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Car accident, road with no grip

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  • 19-02-2016 9:31pm
    #1
    raher1
    Registered Users Posts: 880 ✭✭✭


    Hi
    Just reading the threads.
    I rammed into a car last week. No matter how hard I braked my car wouldn't stop. After crash I noticed the road was recently tarred and it was totally smooth no grip. Can I sue the council for causing the accident. I was forced to attempt liability to avoid a court case. I like to know, who is at fault, my car which the has four new tyres and perfect brakes or road with no grip. I am no happy, car repair is expensive
    Tagged:


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    #2
    D Trent
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,341 ✭✭✭D Trent


    raher1 wrote: »
    Hi
    Just reading the threads.
    I rammed into a car last week. No matter how hard I braked my car wouldn't stop. After crash I noticed the road was recently tarred and it was totally smooth no grip. Can I sue the council for causing the accident. I was forced to attempt liability to avoid a court case. I like to know, who is at fault, my car which the has four new tyres and perfect brakes or road with no grip. I am no happy, car repair is expensive

    Even so they will just turn around and say you didn't keep your distance,
    Double the two second rule in wet weather and all that yadda


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    #3
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,845 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    The other car was clearly able to stop.


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    #4
    invicta
    Registered Users Posts: 281 ✭✭invicta


    L1011 wrote: »
    The other car was clearly able to stop.

    Enough said.


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    #5
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,432 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    What make were your brand new tyres? Were they by any chance recommended to you by the tyre shop as "what all the taxi drivers use" so they must be good? If so they were probably cheap Chinese tyres commonly known as "ditchfinders" which magically lose all semblance of grip as soon as one drop of water hits the road.

    Apologies if not the case, but it crops up a lot on the Motors forum these days.


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    #6
    HeidiHeidi
    Registered Users Posts: 28,863 ✭✭✭✭HeidiHeidi


    OP never mentioned the road being wet :confused:

    Wasn't there a case a good few years ago of someone being killed by a car which skidded on a road undergoing maintenance, so it was without its usual surface? I can't even remember which part of the country it was in, so haven't managed to find any links to it, but I think I remember an enquiry, maybe that might be something for the OP to look at?

    But instinct would tell me that you could/should have noticed that the road surface was different and adjusted speed accordingly.....


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    #7
    BowWow
    Registered Users Posts: 1,760 ✭✭✭BowWow


    raher1 wrote: »
    ...I rammed into a car last week....I like to know, who is at fault....

    Ans: You!


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    #8
    cjpm
    Registered Users Posts: 1,437 ✭✭✭cjpm


    HeidiHeidi wrote: »
    OP never mentioned the road being wet :confused:

    Wasn't there a case a good few years ago of someone being killed by a car which skidded on a road undergoing maintenance, so it was without its usual surface? I can't even remember which part of the country it was in, so haven't managed to find any links to it, but I think I remember an enquiry, maybe that might be something for the OP to look at?

    But instinct would tell me that you could/should have noticed that the road surface was different and adjusted speed accordingly.....


    That court case was about a school bus that crashed in Meath on a section of road that was being fixed up IIRC


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    #9
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Alun wrote: »
    What make were your brand new tyres? Were they by any chance recommended to you by the tyre shop as "what all the taxi drivers use" so they must be good? If so they were probably cheap Chinese tyres commonly known as "ditchfinders" which magically lose all semblance of grip as soon as one drop of water hits the road.

    Apologies if not the case, but it crops up a lot on the Motors forum these days.
    I suspect that those "ditchfinders" also have difficulty with the perfectly smooth sub-surface of unfinished roads as well as they rely on the rough stone in the road for grip.


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    #10
    c_meth
    Closed Accounts Posts: 114 ✭✭c_meth


    cjpm wrote: »
    That court case was about a school bus that crashed in Meath on a section of road that was being fixed up IIRC

    I think the case referred to is this one:
    http://m.independent.ie/woman/true-life-why-i-must-find-what-caused-my-sineads-death-26620971.html


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    #11
    Wesser
    Registered Users Posts: 1,813 ✭✭✭Wesser


    The council are not responsible that you failed to stop. You failed to stop, you were going too fast to stop. If you sue the council they have to pay you.... Tax payers money which would otherwise fund public services. It's disgraceful that people think they can sue someone else Because they failed to stop.


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    #12
    artanevilla
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 10,334 Mod ✭✭✭✭artanevilla


    HeidiHeidi wrote: »
    OP never mentioned the road being wet :confused:

    He's in Ireland, the road was wet.


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    #13
    Shannon757
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,847 ✭✭✭✭Shannon757


    Any chance the OP's brakes locked?


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    #14
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Shannon757 wrote: »
    Any chance the OP's brakes locked?
    Sounds quite likely, unfortunate if the car he hit has ABS!


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    #15
    gctest50
    Registered Users Posts: 9,605 ✭✭✭gctest50


    raher1 wrote: »
    Hi
    Just reading the threads.
    I rammed into a car last week. No matter how hard I braked my car wouldn't stop. After crash I noticed the road was recently tarred and it was totally smooth no grip. Can I sue the council for causing the accident. I was forced to attempt liability to avoid a court case. I like to know, who is at fault, my car which the has four new tyres and perfect brakes or road with no grip. I am no happy, car repair is expensive

    The insurance company could pay out and drag you into court for taking away their defence


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    #16
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    gctest50 wrote: »
    The insurance company could pay out and drag you into court for taking away their defence
    Generally, they don't accept claims for liability made immediately after a crash as they understand that people are stressed and sometimes threatened in the immediate aftermath of a collision. If they can't decide who is to blame they usually go for a "knock for knock" where they'll pay for the repairs to the other vehicle and you lose your no claims bonus. Don't forget it's a no claims bonus, not a no blames bonus.

    Time to buy a crash-cam!


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    #17
    Sam Russell
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 19,410 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sam Russell


    Mod: Thread moved from Infrastructure


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    #18
    CelticRambler
    Registered Users Posts: 6,720 ✭✭✭CelticRambler


    raher1 wrote: »
    After crash I noticed the road was recently tarred and it was totally smooth no grip.

    There's your liability. As a driver, you're required to notice the condition of the road surface before you crash and adjust your speed/distance accordingly.


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    #19
    rhino1
    Registered Users Posts: 44 ✭rhino1


    Who is responsible in the case of a road surface being seriously defective ,for instance a very large pothole causing a crash?


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    #20
    mickdw
    Registered Users Posts: 23,281 ✭✭✭✭mickdw


    If road works are ongoing or the road does not have it's finished surface and markings in place, the area should be clearly signposted as having road works under way.
    Anything less than the required signage will put liability right into the hands of the council or contractor involved.
    much as I think the op is rather crazy and doesn't appear to grasp the basics of driving, if works are ongoing they could well have a case.


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    #21
    JohnBoy26
    Registered Users Posts: 8,532 ✭✭✭JohnBoy26


    CelticRambler wrote: »
    There's your liability. As a driver, you're required to notice the condition of the road surface before you crash and adjust your speed/distance accordingly.

    What kind of a statement is that!


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    #22
    savagethegoat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,297 ✭✭✭savagethegoat


    JohnBoy26 wrote: »
    What kind of a statement is that!

    the correct statement


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    #23
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    savagethegoat wrote: »
    the correct statement

    I think he's joking that it sounds more like making an informed decision to crash.

    .. I laughed!


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    #24
    CelticRambler
    Registered Users Posts: 6,720 ✭✭✭CelticRambler


    Ehhhh, no ... don't think I'm joking. Not unless my various Rules of the Road books are all comic-books, seeing as they all make the same point: as the driver of a motor vehicle, it is your responsibility to constantly be aware of the physical properties of the road surface ahead of you.

    It doesn't really matter if it's black ice, shiny tar or standing water - if you make a decision to drive on/through it, don't blame your tyres or the council when you can't stop within the distance available.

    Going back to the OP's first sentence, I'm also wondering if "no matter how hard I braked" indicates that the OP stamped on the pedal several times, and if so, and if he hs ABS, does he know that that's not the way to get the car to stop?


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    #25
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    CelticRambler wrote: »
    Ehhhh, no ... don't think I'm joking.


    Fair enough (although I maintain that if you were joking, i would have found it funny).


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    #26
    Atlantic Dawn
    Registered Users Posts: 81,387 ✭✭✭✭Atlantic Dawn
    M


    What brand were your tyres so to speak?


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    #27
    coolisin
    Registered Users Posts: 1,792 ✭✭✭coolisin


    Sorry for your trouble OP but after being bitten by "ditch finders" once you need to always adjust your driving to suit them!

    That is assuming your car had them.
    If not does your car have abs.
    Does your car have extra braking power!!

    Does the car you hit?

    Not that it matters as the car you hit had stopped.

    Very little the council can be found guilty for either way.
    I'm sorry.


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    #28
    Markcheese
    Registered Users Posts: 8,431 ✭✭✭Markcheese


    rhino1 wrote:
    Who is responsible in the case of a road surface being seriously defective ,for instance a very large pothole causing a crash?

    A pothole large or small cant cause a crash.. ( doesnt move ,or jump out at you,)
    A car traveling at "too" high a speed for the road conditions can ...
    Although as far as I know a badly repaired pot hole can cause a crash ..

    Slava ukraini 🇺🇦



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    #29
    Roanmore
    Registered Users Posts: 1,801 ✭✭✭Roanmore


    Markcheese wrote: »
    A pothole large or small cant cause a crash.. ( doesnt move ,or jump out at you,)
    A car traveling at "too" high a speed for the road conditions can ...
    Although as far as I know a badly repaired pot hole can cause a crash ..


    Large pothole out my road. I've lost count the amount of times people see it late and go over to the other side of the road to avoid it even if a car is coming against them and forcing the opposite car to brake :(


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    #30
    anothernight
    Registered Users Posts: 2,541 ✭✭✭anothernight


    Markcheese wrote: »
    A pothole large or small cant cause a crash.. ( doesnt move ,or jump out at you,)
    A car traveling at "too" high a speed for the road conditions can ...
    Although as far as I know a badly repaired pot hole can cause a crash ..

    Surely a badly repaired pothole doesn't move or jump out at you?


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    #31
    Markcheese
    Registered Users Posts: 8,431 ✭✭✭Markcheese


    AlanG wrote:
    With two ministers in the area it is amazing that the electrification of the line to Balbriggan seems to be getting prioritized over improvements to the Maynooth service. Dublin 15 trains are packed for far longer periods than Norther commuter line trains - you cannot get a seat on our line from 4:30pm on wards most days but the Malahide line is rarely full and they have a far more frequent service. In addition far more northern commuter trains go from the south side so don't involve a change at Connolly for most users. It now looks like the shelving of Dart underground will mean the Maynooth line will stay as an under served afterthought for many years to come. The upcoming election is our chance to get this issue raised. having lived along both lines it is amazing how IR keep prioritising the northern route above the western lines. They have not even completed the signalling changes to allow more frequency through Tara Street which was supposed to allow more maynooth trains into Pearse.

    anothernight wrote:
    Surely a badly repaired pothole doesn't move or jump out at you?

    Nope - but a badly maintained road full of potholes is the drivers problem... apparently a badly repaired pothole causing an accident can be the fault of the repairer ...

    Slava ukraini 🇺🇦



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