Car crash help

PrettyInPunk

My sister was involved in a small crash this evening...

The long and short of it was she was driving behind another car, he slowed and pulled into the left. She thought he was stopping and overtook , however he was actually turning into a driveway on the right and they hit.

He claimed he indicated , but from my sisters point of view she never saw an indicator( not even sure if he did) and if he did it wasnt in enough time for her to see and realise he was pulling into the right, because he slowed to the left it appeared he was pulling in and stopping there.

Thoughts on whose wrong?

x in the city

I'm not an expert, but I think your sis is liable as she should not have over took anyway, was there a need to over take?

having said that, someone pulling to the left and then taking a turn to the right all of a sudden should not be driving at all, was this a woman..?!

if said driver had no indicator then your sis might have a case.

civildefence

Sounds like it's one persons word against the other so very hard to tell. If he didn't indicate she probably should have allowed a reasonable amount of time to determine what the driver was intending before overtaking. It could also be perceived that she did not anticipate the possibility of the other driver unexpectedly turning right. Also is it possible that there was a continuous white line on the stretch of road where the accident happened?

PrettyInPunk

Yeh the police said she shouldnt have overtook/driven past untill he had pulled to a complete halt.

no was actually a man, he may have indicated as he took the turn but it was never seen by my sister as if he did indicate it was too late.

Does she have a case that your supposed to indicate in enough time for the driver behind to see?

*Tripper*

She hit him, thats the end of the story really.

but43r

The same nearly happened to me about 2 weeks ago, only I indicated in time and the car just flew past me at about 100 km/h while I was turning right, missed the front of my car by about 4 inches, lucky there was hard shoulder there. He
scared the sh!te out of me. It will be very hard to prove that other car didn't indicate unless the driver of it admits it.

PrettyInPunk

It not really that simple, she didnt 'hit him' if you were to view it in that sense he actually hit her car, his car has a scrape compared to hers? im not saying she was right im just looking for opinions

PrettyInPunk

but43r wrote: »

The same nearly happened to me about 2 weeks ago, only I indicated in time and the car just flew past me at about 100 km/h while I was turning right, missed the front of my car by about 4 inches, lucky there was hard shoulder there. He
scared the sh!te out of me. It will be very hard to prove that other car didn't indicate unless the driver of it admits it.

True

c-note

my dad has instilled two key driving lessons to me since i was a child.

1> the person behind is always responsible

2> never ever trust indicators

i cant say what the legality of it is, but following the 2 points above i've avoiding at least one potentially nasty accident.

the_dark_side

It could be a stunt pulled by the driver who snares his insurance claim victims like this, another similar one is hit someone going against the arrows in a car park, they are liable officially. It depends on how much stink your sister is prepared to put up. If it looks like its going to be difficult for the driver who was hit, to claim, then they may call it a day.

Was there much damage? Get a garda friend to do some research on this person, and if there is previous similar incidents, then get the gardai on your side and ride out the storm. Have you any influential garda friends?

civildefence

It is of course dangerous and bad practice to fail to signal or do so too late but I would imagine that your sister may not be looked on in favour in this case because as a motorist, the onus is on her to expect the unexpected and realise that other drivers don't always follow the rules. BTW For all she knew the guy in front could have been stopping for an obstruction on the road especially as he didn't indicate to the left OR right.

congo_90

Hey op
firstly sorry to hear about your sisters crash I hope at least she's not injured.
onto my point
Unfortunatly an indicator is only an indicator of intended direction and shouldn't be takin literally as a friends dad told me one day. especially on a T junction if pulling out and a car approaching is indicating.

Sadly even with the indicator and the drivers road position your sis will have to take blame. It'll come down to insufficient distance/ clearence etc..

on the flip side though I sympathise because if I saw a car indicate left and pull in I would assume the same and begin over taking.

There may be still some case as he was an obstruction on the left hand side with incorrect/misleading signals road position

PrettyInPunk

Exactly the dark side, unfortunatly there was no witnesses , so as to whether the other vehicle driver actually indicated is unknown. I dont unfortunatly know any gardai-im sure my parents wish they did!

The damage to the other mans car wasnt huge i dont think, but her car doesnt look in great shape-wheel is buckled, front bonnet is smashed on the side, not too sure about the side panel. My brother is going to get a picture of the damage to her car and hopefully the other car tomorrow.


Civildefence your point is a good one as he didnt indicate either way, however there was no obstruction on the road, and his slowing and pulling to the left with no indication led to the belief that he was pulling in. ( It is common practice in the estate where my family live)

I do believe she may infact be liable because she should have waited till he stopped fully but some how it doesnt seem fair. Im a driver also and no one in their right mind would overtake someone turning to the right

PrettyInPunk

congo_90 wrote: »

Hey op
firstly sorry to hear about your sisters crash I hope at least she's not injured.
onto my point
Unfortunatly an indicator is only an indicator of intended direction and shouldn't be takin literally as a friends dad told me one day. especially on a T junction if pulling out and a car approaching is indicating.

Sadly even with the indicator and the drivers road position your sis will have to take blame. It'll come down to insufficient distance/ clearence etc..

on the flip side though I sympathise because if I saw a car indicate left and pull in I would assume the same and begin over taking.

There may be still some case as he was an obstruction on the left hand side with incorrect/misleading signals road position

Problem was there was no indication either direction , the driver just slowed and pulled to the left. Shes fine thanks not sure if she will be driving anytime soon.

I think from all this she may be liable, i really appreciate the help guys

PrettyInPunk

any more opinions on the situation would still be appreciated though!

civildefence

I can see why she'd feel hard done by if she was found to be liable, but as c-note pointed if you hit someone from behind chances are you're the bad guy. I hope it works out as we may all still be unaware of the full circumstances here. Also I suppose we should be thankful nobody was hurt.

rotinaj

I had a similar accident about 6 years ago. Going up a hill on my motorbike with a van in front. Van pulls to the right had side of the road. I accelerated and then the van pull straight accross me to get into his drive which was to my left and I went straight in to the side of the van.

Anyway it went to court and the van driver was found to be in the wrong.

Not sure if he indicated or not. He claimed he did, I said he didnt.

PrettyInPunk

PrettyInPunk wrote: »

Problem was there was no indication either direction , the driver just slowed and pulled to the left. Shes fine thanks not sure if she will be driving anytime soon.

I think from all this she may be liable, i really appreciate the help guys

d3mon24 wrote: »

I had a similar accident about 6 years ago. Going up a hill on my motorbike with a van in front. Van pulls to the right had side of the road. I accelerated and then the van pull straight accross me to get into his drive which was to my left and I went straight in to the side of the van.

Anyway it went to court and the van driver was found to be in the wrong.

Not sure if he indicated or not. He claimed he did, I said he didnt.

Thats interesting, was it a messy case or did it take long?

civildefence

Sounds nasty and hope you weren't badly hurt. But again you'd be in the clear as a biker because its up to the van driver to keep a close eye on you in his mirror at all times. Its a different set of rules for this one

rotinaj

PrettyInPunk wrote: »

It not really that simple, she didnt 'hit him' if you were to view it in that sense he actually hit her car, his car has a scrape compared to hers? im not saying she was right im just looking for opinions

This is what was being argued between the insurance companies in my case.. The judge said that as the other driver pulled across me, he hit me and found in my favour.

PrettyInPunk

d3mon24 wrote: »

This is what was being argued between the insurance companies in my case.. The judge said that as the other driver pulled across me, he hit me and found in my favour.

From what i gather thats exactly what happened with her, she didnt actually 'hit him' but as she was driving past he pulled into the right and actually hit her car. I really appreciate all these opinions, road accidents are a nightmare

rotinaj

PrettyInPunk wrote: »

Thats interesting, was it a messy case or did it take long?

Crash happened in Nov02. Insurance paid out in Aug.05 so just under 3 years

PrettyInPunk

d3mon24 wrote: »

Crash happened in Nov02. Insurance paid out in Aug.05 so just under 3 years

Jesus thats rough, were you battling it out for that long?

rotinaj

PrettyInPunk wrote: »

From what i gather thats exactly what happened with her, she didnt actually 'hit him' but as she was driving past he pulled into the right and actually hit her car. I really appreciate all these opinions, road accidents are a nightmare

Hope it goes well for your sister. Its now up to the insurance companies which one will pay out. I can see this one going to court tho. Unless your sister and the other dirver are with the same company.

civildefence

But if you pull out of a side road and someone hits you, you're still at fault so thats not always the case.

PrettyInPunk

civildefence wrote: »

But if you pull out of a side road and someone hits you, you're still at fault so thats not always the case.

Im just looking for opinions on both sides, i thought she would legally be liable, but the other story has just opened my eyes

PrettyInPunk

d3mon24 wrote: »

Hope it goes well for your sister. Its now up to the insurance companies which one will pay out. I can see this one going to court tho. Unless your sister and the other dirver are with the same company.

Just sent you a PM