Vehicle Hit Debris from RTA - Advise Required

[Deleted User]

forgotmyname wrote: »

I think chasing this maybe a long ticket to nowhere.

Hit debris in the road, Unavoidable, Not if the vehicle was travelling slow enough.

Maybe the debris was already there and thats why the other driver crashed? You need proof that its theirs.

The off-duty police officer had already witnessed the car crash with the central reservation and the debris has been linked to that car.

I agree, if my partner was travelling slow enough he could and would have avoided the debris, however, not knowing there was a RTA up ahead (as it took 15 minutes for on-duty police to arrive and have cones and warning signs up) and the fact that the debris was over all lanes, it was unavoidable, hence 3-4 other drivers hitting it as well.

slyracoon

Its the following drivers responsibility to drive at an appropriate speed for the conditions to ensure they can see and take action of events occuring ahead.

If it was flying debris you would have a chance because you would have been part of the original RTC. Since the debris was stationary and the RTC had already happened it is the following drivers responsibilty to see and react to the debris/RTC ahead of them. You were probably driving too fast/close to the vechiles in front which prevented good sight of the object.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for all your replies so far (even to those of you who fail to read the full post before making comments).

We will have to persevere and see what the outcome will be, either way it's only cost us £500 excess (and the bill is just short of £3000), plus we do have protected NCD.

I suppose one positive thing is that the suspected driver isn't going to be on the roads in the too near future in light of the amount of blood they lost inside the vehicle and the great big penalty/fines they'll get on their license. I'm just glad that no other victims were injured.

forgotmyname

Wh05apk wrote: »

10pm at night on a motorway, how fast would you expect them to be going? presumably the debris, was fairly small so travelling at 70 mph you would be unlikely to see it in the dark until it was too late.

A similar thing happened to someone I used to work with a while ago, his car got showered in debris from a head on collision in front of him, he got the full car re-sprayed on their insurance, sounds to me like you have a clear case, although if the damage is "only" a few hundred, it may not be worth the hassle claiming/fighting it?

Debris fairly small? Bumper, tyre and suspension damage?

Hammyman

Basically:

If you were following a wagon and a drum fell off the back and you ran into it, you could claim off the insurance.

If you came down the road 30 seconds or a minute or more after the drum had fallen off, you should have avoided it so cannot claim off the lorry's insurance.

mikey72

Hammyman wrote: »

Basically:

If you were following a wagon and a drum fell off the back and you ran into it, you could claim off the insurance.

If you came down the road 30 seconds or a minute or more after the drum had fallen off, you should have avoided it so cannot claim off the lorry's insurance.

Nonsense.
If you shed your load everywhere, you're liable. It doesn't matter if you do manage to drive off, hoping you can deny it later.

[Deleted User]

steve1010uk wrote: »

Your partner was either driving too fast or not paying attention to the road, or both, perhaps he needs to improve his driving skills before he causes a nasty accident

Yeah, I'm not even going to dignify such a thoughtless comment with such an answer.

decsdad

Surely it is acceptable to drive at 60-70 on the motorway, at that speed and by the time you would see the debris, there may not be enough room to stop and swerving at speed is never a good idea.

Its unfortunate , but thats life.


Edit-- should have said, had it been me, the debris would have hit me, not me hitting the debris, ie it was still moving

AppleMonkey

steve1010uk wrote: »

Your partner was either driving too fast or not paying attention to the road, or both, perhaps he needs to improve his driving skills before he causes a nasty accident

How fast do you drive on a motorway at night? Just out of interest? 20mph?

Without knowing the full details your not really in a position to make a comment like that. I've done ROSPA driving course and it doesn't stop other prats from crashing and leaving bits on the road.

It could have been a small piece of debris that blew the tyre and caused the damage?

Hintza

steve1010uk wrote: »

Your partner was either driving too fast or not paying attention to the road, or both, perhaps he needs to improve his driving skills before he causes a nasty accident

This is just silly.

The touch down ditance of dipped healight is 40-45m.

The stopping distance of a car travelling at 70 mph is about 96m.

So please explain this dichotomy?

OP I think you had better hope this guy gets charged with drunk driving then by default he has been negligent. If he was not drunk then I suspect your case will be a lot trickier.