Hit by a coach
Discussion
I was sitting at a set of lights this morning with a large coach to my L waiting to turn L. The coach went but as he turned his rear drivers corner bumped my front passenger bumper. I heard to rather than felt it, it was minor but checking once I'd stopped there was a small scuff but the DRL is cracked and inoperative. No witnesses, they wouldn't have seen anything unless they were looking right at the point of contact.
I have the time, place and reg of the coach and plan to approach the co and see what they say. The can't deny the vehicle was there, their logs will show it, but they could just say wasn't us guv.
So as it was them, is there anything I should, or should not, say at first contact. Anyone done this?
DRL is model specific so about £300 plus fitting.
I have the time, place and reg of the coach and plan to approach the co and see what they say. The can't deny the vehicle was there, their logs will show it, but they could just say wasn't us guv.
So as it was them, is there anything I should, or should not, say at first contact. Anyone done this?
DRL is model specific so about £300 plus fitting.
Was it a National Express/Megabus type thing? They often have cameras all over them, so they may do the right thing.
I'm guessing the coach driver was blissfully unaware and carried on?
I'd go in with a polite 'I appreciate your driver may not be aware he hit my vehicle, but he did' kind of tone and see how they respond before being too direct.
I'm guessing the coach driver was blissfully unaware and carried on?
I'd go in with a polite 'I appreciate your driver may not be aware he hit my vehicle, but he did' kind of tone and see how they respond before being too direct.
Edited by Greendubber on Friday 16th February 11:00
DKL said:
Large local firm. I'd expect the same level of surveillance. I very much doubt they knew at all but the parking sensors went off just before a bit of a thump at which point it dawned they'd hit me.
Fingers crossed they help you out then. Start nice and friendly but only get firm of they try and palm you off would be my approach. Good luck!
This is pretty common as coaches have so much rear overhang. The drivers are often sitting 12 or 13 metres away from the point of impact so won't always feel or hear it happening. Not all coaches have corner cameras fitted. Ideally you would need a witness or footage of your own. Approach the company and ideally speak with the Transport Manger or somebody in operations.
Pica-Pica said:
I don’t see this as the coach driver’s fault. It would seem obvious to me that you give them enough space for that ‘swing’.
Two lines of traffic waiting for lights to change - left and straight on goes first - right turn lane held until right turn is allowed - where would you suggest the OP put his car to avoid being hit?? B'stard Child said:
Pica-Pica said:
I don’t see this as the coach driver’s fault. It would seem obvious to me that you give them enough space for that ‘swing’.
Two lines of traffic waiting for lights to change - left and straight on goes first - right turn lane held until right turn is allowed - where would you suggest the OP put his car to avoid being hit?? 
B'stard Child said:
Pica-Pica said:
I don’t see this as the coach driver’s fault. It would seem obvious to me that you give them enough space for that ‘swing’.
Two lines of traffic waiting for lights to change - left and straight on goes first - right turn lane held until right turn is allowed - where would you suggest the OP put his car to avoid being hit?? bristolracer said:
My wife’s car got swiped by a school bus.
She rang the company who asked for a couple of pictures. They told us to get it fixed, which they paid for.
Similar for us, but local service bus. Handily they use a unique paint colour. They sent an engineer out. They also looked at CCTV but said it wasn’t conclusive. Driver insisted he was unaware.She rang the company who asked for a couple of pictures. They told us to get it fixed, which they paid for.
Wife’s insurer put premium up £50 when I told them at renewal.
Pica-Pica said:
B'stard Child said:
Pica-Pica said:
I don’t see this as the coach driver’s fault. It would seem obvious to me that you give them enough space for that ‘swing’.
Two lines of traffic waiting for lights to change - left and straight on goes first - right turn lane held until right turn is allowed - where would you suggest the OP put his car to avoid being hit?? Pica-Pica said:
Behind the coach or in front of the rear axle. It seems very poor road awareness by OP. But, hey, ho, legality and common sense do sometimes clash.
My American RV is pretty similar in size and proportions to a coach, particularly in the fact that it’s a ‘pusher’ (rear engined) with a big rear overhang and crap mirrors.It’s still your responsibility, and if you’re aware enough that it’s a tight enough turn to conflict with traffic in the next lane then you should either wait until the adjacent cars clear or split the lanes to stop a car from being alongside you when you turn.
A lot of drivers aren’t which is also why you end up with sign posts at junctions bent at peculiar angles.
The only time it’s annoying is if you get one impatient dick who jumps the kerb or squeezes into the gap you’ve left because they’re too thick to understand why you’ve split the lanes.
My wife's car was hit buy a local bus a couple years ago in a local village. She was about to down the hill, bus comes steaming up the hill so wife pulls in to let bus come past. Bus side swipes car taking out drivers wing and wing mirror, bus keeps going. Wife drives onto work somewhat shocked. Contacts bus company who have no record of the incident. A few days later bus company contacts her but with the wrong info on the time of day, the car she was driving and also claiming the bus had stopped after the collision, which it didn't. Decided there and then that the chances of extracting money from the bus company or their insurance company was going to be a hard graft as they couldnt tell the truth so told them that incident cannot of been her and left it at that. We got the damage fixed out of our own pocket rather than claiming as calculated that the insurance company would just extract the money back through increased premiums.
My car was hit by a local bus when parked and unattended. First thing I knew was when I went out and saw a large dent on the rear offside. There was a card pushed under the wiper with contact details on it. I phoned the bus company insurance company and an assessor came out to examine the car. A few days later I got an e-mail stating that the car was a write off and offering me a very generous payout. This was more than I had been planning to sell it for, so naturally I accepted!
The coach driver arguably should have anticipated the swing of his back end by positioning himself to straddle the two lanes, thus preventing any cars from coming up alongside him in the adjacent lane to his right. That’s what I do (and was taught to do) when driving a truck with a significant rear overhang. Take control of the road and ensure you’ve got the space for your turn.
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