After some advice after accident

[Moily]

Sheepshanks said:

Fair enough - I read it so far (as pointed out above) that she was continuing around the roundabout. If she did change lanes on exit then that's a very odd thing to do and hopefully will be clearly her fault.

Sad to say that it's not that uncommon. That, and 'cutting the corner' of roundabouts by joining in Lane 1, skipping across Lane 2 and exiting ahead back on Lane 1, usually without any course to checking mirrors to see if there's anyone alongside/slightly behind them, and usually so oblivious that a lean on the horn makes them jump a mile!

[BertBert]

There are two lanes approaching, two lanes around the roundabout and two lanes on the exit. It feels to me like the person has changed lanes on exit without checking the lane she is moving into is clear. If that is the case it doesn't feel right to be 50/50. Isn't Grace v Tanner predicated on staying in lane?

Of course, there is all the good practice about defensive driving and blind spots (which I suspect the OP has got by now), but that doesn't change the fact that the driver changed lanes into one that was not clear.

Bert

[mad4amanda]

Exactly my thoughts Bert, she changed lane without checking.

[JustinP1]

mad4amanda said:

Exactly my thoughts Bert, she changed lane without checking.

Yes, she is at fault.

The problem is is if you look at the lineage of a roundabout, the OP has also changed lane (from the inside roundabout lane to outside, and exiting) without checking too.

What Grace v Tanner rules is that for this there is negligence too.

If I were the OP and wanted to spin the facts in the best possible light, to stop the jump to Grace v Tanner I would press the fact that the collision occurred after exiting the roundabout.

How far in reality it was off the roundabout only the OP knows, however, that puts the spin back to the fact that the OP was in the outside lane of a dual carriageway, and the woman moved into that outside lane from the inside lane. The fact that this occurred just after a roundabout I wouldn't press too much.

The practical problem is that when the woman submits her report, there is a 95% certainty that all the apologies that the OP received will have disappeared, and she will have indicated to go into the left hand lane, and there was some kind of mutual mistake.

Or worse, she will say that the OP went from the outside lane to the inside and there was nothing she could do to avoid him...

(I've been there and bought the t-shirt from someone offering to pay for damage in full at the scene to giving all kinds of reasons why our static vehicle was the cause of a collision...!)

[BertBert]

JustinP1 said:

The problem is is if you look at the lineage of a roundabout, the OP has also changed lane (from the inside roundabout lane to outside, and exiting) without checking too.

Ok see where you are coming from. It depends on exactly where it happened, it the OP concluded his lane change sufficiently before the woman, then it should be clearer.
Bert

[herewego]

BertBert said:

JustinP1 said:

The problem is is if you look at the lineage of a roundabout, the OP has also changed lane (from the inside roundabout lane to outside, and exiting) without checking too.

Ok see where you are coming from. It depends on exactly where it happened, it the OP concluded his lane change sufficiently before the woman, then it should be clearer.
Bert

That's impossible, he changed lane at the exit.

[JustinP1]

BertBert said:

JustinP1 said:

The problem is is if you look at the lineage of a roundabout, the OP has also changed lane (from the inside roundabout lane to outside, and exiting) without checking too.

Ok see where you are coming from. It depends on exactly where it happened, it the OP concluded his lane change sufficiently before the woman, then it should be clearer.
Bert

I agree.

The problem is that there will be doubt on exactly where impact occurred, and the position, direction and velocities of the vehicles.

The truth of that will very unlikely not come out from two people drawing diagrams, and the default 50/50 will remain.

[LoonR1]

allergictocheese said:

The OP's original description and the picture contradict one another. In the opening post he says that the woman failed to take the exit. On his picture the story has changed and now she's taken the exit and changed lanes beyond the roundabout. I tend to prefer his first description, as saying that someone failed to exit is very specific and not easy to mistake for something else, compounded with the fact that the picture was created in response to comments on here, many of which surprised the OP by attaching blame when he thought there wouldn't be any. Changing the facts helps alleviate the blame.

I think an insurer would read it as someone who is changing their story to suit their argument. They temd to make for a weak witness in a courtroom

[Robins]

I'm also pretty sure it will go 50/50, I just feel hard done to really. My original thought was indeed that she had failed to take the exit, however when I said she could only turn left or go straight ahead in her lane she replied 'well where was I going then', I replied I don't know, and she said she was going 'straight on' so I'm pretty sure she has come over into lane 2 on exiting, which is where I was also exiting.

TBH I would love to be able to replay it, it just seemed to happen so quick. I know it counts for nothing but I've been round that same roundabout countless times in both lane 1 and 2 and people go straight on in both lanes. If I was in lane 1 I would never dream of either continuing round or cutting into lane 2, I'd carry on up to the next junction if I had missed my exit and wouldn't switch lanes on exiting either.

She admitted it was her fault, and the three passengers in my car cannot believe it will probably go 50/50 when I told them

[allergictocheese]

Don't be too disheartened. She may stick to her guns and admit liability. Not all people are turncoaters.

[BertBert]

Robins said:

I'm also pretty sure it will go 50/50, I just feel hard done to really. My original thought was indeed that she had failed to take the exit, however when I said she could only turn left or go straight ahead in her lane she replied 'well where was I going then', I replied I don't know, and she said she was going 'straight on' so I'm pretty sure she has come over into lane 2 on exiting, which is where I was also exiting.

I hope it works out ok, but why did you say failed to take the exit in your first post?
Bert