was the other driver not looking in their mirrors that caused the problem, so I can feel for your distress here, but you aren't in all that brilliant a legal situation to get off with it.

Hope it all comes out O.K.

[Edited by AvalancheS8 - 8/14/2003 2:14:25 PM]

vash

I havent mentioned my speed.. so if i say i was doing 60 :d no one can say differenty.. and i will also fail to mention that i took 4 cars.. and make it just 2 .. the lead and the guy that hit me... no one can really say any different tbh .. maybe that will help :s

fingers crossed

talizman

iTrader: (1)

vash, I wouldn't bother lying about how many vehicles you overtook. If the circumstances are safe enough, it is quite acceptable for the overtake to be on for 3, 4, 5 cars or whatever.

I personally don't think your speed is an issue either, it basically comes down to the other driver not checking his mirror prior to coming out for his overtake. I must admit, many folk (myself included) have carried out overtakes before, without considering that there may already be someone overtaking us.

I think thats what the guy has done, and I'd fight it to the hilt, court if necessary. Don't accept a "bump for bump" 50/50 decision. You are not in the wrong so don't lose out.

Cheers

vash

can i say i love you

chiark

I hope it is that clear cut, but with no witnesses the van driver could say "I checked my mirrors and pulled out. The car came from no-where, and must have been speeding..."

It could depend on the attitude of the van driver. Did anyone say "my fault" when exchanging details?

Good luck, seriously, let us know how it turns out

Cheers,
Nick.

Gordo

Good luck is all I can say - without witnesses, white van man ain't going to give in.

I had this about 6 years ago when overtaking 3 cars in the Peak District. The middle car pulled out and scraped down the side of mine as I passed. He was really apologetic (turned out it was a hire car, he admitted he hadn't got the mirrors set up right etc).

hire car company initially offered to repair my car at their grg (brand new MR2 - funnily enough I declined) - they then started making stories up and I (after forcing my insurance company) took them to court. They bottled it and paid out in full the day before (but only because they had no choice - the driver didn't care and was working abroad in any case).

Nightmare - one of the risks of 'superb' overtakes I'm afraid.

Gordo

banshi

Why risk the lie? If he finds a witness that says 4 cars your totally stuffed!

But you may need that bucket and spade Vash.

Open countryside, 3 mile clear downhill straight, three lanes wide but no indicative lines. Almost completed the overtake when Mr I'm a professional driver (rep) pulls out in his Cavalier. Takes no evasive action but does an emergency stop in the middle of his lane.

Clipped his wing/bumper driver of van I overtook said "f======g to$$er pulled out without looking and froze".

Cavalier man states road was clear when he entered. I attempted a high speed overtake and "it was only his advanced driving skills that avoided a devastating head on collision"

My fault for overtaking near a junction. Talk about insult to injury he drove out of a farm!

Bet van man claims Mirrors clear, Scoob at excessive speed.

Lemmy

Vash

The same thing happened to me about a month ago causing about £1300 worth of damage. The driver who hit me is contesting responsibility. I am hoping to prove it was his fault because the damage is just on the nearside of my Sti. My insurance company tell me it will take months to sort out responsibility. I think they will probably go knock for knock in the end, but I will fight it as much as I can without going to court.

Best of luck with your claim.

Alan

juan

why do you need to lie if you think you're in the right?

So its 5 vehicles in total with the slow moving truck included.
If you're not on the lookout for other people further up the queue thinking of taking him too then you're not considering fairly obvious possibilities.

Whether they look in their mirrors or not, you should be prepared for this, just to protect your pride and joy.

Did the van indicate? Was you looking?


Also, I know if I was gonna try and take 5 vehicles I wouldn't be doing it at 60, or even 70mph. I got a feeling you would have been doing somewhat more than that :|

Safe - who knows without witnessing. Does sound like there was clear road ahead though.

I'll take a punt on 50/50 aswell



[Edited by juan - 8/15/2003 10:39:13 AM]

TRIGGER

Vash - Speed is not an issue in this case. The only way an Insurance company can use speed to decide who is to blame is if the Police can give proof of excessive speed. This obviously isnt the case so just stick to 60 mph and that you were overtaking 5 vehicles safely.

Leslie

I think you are on the minus side a bit since it is unusual for someone to overtake that many vehicles at once when driving at those speeds. The white van man would not have been expecting someone to overtake from that many cars behind and that is probably why he pulled out. Doesn't excuse him but it is a fact of life I am afraid. You have to be ready and expect that if you do a multi overtake like that. You might be lucky and get the cost of your repairs from his insurance but I think you will indeed be on the beaches during the struggle!

Les

David_Dickson

Hi,
I was in an identical accident last year, I went to overtake 2 cars and the 2nd car pulled out into the side of me.
At the scene she was very apologetic, admitted she hadnt checked her mirror etc and promised to do whatever it took to speed up my insurance claim.
When I claimed, it turned out that she was claiming against me, claiming I had been speeding, had lost control whilst overtaking and hit her. I suspect that when she got home, her partner suggested this course of action as there were no other witnesses.
The other driver didnt stop at the time, and it was her word against mine, looking like a 50/50 settlement.
Then my insurance company said they were settling in her favour. Seemingly a passerby who stopped after the accident to see if he could help, had given a statement sayting I was driving like a lunatic and everyone was lucky they werent killed by my outrageous maneuvere.
God-knows what really happened with the witness statements, they were all bull$hit. I suspect it is a case of "young guy in a fast car Vs middle-aged woman in Ford Escort - the loon must have been speeding"
After a year of constant badgering, moaning and general complaining by me to my insurance company, they reviewed the claim and settled 75% in her favour, so I got 25% of my costs back (excess and hire car) but still lost part of my NCB, so am paying higher premiums as a result.