Blocked drive: car insurance claim for damage

System

jaburgan wrote: »

Why did I attempt to leave my drive? I didn't have the option of missing the work appointment and there was no other transport option available.
.

Call a taxi
Keep your job
Park outside next time you have an unmissable appointment the next day

thenudeone

thenudeone wrote: »

I would also drive to the police station to report the accident. Now.

Otherwise you could be prosecuted for failing to report an accident

Since the OP has now clarified that their vehicle didn't come into contact with the parked vehicle, there's no danger that the other party will make a report of failing to report an accident

However, what is relevant is the definition of an "accident" in law. The law defines it as when

"..owing to the presence of a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place, an accident occurs by which... "

damage or injury is caused etc.. Link above.

The law does not state that the two vehicles must come into contact, neither does lack of contact preclude liability.

To quote an extreme example, if you are forced to drive into a ditch to avoid a vehicle coming towards you on your side of the road at a blind corner, and are lucky enough to have an in-car camera to identify the other car, do you think you could claim from the insurer of that car? IMO - a very clear YES.

The Highway Code states:

"243
DO NOT stop or park
..
in front of an entrance to a property"

As others have pointed out, contravention of the Highway Code is not in itself an offence, but

"The Highway Code may be used in evidence in any court proceedings under the Traffic Acts (see The road user and the law) to establish liability. This includes rules which use advisory wording such as ‘should/should not’ or ‘do/do not’." [url][/url]

https://www.gov.uk/highway-code/introduction

So - it is plausible to argue that an accident has occurred (as defined in law) AND that it was caused by the the presence of the parked vehicle parking in contravention of the Highway Code, and that the contravention created a liability.

Go For It. But expect a fight!

paddedjohn

Chrisblue1962 wrote: »

Blocking access to a property with a vehicle or completely blocking a footway with a vehicle , is classed as obstruction under Highways Act 1980.

Your best move is to contact the police who should then tow offending vehicle away , allowing you to access or leave your property safely

Blocking access to a property is not an offence, blocking access to the highway is. Therefore this pollock committed an offence but if he parked over an empty driveway he wouldn't have.


OP, the way I see it is that you yourself caused the damage not the idiot who parked across your drive. You should have called the police to remove the obstruction or called a taxi and tried to claim the cash back off the other driver.

Wyndham

I do wonder if the driver of the other vehicle had put the handbrake on? If not, the car may have moved of it's own accord (I was stupid enough to do this at one point, but didn't have any consequences). I just wondered as you said there was space around the car....

forgotmyname

You damaged their car so it will be all down to you.

If you broke their window accidntly of course took the handbrake off and moved it out of the way they they will have had to claim from you directly and not your insurance.

oscarward

forgotmyname wrote: »

If you broke their window accidently of course took the handbrake off and moved it out of the way they they will have had to claim from you directly and not your insurance.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Of course, because of the duty to mitigate losses, the maximum they could claim would be the excess on their policy to have the glass replaced. £10?

This happened to me many years ago, some !!!! blocked me in, I phoned a mate who worked in a garage and he came round with 2 trolley jacks and moved it on to double yellow lines.

Result!

jaburgan

The range of responses here to my OP have been quite a revelation, so I'd like to clarify a few points before I wrap up on this discussion.

Thanks are due to those posters who made the effort to respond to my questions in a helpful, matter of fact way - on the basis of which, I have realised that there is no hope whatsoever in my pursuing any kind of claim. So be it - as my Mum used to say "worse things happen at sea", which is very true!

Some posters have suggested that I could/should have gone about things differently, but for the sake of argument, I'd like to ask them to put themselves in my shoes on the morning in question:

• The work appointment was not at my normal base but a presentation some 160 miles away from home, a good three hour drive. It was already too late to take the train / hire a car / helicopter etc etc. I've just checked and the taxi fare (as someone suggested) would have been around £256 (plus tip). "Claim the cash back from the other driver"? Really? At 7.00 in the morning you'd be so confident to take this risk? I'm pretty sure I know what would have happened if I had presented this bill to my employers / the car owner. Equally, though I can see why people are advising calling the police, if we're realistic we have to admit that my getting to work on time would not have been high on their list of priorities: result being, I would have definitely missed my presentation. Maybe some folk here are independently wealthy and don't need to worry about such matters.

• To be honest, I had never been in this particular situation before. Not that my drive had never been blocked, but in most cases it's my neighbour's car (I just ring his doorbell) or less commonly, another car whose owner has at least taken the trouble to leave a contact number visible through the windscreen. Please read my OP to grasp (a) how outrageously badly parked the car in question was - the photos from all angles prove this without a shadow of a doubt and I have my neighbour's testimony as well; (c) how fundamentally dishonest the letter from the other car owner therefore reads. Yes, I well understand that they are "covering their back" - but please note that they hadn't given me any opportunity whatsoever to "approach them in a civilised manner" in the first place. But no: they simply couldn't be bothered. I think the majority of fair-minded people here will agree that the original fault was theirs, but there are always those who just laugh it off and make damn sure they don't pay a penny!! Draw your own conclusions.

• "Park outside next time you have an unmissable appointment the next day" - maybe, yes - but in fact it's a really busy road and my neighbour's car was totalled a few months ago by a drunk. So also not an unproblematic option. You know, I'd actually like to park in my own drive, but I guess that's pretty naive.

You win some, you lose some. I thought I had a (very) small chance to squeeze out, but I was mistaken. Ask yourself honestly, without the wisdom of hindsight: under pressure of time, blocked in a stranger's truly inconsiderate behaviour, how would you have reacted?

Well, I certainly won't hesitate to call the police next time - I'll just have to set the alarm and get up 2 hours earlier to do so!

Moral of story: Park wisely!

ILW

Have to say, I have never driven into a wall (or anything else) trying to get thru a gap that was too narrow.

jaburgan

ILW wrote: »

Have to say, I have never driven into a wall (or anything else) trying to get thru a gap that was too narrow.

Well good for you, chum! I haven't had an accident in over three decades, I thought I had a few millimetres chance this time but was wrong. Give me your number and I'll give you a shout next time.

tracykillick

My car was blocked on my drive for 3 days. I called the police, who said they had no power to remove it. The law states that you must be given free access to your property, so your drive must be clear for you to get onto when you come home, but that once you are on your driveway someone can then legally park across your dip. The ever-desperate notes I left on the windscreen of the offending car were thrown on my driveway with some choice turns of phrase on it. Nice.