Can anyone help with this? Insurance wrangle is dragging on and on. In February, a van driver pulled out of a T-junction, to turn right and drove straight into the side of my car - car a write off.
I was overtaking a bus at a bus stop with passengers getting on and off. I'm a careful driver, I took all the usual precautions, checked blind spot, signalled, etc and was alongside the bus when the other driver drove into me.
His insurance company have offered half the claim, saying I shouldn't have overtaken next to a junction. Ok, my mistake ... EXCEPT the bus stop was directly opposite the T-junction. It's a narrow, busy road, I was doing the usual thing, overtaking a stationary bus to keep the traffic flowing.
The other driver says the bus driver waved him on, yet in order to turn right, he would have had to drive along on the right hand side of the road until he passed the bus, before he could pull into the left. Also,the bus driver must have waved him on at the point where I was alongside the bus. The Highway code says "you must not cross or join a road until there is a gap large enough for you to do so safely".
I've taken photographs of the bus stop, as advised by my insurance company, has anyone any other suggestions? Should I just accept I was in the wrong too despite the bus stop being bang opposite a narrow T-junction? Accepting the half payout they are offering could affect my no - claims discount so there is little point in accepting anything.
If anyone has any constructive suggestions as to how to argue this I'd be really grateful.
Many thanks
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Short answer - No.
The other persons insuurance are doing what all insurance companies do and dragging matters out in the hope you'll go away.
The half price offer is just that - an offer. Do not accept it . I think they are on dodgy ground here.
What are your insurance company doing? Start pushing them and keep pushing them to assist you.
Have you got legal expenses insurance with AA / RAC cover or with your insurance company - If so start getting them working on your behalf?
If all else fails and you have no legal expenses cover consult a solicitor and get them to send a letter - it usually works wondersand at surprisingly low cost.
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The bus was not moving, so you were going past it, not overtaking it.
The other driver entered the carriageway without being able to see the oncoming traffic (you), and so he/she collided with traffic that had no reason to give way.
Have the Police presecuted you for an offence? No, so why does the ins. co. suggest you are at fault? If overtaking put you in the wrong, then you'd be bearing 100%, not 50%.
As the previous poster suggest, a threat of legal action is the way forward.
You could do this yourself, if you don't have expenses cover, but a solicitor would perhaps charge £50, which would be money well spent in terms of wasted time and aggravation.
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No.
I am sure Mark will be along to give his views, though he's been rather quiet lately.
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You are in the right - it is the responsibility of the person emerging from the T-junction side-road to check that the road is clear both ways; just because they were turning left, this does not allow them to assume that the road will be clear from that direction. Stick to your guns - hopefully one of the legal-eagles will be able to quote the relevant bit of the law, but pretty sure that the Highway Code has something to say on this matter too.
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Also forgot to mention that a solicitor will normally include for his costs to be reimbursed from the opposition insurance company when he sends the letter so it may well not cost you any money.
Suggest that he includes for all possible extras like damage to your clothing , hospital treatments , hire cars for the time your motor has been off the road, breakdown vehicles , etc and any other loss you can think of that you have suffered as a result of this accident.
Quite frankly , they are giving you the runaround and now is the time to get nasty with them.
Usually the threat of legal action does the trick.
- OH my word how I hate and detest the insurance companies who do this - Go get em, don't give in.
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---His insurance company have offered half the claim, saying I shouldn't have overtaken next to a junction. Ok, my mistake ... EXCEPT the bus stop was directly opposite the T-junction. It's a narrow, busy road, I was doing the usual thing, overtaking a stationary bus to keep the traffic flowing.
Come on - ,what are they saying...you should just sit there holding up the traffic behind you waiting for the bus to move off again. If you did that I bet you'd have a few honk honks & some hand signals.
Endorse helicopter's comments - your insurance company should be contesting this. But--if you haven't got legal cover, get it on renewal. I used to think this was just a waste of about £12 but always bought it anyway. Needed it a few years ago in a dispute and they were excellent and won the case -- no fault to me.
Good luck
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Wow what a lot of helpful and speedy replies. To answer the question - do I have legal cover? Yes. What is my insurance company doing? Not a lot. They really don't see to care either way what happens.I will phone them with the points brought up and if there is no joy, get a solicitor on the case. When I mentioned claiming for expenses they said they couldn't do anything without receipts however I have wasted so many hours on this - 3 hours yesterday driving to the spot to take photos, an hour or so posting here and digesting replies - I work from home and it's eating into work time so may push for something to cover that.
Thanks everyone, additional comments always welcome.
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OK - you were not overtaking - you were passing a stationary object or obstruction on your side of the road. If your insurance co are too lazy to get involved, ask to speak to a Manager, not a supervisor. Be prepared to write to the Insurance Ombudsman complaining that they are not interested in acting on your behalf.
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Charge your time to them by all means and do not undervalue it.
As Ivor says - speak to the Manager at your insurance company.
Get them working for you - ask to use the legal expenses people , after all you have paid for it.
Remember to gently advise the insurers manager that your renewal with them will depend on how they respond to your claim .
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I don't believe they do need receipts for anything. When Mrs S's car wqas written off a few years back she got paid an (albeit small) amount for loss of mobility. I think it was about £10 per day, so over 15 days it added up. She was told she could hire a car and the expense would be part of her claim, but the risk then is that the claim is settled partly against you, so the whole amount is not claimable.
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If the other driver has entered a major road from a minor road (ie crossed stop or give way lines or signs) he is 100% in the wrong under ALL circumstances.
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Aha! Renault family - is there something I can quote to support this? Sounds like it's something like the rear end shunt rule, driver behind is always in the wrong? Everyone knows this but I personally wouldn't know how to go about backing it up in writing.
thanks
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Its in the highway code. Failure to abide by give way or stop lines and signs meaning you hit something normally gets you a charge of driving without due care and attention.
The rear end blame rule only holds water while cars are moving. When one of the cars is stationary people always try the "he reversed into me" carp
jumping give way or stop signs is clear cut.
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Were there no passengers on the bus? Would it be worth advertising in the local paper for witnesses from the bus or bus stop, or even other drivers?
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It's in the highway code somewhere.
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The other driver must have crossed either double pecked white lines (give way) or a thick solid line (stop and only cross if your way is clear).
Which ever it was, he was in the wrong the split-second he crossed the line. It's already been established that he could not see the oncoming traffic baecause of the stationary bus. He compounded his error by obeying the erroneous instructions of another road user (the bus driver) who was not in a position tell him that the way was clear.
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Thanks everyone. Your replies have opened my eyes to how slack the insurance company are being. They should have knowledge of this and be arguing on my behalf. As it is I'm having to do all this foraging around for information. Will give them a rocket tomorrow. Cheers.
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There are always two different accounts of what happened in an accident, don't forget the other party's insurance company are mainly relying on what their insured driver has written down in his accident report ( I presume there is no Police report ). Were there any independent witnesses? If yes, expect the insurance companies to be heavily influenced by what they indicate. If however your account is true ( and of course being a backroomer it will be! ) then you appear blameless. Good luck.
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Hi johncyprus - no there were no independent witnesses, something my own insurance company keeps blabbing about, and yes my account is true!!!! Thanks for your contribution
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If neither party has a witness, why not contact the bus company concerned (if you can remember who's bus it was) and quote the date, time and location of the accident to see if they can trace the driver. He may be a worthwhile witness to get on your side, especially if the van driver is being economical with the truth regarding the bus driver beckoning him from the junction.
PP
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"the bus driver beckoning him from the junction" - he is unlikely to own up to this as it's for precisely the reason in question that you shouldn't beckon/flash or otherwise indicate to someone that the way is clear - if you are wrong then you have some liability.
So I was told anyway. :-)
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