Accident liability - Advice
Discussion
I was involved in an accident last year and have been informed by my insurer that I am liable.
Without going into granular detail the basics are:
70mph (yes really) in the fast lane (overtaking lane) of the motorway.
In a steady line of traffic.
Not tailgating. Not in a rush. Respectful distance to car in front.
Suddenly some large debris is blown off a lorry going in the opposite direction, directly into our path. Big white planks or strips of plastic.
The car infront panics and performs a full emergency stop in the fast lane of the A1M.
I also saw the debris but was unable to avoid the car infront (he was straddling two lanes now) and I went into the back of him.
I was then hit from behind by the driver following me.
The Police were "unable to track down the lorry driver" - i.e. they couldn't be bothered to check the CCTV despite knowing exactly where and when the incident took place.
The lorry driver got away scot free and might well kill somebody in the future.
My insurer has just told me that because I was not able to stop in time and hit the car in front I am liable for this accident.
They said if I contest this it will go to court, it will be expensive and we'll still lose.
Now, they may well be right. Maybe the law is clear. Perhaps I just need to suck it up and move on.
But... has anybody had a similar experience? Were you able to avoid liability?
I know that the duty of care is usually with the driver following to stop in time to prevent an accident. But are there any mitigating circumstances?
Obviously I feel slightly peeved as because of that dozy lorry driver, my car was written off, I'm scarred for life (head injury) and out of pocket due to the derisory payout for my car from the insurance company.
Now I'm told it's all my fault and my premiums will rocket.
I know life's a B**** but any advice would be gratefully received.
The lorry was the trigger for the incident.
The car in front is not to blame, as almost regardless of the circumstances you didn't stop when they did. If you'd have stopped and the guy behind had shunted you into the car in front then it's would have been his fault.
It's an unlucky set of circumstances, and I don't blame you if initially you didn't plan in that split second to immediately perform an emergency stop to a complete stop as, I'm not sure most would do that on a motorway depending on the debris and if it came from the other carriageway I'm thinking it was light and so if I was the lead car I think sh*t brake hard and then prepare for impact would have been my split second reaction but you can't blame someone for just doing the complete stop?
The car in front is not to blame, as almost regardless of the circumstances you didn't stop when they did. If you'd have stopped and the guy behind had shunted you into the car in front then it's would have been his fault.
It's an unlucky set of circumstances, and I don't blame you if initially you didn't plan in that split second to immediately perform an emergency stop to a complete stop as, I'm not sure most would do that on a motorway depending on the debris and if it came from the other carriageway I'm thinking it was light and so if I was the lead car I think sh*t brake hard and then prepare for impact would have been my split second reaction but you can't blame someone for just doing the complete stop?
Pretty bad luck but you have no chance I'm afraid. That's my opinion from working in motor insurance (Insurer and broker) for 20 years.
Doesn't really matter what caused the vehicle in front to stop, fact is, you didn't. Guy behind also at fault so your damage from him is down to his insurers.
Doesn't really matter what caused the vehicle in front to stop, fact is, you didn't. Guy behind also at fault so your damage from him is down to his insurers.
bencollins4 said:
Doesn't really matter what caused the vehicle in front to stop, fact is, you didn't.
Feel your pain but you are at fault pure and simple.
You failed to maintain a safe stopping distance from the vehicle in front of you.
Turn it around the other way. And your the one that’s been shunted after performing an emergency stop due to an incident.
Even if the truck driver could be found your insurer would find it hard to claim from him as they would need to prove negligence in the loading and prove that a strap didn’t fail.
Feel your pain .... suck it up and move on. Life really is too short.
You failed to maintain a safe stopping distance from the vehicle in front of you.
Turn it around the other way. And your the one that’s been shunted after performing an emergency stop due to an incident.
Even if the truck driver could be found your insurer would find it hard to claim from him as they would need to prove negligence in the loading and prove that a strap didn’t fail.
Feel your pain .... suck it up and move on. Life really is too short.
Learn from it and don't follow so closely in future.
Perhaps take an IAM course.
Perhaps being relaxed behind the wheel on this occasion drew you into the situation and you got past the point of no return without realising.
As they say, you were already on your way to the scene of the accident.
Perhaps take an IAM course.
Perhaps being relaxed behind the wheel on this occasion drew you into the situation and you got past the point of no return without realising.
As they say, you were already on your way to the scene of the accident.
Move on.
Even if you found the lorry driver with the insecure load, you still hit a vehicle from behind. You might get the liability from 100% to 50%, but the time, effort and risk in Court isn't worth the candle.
Sometimes it is better to accept that life isn't fair and make the best of it.
(There is a Hyundai iX35 owner, 04/08/2014, who gamed my insurer for £5000+ for "whiplash" as I dented his plastic bumper with my 2 tonne LR110CSW, after his mate did an illegal U turn, causing us both to brake to a standstill. My only consolation is I flagged his compo to his ex-wife; I don't know how it turned out but I cannot imagine it was happily ever after).
Even if you found the lorry driver with the insecure load, you still hit a vehicle from behind. You might get the liability from 100% to 50%, but the time, effort and risk in Court isn't worth the candle.
Sometimes it is better to accept that life isn't fair and make the best of it.
(There is a Hyundai iX35 owner, 04/08/2014, who gamed my insurer for £5000+ for "whiplash" as I dented his plastic bumper with my 2 tonne LR110CSW, after his mate did an illegal U turn, causing us both to brake to a standstill. My only consolation is I flagged his compo to his ex-wife; I don't know how it turned out but I cannot imagine it was happily ever after).
I think that some of the replies are a bit harsh towards the OP even if technically correct.
He's a victim of unfortunate circumstances in my opinion and I would bet that 90 something percent of others here would have ended up in the same mess.
Regardless, to the OP - I'd just accept that it is what it is, there is nothing that can be reasonably done about it now, draw a line under it and move on. You'll only eat yourself up if you continue to dwell on it.
He's a victim of unfortunate circumstances in my opinion and I would bet that 90 something percent of others here would have ended up in the same mess.
Regardless, to the OP - I'd just accept that it is what it is, there is nothing that can be reasonably done about it now, draw a line under it and move on. You'll only eat yourself up if you continue to dwell on it.
Thanks for the replies.
Yeah - I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and move on.
It certainly didn’t feel like I was travelling too close but I was distracted by the large white things heading for my windscreen so I probably reacted too late.
Should I have taken my eyes off the large flying object threatening to decapitate me and just focus on the car I front.
Well, I guess the answer is yes according to the law.
The fact is I hit him and I shouldn’t have - no matter what the circumstances so it seems.
Hey ho.
Yeah - I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and move on.
It certainly didn’t feel like I was travelling too close but I was distracted by the large white things heading for my windscreen so I probably reacted too late.
Should I have taken my eyes off the large flying object threatening to decapitate me and just focus on the car I front.
Well, I guess the answer is yes according to the law.
The fact is I hit him and I shouldn’t have - no matter what the circumstances so it seems.
Hey ho.
Matt_E_Mulsion said:
I think that some of the replies are a bit harsh towards the OP even if technically correct.
He's a victim of unfortunate circumstances in my opinion and I would bet that 90 something percent of others here would have ended up in the same mess.
Regardless, to the OP - I'd just accept that it is what it is, there is nothing that can be reasonably done about it now, draw a line under it and move on. You'll only eat yourself up if you continue to dwell on it.
Harsh possibly, but sometimes accepting that you got it wrong is the first step to learning how not to do it again. It was unfortunate that this lesson was a particularly hard one for the OP, but at least he is still around to tell us about it.He's a victim of unfortunate circumstances in my opinion and I would bet that 90 something percent of others here would have ended up in the same mess.
Regardless, to the OP - I'd just accept that it is what it is, there is nothing that can be reasonably done about it now, draw a line under it and move on. You'll only eat yourself up if you continue to dwell on it.
Maldini35 said:
Thanks for the replies.
Yeah - I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and move on.
It certainly didn’t feel like I was travelling too close but I was distracted by the large white things heading for my windscreen so I probably reacted too late.
Should I have taken my eyes off the large flying object threatening to decapitate me and just focus on the car I front.
Well, I guess the answer is yes according to the law.
The fact is I hit him and I shouldn’t have - no matter what the circumstances so it seems.
Hey ho.
If there were large flying objects threatening to decapitate you, surely that would have been more reason to brake and slow your vehicle?Yeah - I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and move on.
It certainly didn’t feel like I was travelling too close but I was distracted by the large white things heading for my windscreen so I probably reacted too late.
Should I have taken my eyes off the large flying object threatening to decapitate me and just focus on the car I front.
Well, I guess the answer is yes according to the law.
The fact is I hit him and I shouldn’t have - no matter what the circumstances so it seems.
Hey ho.
Maldini35 said:
Thanks for the replies.
Yeah - I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and move on.
It certainly didn’t feel like I was travelling too close but I was distracted by the large white things heading for my windscreen so I probably reacted too late.
Should I have taken my eyes off the large flying object threatening to decapitate me and just focus on the car I front.
Well, I guess the answer is yes according to the law.
The fact is I hit him and I shouldn’t have - no matter what the circumstances so it seems.
Hey ho.
You should have mentioned that earlier, a bit more understandable now, I'm guessing most of us thought the debris was landing in front of the car in front of you. Yeah - I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and move on.
It certainly didn’t feel like I was travelling too close but I was distracted by the large white things heading for my windscreen so I probably reacted too late.
Should I have taken my eyes off the large flying object threatening to decapitate me and just focus on the car I front.
Well, I guess the answer is yes according to the law.
The fact is I hit him and I shouldn’t have - no matter what the circumstances so it seems.
Hey ho.
red_slr said:
Learn from it and don't follow so closely in future.
Perhaps take an IAM course.
Perhaps being relaxed behind the wheel on this occasion drew you into the situation and you got past the point of no return without realising.
As they say, you were already on your way to the scene of the accident.
You make it sound so simple. Perhaps take an IAM course.
Perhaps being relaxed behind the wheel on this occasion drew you into the situation and you got past the point of no return without realising.
As they say, you were already on your way to the scene of the accident.
I had left a perfectly good gap but I guess I was distracted by the large white object flying through the air threatening to go through my windscreen and take my head off.
I genuinely don’t think any IAM course would have altered my reaction. It was self preservation.
I accept the law sees it differently but it’s still hard to swallow knowing the negligent lorry driver escaped without penalty.
KungFuPanda said:
If there were large flying objects threatening to decapitate you, surely that would have been more reason to brake and slow your vehicle?
It all happened in the blink of an eye.I immediately lifted off the throttle but my instinct was to maintain control of the car and try and avoid the flying objects rather than simply slamming on the anchors provoking a skid.
The bloke in front thought differently and what was a safe gap rapidly disappeared.
It’s all academic now I guess.
I just thought I’d ask on here just in case.
It does raise a question about the definition of a safe gap if the two cars in question have radically different braking capabilities.
If you were driving a bog standard 90’s hatchback and the car infront was a new 911 GT3 with carbon brakes, ABS etc. - what sort of distance would you have to leave to avoid hitting them?
Surely impossible to know?
Worse still would be a classic car.
You’d not be able to drive within a hundred metres of any new car. Try leaving a gap like that on a UK motorway and you’ll have a stream of people undertaking you and diving infront.
Edited by Maldini35 on Thursday 25th March 22:27
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