Car door crash

spiro

Remember 1 independent witness is worth 10 mates/passengers who are therefore know to the driver and may give a biased view. Years ago when I was hit leaving a roundabout by a car joining they were not interested in ther views of my mate who was in the car as he was not 'independent'.

You might want to check if any other neighbours saw the accident.

mcjordi

Contemplates wrote: »

I'm guessing if it comes down to getting in against her getting out view, it'll be one word against the other?! The only problem there is that the other car had three passengers, where I was on my own, with my girlfriend standing at our front door.

doesnt matter as they are not independant.. so i highly doubt the insurer would take any evidence from them.. I was always told on my driving lessons to leave enough room if possible and always expect a car door to be opened..

could and probably will end up 50/50

daveyjp

jase1 wrote: »

Interesting thread -- and it would indeed seem that any driver that does not leave space for all car doors in their entirety is leaving himself open to incidents like this.

Which leads to the obvious question -- if you are going through a narrow road with parked cars on both sides, there isn't enough space for two cars to enter, going in opposite directions to enter at the same time and both allow space for the doors.

So should I wait at the start of a line of parked cars for all the cars coming in the other direction to get through? And cause a massive jam in the process?

Seems like a silly rule to me -- unworkable in practice.

It is workable as you should drive at speed slow enough to enable you to stop should a car door open.

Mark_Hewitt

I would think given common sense if someone literally flings a car door open into your path then there's not a lot you can do, unless you were doing 5mph.

But in the OPs case there must have been plenty of notice to the other driver that you were getting in the car so there's no excuse.

slyracoon

Mark_Hewitt wrote: »

I would think given common sense if someone literally flings a car door open into your path then there's not a lot you can do, unless you were doing 5mph.

You should either leave enough room or if the road is too narrow you should drive at a suitable speed that will allow you to stop should a door open. Its not just doors, what about children stepping out from between parked cars?

leosayer

daveyjp wrote: »

It is workable as you should drive at speed slow enough to enable you to stop should a car door open.

What speed is that?

Contemplates

Once again thanks for all your comments... Positive and negative.

I know full well how the insurance companies will look on it.... Especially since it's only one company involved- it'll recoup costs quicker by going 50/50 and increasing two premiums, rather than only one and apportioning blame in one direction!!

I will check other neighbours, but I'd doubt they saw anything. I live within 200m from police station front sanger, so the sanger man might've been watching, so I'm going to check with him too.

Guess I'm goi g to have to wait and see. Any idea how long it'll take for insurance to begin repair process?

Lum

Get a decent lawyer on this and it'll go your way easily enough. Go through your own insurance and there is more risk of getting screwed over by this.

Edit: Just saw you're both with the same company. Get a lawyer now! One of the no-win no-fee ambulance chasers should suffice.

How bad is the damage? Enough to prove excess speed for the conditions? Do you have photographs of the other person's car?

As others have stated, the onus is on the other driver to leave room. While the highway code isn't a book of law for the purposes of criminal convictions, failure to obey the guidance it contains is usually enough to prove negligence and therefore fault in a civil matter such as this.

slyracoon

leosayer wrote: »

What speed is that?

Thats for the driver to decide based on multiple variables such as the space available, visibility, weather, traffic levels. Have you done a driving test and a hazard perception test?

pulliptears

A few years ago DD was sat in the passenger seat of her Grandparents new (3 weeks old) car waiting to go out, as her Nan approached the car DD leaned over from the passenger seat to push open the door for her. Unfortunately for DD there was a rather large van heading down the street.....
One new door, furious Grandad and understanding van owner later it was thankfully settled without insurance involvement as fortunately there was no damage to the van.

If I see someone's car door even slightly open I slow and give them a very wide berth indeed.