Absolutely not my fault!

waamo

Did you not see a ruddy great big van coming towards you before you got along side the narrowing of the road?

This sounds 50/50 tbh.

Kim_kim

waamo wrote: »

Did you not see a ruddy great big van coming towards you before you got along side the narrowing of the road?

This sounds 50/50 tbh.

Yes I saw the van, I estimated I had time to pass the bollards, he speeded up, so I didn’t.
But I stopped.
He stopped too.
Then he decided to go for it & try the gap, which I could see he stood no chance of getting through.
People usually do a one at a time through there, taking turns each way. Then where the bollards are finished you can pass, plus the road widens ever so slightly.

I wasn’t moving - I knew the gap wasn’t wide enough. I wouldn’t have tried it. He was so impatient.

Aylesbury_Duck

Kim_kim wrote: »

No, it’s a narrow lane. You turn into it, you can’t wait until there is a clear run, otherwise you’d block the main road.

There is a place to wait to turn right but even if cars can't get past, that's no reason to turn into a minor road without checking it's clear. Blocking the road for a short while whilst waiting to turn right is perfectly acceptable.

I'm sure this will go 50:50 and it sounds fair because you're both at fault.

As several others have said, it's time to reflect on your driving. Whatever the reasons, you've suddenly become a more accident prone driver. There's either something medically amiss, you're otherwise occupied or your driving has simply got worse. All are fixable. Or you can try and argue that it's not you but if you're honest with yourself that's not entirely the case. This latest one was definitely partly your making.

Car_54

Kim_kim wrote: »

A fake phone number.
Well I took a photo of the number plate.

If you ever have another accident, make sure you get the driver's name and address (and those of the owner if different). That's what the law says, and it's for your preotection.

Kim_kim

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

There is a place to wait to turn right but even if cars can't get past, that's no reason to turn into a minor road without checking it's clear. Blocking the road for a short while whilst waiting to turn right is perfectly acceptable.

I'm sure this will go 50:50 and it sounds fair because you're both at fault.

As several others have said, it's time to reflect on your driving. Whatever the reasons, you've suddenly become a more accident prone driver. There's either something medically amiss, you're otherwise occupied or your driving has simply got worse. All are fixable. Or you can try and argue that it's not you but if you're honest with yourself that's not entirely the case. This latest one was definitely partly your making.

I didn’t jump a right turn. There was also traffic behind me.
It’s a busy little pass with traffic queuing each way to get through.
Had he not have speeded up I would have been past the bollards and we’d have been able to pass each other - he was in a rush, he wouldn’t wait.
I wish I’d blasted my horn, or opened my car door - anything to stop him going for the gap. I couldn’t reverse, he was too quick and the traffic behind me would also have had to reverse.
He barely gave me his number before running off.

I could just as easily have broken down there, I’d still have been stationary. Drivers do not have the right to drive into stationary vehicles.

Scrapit

Why do you want to call the driver? What conversation are you gonna have with them? Try ringing your insurance company like you are supposed to and have a detailed chat with them. They'll decide if you are not at fault.

AdrianC

Kim_kim wrote: »

Yes I saw the van, I estimated I had time to pass the bollards, ... I didn’t

There we go. 50/50.

DoaM

AdrianC wrote: »

There we go. 50/50.

Selective quoting doesn't shine a good light on you, sorry. The way the OP posted puts a different slant on it versus the way you quoted it.

That said, the sequence of events are a little odd if OP thought there was time to get through yet they also had their handbrake on.

Arklight

A moody number, a white can, a Volvo top, the village of Ripley! Was there an RX8 involved?

Well it's now the 2nd of April so we will never know.

Aylesbury_Duck

Kim_kim wrote: »

I didn’t jump a right turn. There was also traffic behind me.
It’s a busy little pass with traffic queuing each way to get through.
Had he not have speeded up I would have been past the bollards and we’d have been able to pass each other - he was in a rush, he wouldn’t wait.
I wish I’d blasted my horn, or opened my car door - anything to stop him going for the gap. I couldn’t reverse, he was too quick and the traffic behind me would also have had to reverse.
He barely gave me his number before running off.

I could just as easily have broken down there, I’d still have been stationary. Drivers do not have the right to drive into stationary vehicles.

I know you didn't jump a right turn, my point was that you said you felt obliged to turn into the side road because you didn't want to hold up traffic on the main road. That shouldn't be your concern - the drivers behind you will just have to wait.

I get that you were stationary and that the van driver was driving stupidly but the point is that as far as insurance goes, this is almost certainly going to be shared blame if the van driver disputes your account because you have no witnesses. Aside from the technicalities of insurance, there remains the point that you put yourself into a situation where an accident was more likely. The accident may not have been your fault but you helped create the circumstances in which it happened. That's why I and others are suggesting you reflect on your driving recently because it seems that you've had a few bumps and scrapes in relatively quick succession after a clean record for a long time previously. Digging your heels in, claiming it's "absolutely not my fault" and otherwise defending yourself in the face of evidence that something's changed is just stubbornness - the sort of stubbornness that contributes to accidents like your latest one - "I know I'm in the right, I was stationary, he was trying to bully his way through, etc, etc.".