Unusual Accident - Fault

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  • brianposter
    brianposter Posts: 1,281
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    edited 22 July 2019 at 12:49PM
    DeltaEcho wrote: »
    That's assuming I can see in front of the transporter when he's braking. When you see a car braking on the motorway, do you classify that as a warning and keep behind, or do you go into the overtaking lane to overtake a slower moving vehicle? Brake lights by themselves are not an indication of danger.
    Unexpected brake lights are definitely an indication to be cautious and to take extra care. There is nothing unusual in staying behind a vehicle because you cannot work out what it is doing.
    But no, next time, I shall drive as if the car in front may come to a complete and total stop, even on a motorway, from 70mph to 0 mph in 0 seconds.
    You need to get as near to this as practically possible - it does happen.
  • Why was that car stopped in the middle of the road?

    If there was no good reason for it, they would be at least partly liable. If it's because they had broken down or some other good reason that prevented them from moving to a safe spot then they wouldn't be liable.
  • The car in front of me on the M25 did stop like that recently as it ran into the back of a line of traffic.

    I was a bit slow reacting, so had to take to the hard shoulder as I wasn’t going to be able to stop in time.

    If I’d hit it it’d have been unfortunate, but still my fault, just like this one is unfortunate, but your fault.

    You need to leave more room, especially in the wet.
  • alfie1950
    alfie1950 Posts: 166 Forumite
    OP.... Have a look at the video again from an unbiased point of view...
    As you move out towards the outside lane your dashcam clearly shows that
    there is nothing in the inside lane in front of the car transporter and I that the driver is braking in an effort to warn you.
    When I am driving one of the main things I look out for , even in the distance , is brake lights coming on because it 'might' be an indication of a problem ahead.
    You came on here asking other people's views about your accident and the overwhelming majority think that you are at fault yet you still seem to be trying to justify your opinion that you weren't at fault.
    For the first minute of the video you were driving very carefully at a good distance but as you came up behind the transporter you let your guard slip and basically got too close and didn't heed the warning signs you were being given.
    I'm not saying a lot of other drivers would have acted differently and managed to avoid the incident but please don't try to blame everybody else around you.
    As I previously said , if your insurance company see your dashcam footage it will only confirm to them that you were at fault.
  • Sea_Shell
    Sea_Shell Posts: 9,272
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    DeltaEcho wrote: »
    But no, next time, I shall drive as if the car in front may come to a complete and total stop, even on a motorway, from 70mph to 0 mph in 0 seconds.

    But that's exactly what can happen, especially if something falls from the back of a vehicle, or something is dropped from a bridge, or a tree blows over, or an animal or pedestrian has got onto the carriageway.
    How's it going, AKA, Nutwatch? - 12 month spends to date = 2.47% of current retirement "pot" (as at end February 2024)
  • ciderboy2009
    ciderboy2009 Posts: 1,147
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    OP - somebody suggested earlier that you should see about a course with the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

    I would second that - particularly when looking at how late you're pulling out to overtake throughout the video and how close you're driving to the vehicle in front considering the weather.

    Nobody likes to have their driving criticised but you clearly missed some key clues that something was happening up ahead - the main one being the lorry driver braking for no apparent reason (if you had positioned your vehicle correctly you would have been aware that there were no other vehicles ahead of it).

    People are saying that you were unlucky - personally I think you were lucky as this could have been so much worse.

    Yes - the van driver clearly wasn't concentrating on the road ahead. However, it was you who had control of your car - not the van driver.

    One of the main principles of driving any mechanised form of transport is to drive in such a way that you can safely bring it to a stop should their be an emergency.
  • Kim_kim
    Kim_kim Posts: 3,725
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    If I need to brake sharply or stop on the motorway I always put my hazards on to warn the cars behind.
    The other vehicles in front should have done that.
  • Kim_kim
    Kim_kim Posts: 3,725
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    The car in front of me on the M25 did stop like that recently as it ran into the back of a line of traffic.

    I was a bit slow reacting, so had to take to the hard shoulder as I wasn’t going to be able to stop in time.

    If I’d hit it it’d have been unfortunate, but still my fault, just like this one is unfortunate, but your fault.

    You need to leave more room, especially in the wet.

    You were lucky it was there - they are doing away with hard shoulders.
    I don’t think it sounds particularly smart :-(
  • Kentish_Dave
    Kentish_Dave Posts: 842 Forumite
    Unfortunately in my case the next car along reacted even slower than me and hit the queue at what I reckon was about 80mph. Despite me having breathed a sigh of relief at an avoidance we’ll done I still took a knock from the car that he hit.
  • alfie1950
    alfie1950 Posts: 166 Forumite
    ciderboy2009...
    As he pulled out across to the outside lane his dashcam clearly shows there was nothing in front of the car transporter which when accompanied by the braking of the the transporter was a clear indication that it was a warning yet the OP implies that it if the transporter hadn't braked it wouldn't have happened , that if the van had put his hazards on it wouldn't have happened , he blames everyone else except himself.....it was his fault and he should man up and accept it was .
    The video clears shows that it was.
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