Tyre Blow out - who is at fault

hcb42

svyrl wrote: »

Hi, Yes the police said that there are witnesses that said that the person who hit me was speeding.

OP it sounds like the fault will rest with you, no one can prove otherwise, as others have said, it is only a claim and you are stlil alive.

svyrl

hcb42 wrote: »

OP it sounds like the fault will rest with you, no one can prove otherwise, as others have said, it is only a claim and you are stlil alive.

yes i totally agree thank you. Think i will just leave it as it be then, was just wondering opinions on where I stood really. Really wish they would put info re blow outs in the high way code, information on it, may save other peoples lives. I know it was a freak accident but could have easily been a tragic outcome. Many thanks everyone.

AdrianC

svyrl wrote: »

Hi, Yes the police said that there are witnesses that said that the person who hit me was speeding.

Which wouldn't have the slightest bearing on any claim, even if there was actual evidence rather than just circumstantial hearsay guesstimation,

Iceweasel

svyrl wrote: »

Hi, Yes the police said that there are witnesses that said that the person who hit me was speeding.

Witnesses can say anything they please.

Good luck with that as you need reliable, believable witnesses.

They will of course have credible experience, training and proof of their ability to accurately judge the speed of a vehicle instantaneously.

Most normal human beings cannot readily differentiate between an approaching vehicle doing 60mph, 70mph or 80mph.

Some witnesses swear that they have seen the Loch Ness Monster.

Aretnap

stator wrote: »

Most people don't know what to do if a tyre blows and it's not negligence to follow the natural instincts that we all have

The legal term is "agony of the moment" I believe. Negligence is assessed from the point of view of a reasonably careful driver, not a perfect driver, and an act can be the wrong thing to do from the point of view of an expert observer with the benefit of hindsight but still reasonable from the point of view of a normal person in a terrifying situation of which they have no experience. If so, it does not amount to negligence.

Similarly consider the scenario of suddenly meeting an HGV speeding towards you on the wrong side of the road. You can swerve left and drive into someone's garden wall or swerve right and possibly avoid a collision altogether. If in the "agony of the moment" your instinct is to swerve left it doesn't follow that your driving was negligent, or that you're liable for the damage to the garden wall.

pendragon_arther

DUTR wrote: »

If you were already aware it is a hazardeous spot then you should have proceeded with caution. When you are aware you may have a blowout, sudden braking is not the thing to do, there are free hazard awareness videos around.
You were in charge of the vehicle, so why do you feel it is any other's fault but your own?

Yes, were you watching one of these videos whilst driving as this would be illegal? If not why didn't you go on Youtube to view all the videos before proceeding to drive that day as you could have avoided the accident?

pendragon_arther

Iceweasel wrote: »

I can't agree with you on that.

Whilst all of the 'key-board warriors' will not have been on advanced driving courses or taken IAM tests, those of us who have had it well emphasised by instructors (especially on skid-pans) that the way out of trouble is usually found by steering and not braking.

A blow out produces similar conditions to understeer or oversteer, and I have to agree that many folks will instinctively brake hard and make matters much worse.

The OP's spinning around was almost certainly caused by braking, and not by the blow-out.

The correct action would have been to apply gentle braking and hence gradually stop the weaving that the OP reported.

But of course it's all over in split seconds, and the vast majority of drivers just don't have the experience or training for such infrequent situations.

There is no need to berate the OP at all - but it's a good advert for the need for taking a defensive/advanced driving course

The gentle braking would still have whacked her at just under 70mph into the barrier!!!

Iceweasel

pendragon_arther wrote: »

The gentle braking would still have whacked her at just under 70mph into the barrier!!!

Not necessarily as the OP would still have control over steering.

That was the main thing that was lost due to the braking.

My post was all about retaining control - even ABS doesn't help with only 3 good tyres.

Even if the barrier had been hit it would have been a side-swipe hit, and carry on rather than a frontal or rear impact.

Indout96

pendragon_arther wrote: »

The gentle braking would still have whacked her at just under 70mph into the barrier!!!

Having had a rear tyre blow out at motorway speeds I am not 100% sure why this would cause you to slam into a barrier, this should only happen if a front tyre went. admittedly I was in Saturday evening traffic and not rush hour but loosing a rear tyre should not cause such a massive stabilisation problem.


For anyone wanting a good guide to understand car dynamics then try this. (by the Ex STIG)
http://www.theworks.co.uk/p/popular-biographies/how-to-drive---the-ultimate-guide-from-the-man-who-was-the-stig/9781447272830?gclid=CPmdq4j-kcYCFSX4wgodHVIAyA

ultimatefighter

Long and short of it is that you are at fault Rachael unfortunately.

No other party caused you to spin or have tyres blow out. Heresay or "think they were" this or "think they were" that will not get you any hard evidence.

Accidents can happen and anything mechanical can fail which is one of the eventualities of life hence why you have insurance full stop. Count your blessings in the fact that you are still around to ask this question.