car crash update and advice needed please!!

backfoot

I know this road quite well. It is nearly always a very busy road. A lot of the traffic along this stretch shown in the first photo will be exiting the junction after the accident, towards Bromsgrove or heading further round the roundabout onto M5 South.

At all stages around the island, lane confusion and signage is poor.I don't know whether either driver knew the area well before the accident.

With that knowledge, I would say that I would have been in exactly the opposite lanes to that which they chose. i.e. the OP in the left hand lane and the other driver in the middle lane.

In my opinion, the middle lane is better suited for traffic exiting at the next two exits.

If they didn't know the area, then it is really an accident waiting to happen,given the lane choices. No one has mentioned signalling or speeds and the precise point of impact on each vehicle.

If I were the judge, I would want to know more about those matters as well. At the moment, I would be inclined to say this is a 50/50 accident.

Quentin

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Quentin, look at the OP's photo. There are no arrows pointing left.
However confusing (and/or incorrect) this may be, in this instance a straight-ahead arrow means come off the roundabout. It has to. Otherwise no-one can get to Birmingham.

It is because there are no left turn arrows that I see a doubt in the OP's case!

As there are no left arrows, then a car in the left lane is entitled to go straightahead, as the "culprit" seems to have done, only to find the OP cutting in front of him to make his exit.

It doesn't look as cut and dried as the OP's solicitor seems to think, and the culprit having a no win no fee lawyer "happy" to take on the OP does look a concern.

Barny1979

I'd remove the pics if I were you OP as they reveal the reg plate of the other driver's car.

bikingbarney

backfoot wrote: »

I know this road quite well. It is nearly always a very busy road. A lot of the traffic along this stretch shown in the first photo will be exiting the junction after the accident, towards Bromsgrove or heading further round the roundabout onto M5 South.

At all stages around the island, lane confusion and signage is poor.I don't know whether either driver knew the area well before the accident.

With that knowledge, I would say that I would have been in exactly the opposite lanes to that which they chose. i.e. the OP in the left hand lane and the other driver in the middle lane.

In my opinion, the middle lane is better suited for traffic exiting at the next two exits.

If they didn't know the area, then it is really an accident waiting to happen,given the lane choices. No one has mentioned signalling or speeds and the precise point of impact on each vehicle.

If I were the judge, I would want to know more about those matters as well. At the moment, I would be inclined to say this is a 50/50 accident.

thanks for the reply, ive lived in the area for the past 34 years s o know the area quite well!!:D

I was on my way to my fathers in northfield for boxing day lunch and use the junction all the time when i pop up and see him from where i live in droitwich.

cheers

steve

FATBALLZ

I have to use a similar type of roundabout exit on my daily commute, twice I've had idiots on the inside line cut across and try to go round to the next exit when I was about to exit, both time I've had to skid to a stop and narrowly avoided an accident. I can't believe for a minute any sane judge would see this as anything except in your favour. The white lane markings in the road make it patently obvious how you should treat the exit.

backfoot

bikingbarney wrote: »

thanks for the reply, ive lived in the area for the past 34 years s o know the area quite well!!:D

steve

I am not tying to score points but gave my honest reaction to reading this thread, based on my experience of the roundabout and some motor vehicle claims experience. Presumably,you want reader's input?

I suspect the other driver was not familiar with the area.

Knowing the traffic flow and the movement of traffic from lane to lane,especially when it's busy, I wouldn't have attempted the manouevre that you did. I can see your argument why you did but in my opinion it contained the very risk that actually occurred.

The other driver may have taken the straight ahead arrow as an indication that he was entitled to carry on to the next exit in that lane. Your evidence to the Court will show that you were aware of his prior lane changing, and this should have put you on notice that it may occur again. There is ample room on the dual carriageway after leaving that exit for you to have passed him safely.

Someone has posted some case law that drew the inference that such a situation was treated as 50/50 and that was my broad assessment given the version of events I have seen. I would also mention that we have only seen your version and it is clear that the other side feel they also have a case.

Things I would factor into your decisions:

Have you seen a statement from the other driver?
What exactly are each parties claim for ? Relative amounts ?
Given the chances of the case, and whoever's advice you finally take, how much better off are you going to be? Presumably,your insurer has dealt with the car damage costs and any award that the other driver wins.That leaves your uninsured losses which are presumably your excess and the hire car costs? Is there a personal injury claim?

If 50/50 is the outcome, how much do you stand to gain? Is it costing you anything to pursue?

These things are so difficult when you are personally involved. I can understand how passionately you feel you were in the right. However, a Court case always contains less certain outcomes and faced with established case law and two passionate litigants, I would still predict a 50/50 judgment.Others may strongly agree or disagree but that is my opinion.

Good luck.

Kilty_2

That photo of your damaged car looks all too familar, OP

Same thing happened to me in August.

anewman

To me the roundabout markings are like this http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=newport&sll=51.605022,-3.097604&sspn=0.006677,0.021136&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Newport,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.566754,-3.034696&spn=0.000418,0.001321&t=k&z=20 have been in the middle lane here, marked straight on and right, and had people in the left lane cut across me to go right (wanchors) when I'm going straight on. People also tend to go to the M4 from the middle lane when the right lane is the only one marked for the M4.

Strider590

backfoot wrote: »

There is ample room on the dual carriageway after leaving that exit for you to have passed him safely.

But then the OP would have been cutting someone else up...... Bbecause all lanes move over one to the left at that point in order to open up a new lane at the inside of the island.

Doozergirl

Wig wrote: »

I can see the green sign with the 4 lanes, but find it hard to actually see 4 lanes on the road, and hard to see how they could have squeezed a 4th lane in without widening the roundabout which they could have done. However I conceed there must be 4 lanes there.

Taking the camera's position -3 lanes called A, B, C
'A' is the one nearest the Camera.
Now look at the green sign 4 lanes, call them 1, 2, 3, 4 from left to right. 1 & 2 are straight ahead 3 & 4 are turn right.

Because it is a spiraling layout everyone 'moves left' so to speak. The OP in lane 'B' had the choice of turning off the roundabout or continuing into either 1 or possibly 2 his choice depending on the road markings but best to choose 1 because someone in 'C' might want lane 2.

The culprit in lane 'A' has no choice but to exit the roundabout. If he wants to continue around he is going to have to upset a few people by stopping and indicating right to cross over the lane division to change lane into lane 1. As indicated by the green sign, on this roundabout a 'straight ahead arrow' means exit at the next exit and a 'right arrow' means continue round.

After the lights in lane C there is a lane guidance directing those in C to enter lane 3, creating an empty lane 4 unless someone from C decides to use 4. There is possibly another lane guidance for those in lane B directing them to 1 but we can't see it.

Because of the lane markings the culprit is undoubtedly in the wrong because our OP could have even quite rightly wanted to exit the roundabout, the dashed line shows us that this was open to him. The culprit changed lane seemingly without looking.

The markings on the road in A & B also show us that the straight ahead arrow means that lane A is for exiting the roundabout. only lane B is given a choice of exit or continue round.

You have this bang-on. And I'm a local. They have indeed widened the roundabout.

You can all see that the road markings have changed, literally just before the OPs accident, not after as the 'culprit' says. Before the accident the left hand lane was clearly marked left and would have done the OP more favours probably, but they have introduced the spiral system. At every turn of the entire roundabout there are now two lanes that allow you to take the next exit and I'm pretty certain they are now all 'straight on' arrows rather than left handers. I think the left handers have gone because the next immediate turns are all exit sliproads, motorway or otherwise.

The far left lane disappears at each one - it means that the 'culprit' had nowhere else to go - either across into lane B into the OP who was also turning off as signposted. Even if he had made it into lane B, the traffic from lane C would have also been beginning to converge, making it a really quite dodgy manouvre.

I think it's unfair as a 50/50 when the only person changing lanes was the other car. OP I think if you go back for another photo from a similar position without the stationary cars, try to get the lane markings from your lane over the the A38(N) then I think you can see that they give you a choice - leading you either towards A38(N) or the next left hand exit. You didn't change lanes, you did as the choices gave you.

The lane markings for the other car show that he should have gone up the A38(N) and if he didn't then he should have been very careful crossing lanes - ie. given way. It defeats the object of the lane marking if everyone is at fault when one person doesn't follow what is dictated. That exit is very straight on from the traffic lights when you are in Lane A.