Car Accident caused by a Local Council Dustbin Lorry

AdrianC

Annielou wrote: »

In answer to a question above, yes she firmly believes that if she hadn't have reversed the lorry would have hit her.

There's a difference between "not reversed" and "not reversed into another vehicle". She could have stopped short of the other car. Would the wagon have hit her? Since it didn't hit her after she failed to stop short, the answer is almost certainly no.

And my parents did write to the Council who run the bin lorries

Are you absolutely sure about that...? It would be a VERY unusual council who still ran their own household refuse.

Stoke

Annielou wrote: »

In answer to a question above, yes she firmly believes that if she hadn't have reversed the lorry would have hit her. Although that is no just conjecture of course. In some ways it might have been better if she had remained stationary and let the lorry reverse into her, however I guess in the heat of the moment you just do what you can to get out of the way. And my parents did write to the Council who run the bin lorries but their insurers did not mention any CCTV from the lorry. Perhaps a request could be made for that now, although as you say its probably way too late now for that.

I'd have let it hit me tbh. Welcome to the awful cynical world we live in. Let the thing hit you and just take the compo money.

Ta.

Annielou

Thanks AdrianC - I will now double check the point about whether the bin lorries are run by the Council or an independent company.

DUTR

Annielou wrote: »

Hi there - my mother was in her car when a dustbin lorry started reversing into her car.


I must ask why was she even that close to the vehicle in front?


She instinctively starting to reverse herself to stop it hitting her and in the process she then backed into the car behind her! Amazingly no damage was done to her car, but the car behind her was damaged. The dustbin lorry however pulled away without even realising what he had done and nobody had any time to get his/her number plate. Anyway, long story short, the Local Council and their insurers have subsequently refused to accept any responsibility (even though the car behind my mother saw the whole thing happening and has made a full statement saying my mother had no options but to get out of the way). As no damage was done to my mother's car she wants to keep it off insurance and just pay out of her own pocket for the car behind her to be fixed (£1,000 is the quote from the garage). However I think we should take this further with the Council and have written to complain about the unfairness here, but their insurers are adamant that they won't accept any responsibility. I was thinking of taking it to somewhere like the small claims court (because I firmly believe the principle here is not right or fair to my mother), but they don't access cases against government bodies apparently. So my question is, how do we make a claim against a Council when we think they are being unfair and unreasonable? If anyone has any similar experiences or advice or pointers I would be very grateful to hear from you. Thanks in advance!

The rest answered previously.

Annielou

Well she wasn't that close - normal distance - until the lorry started reversing into her without seeming to see her or looking like it was going to stop. With hindsight she should have honked her horn instead of reversing out of its way. But hindsight is a wonderful thing and when you're in a little car with a huge great big beast reversing into you I guess instinct takes over sometimes for some of us

DUTR

Annielou wrote: »

Well she wasn't that close - normal distance - until the lorry started reversing into her without seeming to see her or looking like it was going to stop. With hindsight she should have honked her horn instead of reversing out of its way. But hindsight is a wonderful thing and when you're in a little car with a huge great big beast reversing into you I guess instinct takes over sometimes for some of us

Ok, I guess as it were our collection day yesterday at a time I commute to work, I still find it puzzling that anyone can be that close, as there are often members of staff behind or nearby the vehicle, other vehicles are usually such a distance behind as to see if it is safe to pass at some point .

Annielou

Oh ok, I see where you're coming from now. The dustbin lorry wasn't actually in the process of collecting rubbish at the time, it was clearly on its way to or from somewhere but not in operation.

DUTR

Annielou wrote: »

Oh ok, I see where you're coming from now. The dustbin lorry wasn't actually in the process of collecting rubbish at the time, it was clearly on its way to or from somewhere but not in operation.

Which begs the question why are they reversing if they were not in refuse collection operation and on the way somewhere?
Anyways, whether you pay up front or not it is an incident that should be reported to the insurer, also I'd be a bit suspicious of the nice round £1000 figure

a.turner

AdrianC wrote: »

It's very simple...
Only two vehicles were involved in the collision.
One of them was stationary, the other was reversing.


I'm surprised if the bin wagons in your area are actually operated by the council, rather than by a third-party contractor. Your claim would be against them, as the operator of the vehicle.

But with nothing bar the testimony of those involved, and acknowledgement from all involved that the bin wagon was not even directly involved in the collision, it really is on your mother.

But there are so many questions which are unlikely to help her point of view:
If impact was so apparently inevitable, then why didn't the bin wagon hit her car...? Did she use the horn to make the driver of the wagon aware of her presence? Was the wagon reversing with none of the crew acting as a banksman? Was the driver well aware of her presence via the almost inevitable rear-view camera and dash-mounted screen? Might footage from that camera actually exist, confirming that the wagon was not involved in the collision...?

Sorry, but it does sound as if she panicked and simply reversed into another car.

According to the Road Traffic Act there were three and one failed to stop. Granted the driver may not have been aware.

DUTR

a.turner wrote: »

According to the Road Traffic Act there were three and one failed to stop. Granted the driver may not have been aware.

How 3? The refuse wagon wasn't involved at all, by that logic any car on the road at the time of a 2 vehicle collision is part of that accident?