Roundabout Accident - Opinions please!
Discussion
Hello everyone, long time lurker. I was involved in an accident for the second time in my 5 years of driving. (First time someone rear ended me). I'm on my phone so no images or diagrams yet but here's what happened;
Road is a dual carriageway limited to 40 on this particular section. 3 junction roundabout at the accident scene. All junctions are dual carriageway exits at the same speed limit.
Me and the other involved vehicle were travelling alongside each other, with me slightly in front. I was on the left, he was in the right lane. Both doing less than the speed limit. We both exited the roundabout at the same junction, however on exiting the roundabout the other driver (in the outside lane) cut into my lane at the same time as exiting.
He found that's where I was, I breaked and lent on the horn and he swerved back into his own lane after he'd collided with me. We pulled over and his argument was that he had indicated. I said he should have checked his mirrors and he seemed to back down.
I think it was his fault, he changed lanes while exiting a 2 lane roundabout. He said before we parted ways that I should claim on his insurance or send him a bill, but I have a feeling that he will argue against and it'll go 50 50?
Damage to his car was basically none, as his wheel hit my front corner and damaged my wing, bumper and alloy wheel.
What do you reckon the outcome will be? What should I have done?
Cheers
Road is a dual carriageway limited to 40 on this particular section. 3 junction roundabout at the accident scene. All junctions are dual carriageway exits at the same speed limit.
Me and the other involved vehicle were travelling alongside each other, with me slightly in front. I was on the left, he was in the right lane. Both doing less than the speed limit. We both exited the roundabout at the same junction, however on exiting the roundabout the other driver (in the outside lane) cut into my lane at the same time as exiting.
He found that's where I was, I breaked and lent on the horn and he swerved back into his own lane after he'd collided with me. We pulled over and his argument was that he had indicated. I said he should have checked his mirrors and he seemed to back down.
I think it was his fault, he changed lanes while exiting a 2 lane roundabout. He said before we parted ways that I should claim on his insurance or send him a bill, but I have a feeling that he will argue against and it'll go 50 50?
Damage to his car was basically none, as his wheel hit my front corner and damaged my wing, bumper and alloy wheel.
What do you reckon the outcome will be? What should I have done?
Cheers
voyds9 said:
I reckon his fault but will go 50:50
+1I always ensure I am not alongside another driver on a roundabout unless I really can't avoid it. Often, my decision is correct as I see the car in front completely straight line the roundabout wiping out the space I would have been in.
Rush hour driving, and I was in front until he moved ahead and cut me off. I really don't want this to go 50 50, assuming that means I'll pay excess and my insurance will go up, and I lose my no claims? He offered to avoid insurance but I dont want to be screwed over for another drivers lack of attention, being 22 the no claims make a massive difference for me.
Aidancky said:
... I really don't want this to go 50 50 ...
Your insurance company will decide on the 'outcome' (their main goal is to minimise their outgoings, and litigating against the other party's insurer that they are to blame and it isn't a 50/50 accident will significantly raise their costs arising from this incident); you don't have any input, sorry 
.Ditto for people making claims for "whiplash" after low speed/inappropriate RTCs, it's less costly for the insurer of the vehicle at the rear of the incident to pay out on said claims than to attempt to litigate and potentially argue it out in court
.It's
nay just 
- but this is how it is...First off if it goes 50/50 then you'll pay half your excess, or all of it and half will be claimed back as an uninsured loss. You'll lose 2 years NCD for your first accident in a policy year unless protected in which case you won't lose any. premiums will vary by insurer.
Secondly for those who think 50/50 isn't a fair outcome then explain to me how you'd distinguish between the two if the other guy says, "he drifted over and hit me"?
Secondly for those who think 50/50 isn't a fair outcome then explain to me how you'd distinguish between the two if the other guy says, "he drifted over and hit me"?
LoonR1 said:
Roundabout accidents and lane changing are nigh on impossible to tell what happened. Without independent witnesses they are a "he said / she said" scenario.
Sounds like you were off the roundabout though.
From your experience would dash cam footage along with good photographs of the road / layout usually swing the favour from 50:50 to full liability if it was only one person's fault?Sounds like you were off the roundabout though.
It's silly, but people hate admitting to being in the wrong driving. He's going to lose his no claims and he knows it, he made a mistake, so he has nothing to gain by making you lose yours. But that won't stop him.....
Did you get his phone number? Try calling him to ask what, on reflection, he is going to tell his insurer. Ask him nicely how he feels about only one of you losing the no claims..... Avoid arguing, be nice and ask nicely.
Did you get his phone number? Try calling him to ask what, on reflection, he is going to tell his insurer. Ask him nicely how he feels about only one of you losing the no claims..... Avoid arguing, be nice and ask nicely.
Aidancky said:
Me and the other involved vehicle were travelling alongside each other
I can't think of an answer to LoonR1's question about 50/50 OP, so I think you should prepare yourself for this not going entirely your way.It's not to excuse what the other driver did at all, but the bit in bold there is the key. As someone else has already said, it's a really good idea to avoid being alongside people on roundabouts unless you really can't avoid it. But you don't need to restrict that advice to roundabouts. People certainly straight-line roundabouts without looking, but they also move across lanes after exiting without looking - as happened to you - and more generally, driving anywhere people can change lanes without looking and/or act as if there indicators give them some sort of priority. So really wherever you are it's a good idea not to loiter alongside people. If you're going to pass, get on and pass. If you're not going to pass yet, hang back so that when they try and drive into you you're not there.
SK425 said:
Aidancky said:
Me and the other involved vehicle were travelling alongside each other
I can't think of an answer to LoonR1's question about 50/50 OP, so I think you should prepare yourself for this not going entirely your way.It's not to excuse what the other driver did at all, but the bit in bold there is the key. As someone else has already said, it's a really good idea to avoid being alongside people on roundabouts unless you really can't avoid it. But you don't need to restrict that advice to roundabouts. People certainly straight-line roundabouts without looking, but they also move across lanes after exiting without looking - as happened to you - and more generally, driving anywhere people can change lanes without looking and/or act as if there indicators give them some sort of priority. So really wherever you are it's a good idea not to loiter alongside people. If you're going to pass, get on and pass. If you're not going to pass yet, hang back so that when they try and drive into you you're not there.
I have to say that more and more these days one only survives without accidents by driving very defensively and almost expecting accidents like this to happen, so applying "what if" to every situation.
Shoot me down for saying it, but after 43 years driving if I notice long hair on the driver in the other lane at a roundabout I always prepare to take avoiding action. In my experience many women drivers take the shortest route around roundabouts, and many only use the mirror as an aid to checking their appearance.
QBee said:
Good advice, but wasn't the OP in the inside lane, ie on the left? In busy traffic you go with the flow. But expect the other driver to stay in their own lane.
Yes.TO give some hope OP, a similar thing happened to my wife.
First claims handler said 50/50. I escalated and sent them Google Earth snaps from the roundabout. Second claims handler agreed that the other party had changed lane where the lane they were changing to was not clear, driving into the side of our car.
Went 100% in our favour in the end.
QBee said:
It's silly, but people hate admitting to being in the wrong driving. He's going to lose his no claims and he knows it, he made a mistake, so he has nothing to gain by making you lose yours. But that won't stop him.....
Did you get his phone number? Try calling him to ask what, on reflection, he is going to tell his insurer. Ask him nicely how he feels about only one of you losing the no claims..... Avoid arguing, be nice and ask nicely.
The gain the other party would make if it goes 50/50 is that they can recover 50% of the excess they pay and any other uninsured costs. So there is an incentive for an unscrupulous person to deny liability and allow it to go 50/50Did you get his phone number? Try calling him to ask what, on reflection, he is going to tell his insurer. Ask him nicely how he feels about only one of you losing the no claims..... Avoid arguing, be nice and ask nicely.
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