Car Accident - car on wrong side of road - liability?

sj77

2 weeks ago I was involved in a car accident, basically I was driving along a 2 lane country road a car came round the corner driving on my side of the road and went head on into me without attempting to brake or swerve. The other party claimed they swerved to miss a dog, but I didn't see it before, or after the accident (and no witnesses unfortunately). I should note that the other driver was of European Origin and was using a hire car, so used to driving on the other side of the road.

Police and ambulance were called, but as I was not seriously injured the police took no action/nor wrote up an accident report.

The other driver is not responding to their insurance company to provide a statement and therefore my insurance company are indicating that there is a strong possibility that liability will be 50:50, but we have to wait the 90 days and see.

I have photos which clearly indicate that the other driver's car is completely on my side of the road.

Does anyone know what steps I can take now to fight for no fault on my part? Before they decide. I have provided a detailed statement also.
What benefit would the insurance company gain by me sharing the fault? Is it just because its minimal effort on their part?

My car has been written off and I have suffered mild injuries, but I am worried that I will be left out of pocket for this.

DUTR

Is there white lines on the road? Dash cams are cheap enough for future peace of mind. If one party doesn't admit liability, then often it is shared liabilty.

sj77

there are no white lines on the road, but there is a clear black thick groove in the road down the centre. I moved my car to the far left of my lane (almost in the hedge) and he had 3/4 of the road - so it wasnt a case of just nudging over the line and clipping me. He was 100% on my side of the road.

Will take a look at a dash cam for future, thank you

InsideInsurance

sj77 wrote: »

What benefit would the insurance company gain by me sharing the fault? Is it just because its minimal effort on their part?

My car has been written off and I have suffered mild injuries, but I am worried that I will be left out of pocket for this.

The "benefit" is they avoid court. Assuming no injuries are being claimed then this almost certainly would be a small track case and as such legal costs are excluded from settlements. The numbers rarely stack up to pay £2k as a certain loss as a punt to try and get back your outlay when it may well end up in 50/50 or a loss.

Captaincodpiece

sj77 wrote: »

2 weeks ago I was involved in a car accident, basically I was driving along a 2 lane country road a car came round the corner driving on my side of the road and went head on into me without attempting to brake or swerve. The other party claimed they swerved to miss a dog, but I didn't see it before, or after the accident (and no witnesses unfortunately). I should note that the other driver was of European Origin and was using a hire car, so used to driving on the other side of the road.

Police and ambulance were called, but as I was not seriously injured the police took no action/nor wrote up an accident report.

The other driver is not responding to their insurance company to provide a statement and therefore my insurance company are indicating that there is a strong possibility that liability will be 50:50, but we have to wait the 90 days and see.

I have photos which clearly indicate that the other driver's car is completely on my side of the road.

Does anyone know what steps I can take now to fight for no fault on my part? Before they decide. I have provided a detailed statement also.
What benefit would the insurance company gain by me sharing the fault? Is it just because its minimal effort on their part?

My car has been written off and I have suffered mild injuries, but I am worried that I will be left out of pocket for this.

For the reasons in bold the police should have written a report. I'd say even more so as it appears there could be an allegation of careless driving.

As they have already let you down I would say the police are unable to prove who was on the wrong side of the road.

Sorry but 50/50 is written all over this.

sj77

I spoke to the policeman last night, apparently they don't prosecute for careless driving in this situation purely because I was not seriously injured. I was lucky, the next person may not be.

All very frustrating.

Captaincodpiece

sj77 wrote: »

I spoke to the policeman last night, apparently they don't prosecute for careless driving in this situation purely because I was not seriously injured. I was lucky, the next person may not be.

All very frustrating.

They should consider prosecution when there is evidence of an offence.

Nice to see he's admitted to neglect of injury though.

Captaincodpiece

What county did the Collision occur in?

OnanTheBarbarian

If the other dude is foreign and in a hire car, there is a good chance he would not bother turning up to a civil court hearing anyway.

I would be inclined to crack on with your claim against the insurers of the hire co.

If there is no formal police report then this boils down to whether or not a District Judge would believe his story about the dog. You certainly have evidence to put the other party on your side of the road so whilst it is not without risk, you do seem to stand a fair chance of getting a better outcome than 50/50.

sj77

Careless driving should be taken seriously, but the police have decided to take no further action which I accept. My focus now is on the insurance company and liability.

deenamathew

If you are applying for insurance you need to back of them. You need to contact them to claim the insurance.