Involved in accident. Shall I accept 70:30 offer?

jonj123

Hi,

I've recently been involved in a road traffic accident. The story was that I was driving on a normal road (one lane each direction) and attempting to turn right into a parking slot. A car tried to overtake me as I was turning, with the left side of his car making contact with the right front corner of mine. I've not received an email from my insurer saying that they will be ending the dispute 70:30 in my favor as the other driver hasn't claimed full responsibility.
What shall I do? am I obliged to accept whatever they say or is it worth continuing to fight my corner?

Thanks

paddedjohn

Did you not spot the other car in your mirrors before turning across the road?

facade

The OP probably thought that the car behind wouldn't overtake a car standing in the middle of the road indicating right. :wall:

You could argue, but 70:30 means your insurer pays 30% of your bill, and 30% of the third party bill.

Unless the third party was driving a 1962 Ferrari GTO your insurance will probably be happy at that, and won't be throwing time & money at improving it.

So you will be on your own (or with an ambulance chaser) and it isn't worth the hassle & expense.

No doubt in court the third party will say you moved over to the left and stopped dead without any indication/whilst indicating left, as if parked or something.......

marlot

Even if it were to be 99:1 it would still affect your No Claims Discount.

Yes, the other driver was silly (and mostly to blame), but you should have checked your mirror before turning.

HappyMJ

jonj123 wrote: »

Hi,

I've recently been involved in a road traffic accident. The story was that I was driving on a normal road (one lane each direction) and attempting to turn right into a parking slot. A car tried to overtake me as I was turning, with the left side of his car making contact with the right front corner of mine. I've not received an email from my insurer saying that they will be ending the dispute 70:30 in my favor as the other driver hasn't claimed full responsibility.
What shall I do? am I obliged to accept whatever they say or is it worth continuing to fight my corner?

Thanks

As others have said it appears to be slightly your fault. You'll get all the money required whether it's not your fault, 100% your fault or the fault is shared.

You are not obliged to accept but you may now incur costs if you wish to fight it which may not be worth it as it'll be paid no matter how they split the liability between them.

Car_54

facade wrote: »

No doubt in court the third party will say you moved over to the left and stopped dead without any indication/whilst indicating left, as if parked or something.......

He may also say that he didn't expect the OP to park on the wrong side of the road, contrary to the Highway Code.

peter_the_piper

Or the OP could have been turning right into his own drive.

facade

Car_54 wrote: »

He may also say that he didn't expect the OP to park on the wrong side of the road, contrary to the Highway Code.

Then he would be wrong, as rule 239 tells you to use a marked out bay where possible, and not to park at the roadside against the traffic flow.

The marked out bay can be on the other side, as rule 248 allows you to park at night facing against the traffic flow in a recognised parking space.

The OP says he was attempting to turn into a parking slot.


(pedantry is the spice of life )

Marvel1

facade wrote: »

The OP probably thought that the car behind wouldn't overtake a car standing in the middle of the road indicating right. :wall:
...

A motorbike will.

neilmcl

I have to admit I'd never heard of a 70/30 split, I always thought it was 50/50 or full/no fault.

facade

cjdavies wrote: »

A motorbike will.

Only once though

Most sane riders don't go round the first car in the line if it is indicating right....