saw an interesting accident today

[oilburninnut]

just wondering who would be at fault,i was waiting to pull out of a busy t junction the people carier in front of me pulled across the first lane,as we all do pulling out of this junction,he was blocking the lane for about a minute when a delivery wagon from a well known builders merchants coming down the road completly failed to see the car blocking the lane and made no atempt to slow or change course just wiped it out,every one was ok and i am the only witness so i just wondered who you would think was to blame?

[ric04vrs]

if the vehicle was in the lane and had been there for some time , i would say the lorry driver was to blame , driving without due care and attention

[Captain Sisko]

I'd say shared liability

The wagon.

He should have seen the obstruction in the road and slowed/stoped.

And the MPV should not have blocked half the road.

[simonsheil]

Liability is questionable, however, without a doubt truck driver is guilty of careless driving.

[oilburninnut]

problem is at that junction you would never get out if you didn't block it,mind you i would say the wagon driver hit it deliberatly,i was in my truck so had a perfect clear view and i swear he saw it he was looking at it all the way down the road! i was suprised when he hit it

[VRStu]

I would think in terms of the claims the insurers would share liability but it does very much depend on your statement.

The lorry driver probably was guilty of not paying attention but I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't prosecuted.

[oilburninnut]

i havn't given my statement yet,i just handed over my name and no to the lorry driver and left,i had another load to do and no time to hang about,his boss phoned me later and got the rest of my details,i won't put what i think in the statement,just what i saw,i have thought about it and still wouldn't like to put my money on an outcome

[bengie]

lorry driver, doesn't matter where anyone or anything is, if its stationary in a lane and has been for some time driving into it is your fault.

[Phil-E]

I would say definately the lorry drivers fault... if the car is there when it shouldn't be doesn't give the lorry driver the right to just go ahead and hit it! lol

If the car pulled out before the lorry was on the scene then that probably then gives them right of way over the lorry anyway.

We have quite a lot of junctions like that round me and you have to do the same... i especially do it in the bus... shove me nose out or i'll be sat there all frickin day!!

[oilburninnut]

yep i drive a 44ton tipper and i know the feeling:rofl:

it was the oddest accident i have ever seen

[runboy]

What happened if the MPV had been pushed out by someone bumping them up the rear? Just because they are in the lane doesn't make it OK for the lorry to hit them. Two wrongs don't make a right.

But I can see why the question came about. I often wonder what happens if someone pulls out on you then suddenly brakes and you hit them up the rear - who would be at fault then? I've seen it happen at staggered junctions - car pulls out quickly then slams brakes on waiting to turn right.

[sms]

simple lorry driver... why... he did the hitting, not the mpv which had been stationary there for a while.

[Mike Wrightson]

lorry driver's fault, if mpv had been there a while.. what if it had broken down?? Totally avoidable by the lorry driver, therefore 100% his fault.

[mr Gareth Jones]

It seems that only the lorry driver and his boss know that you witnessed the accident - I think it would be proper for you to contact the police and report what you saw - they will be grateful for an independent witness.

The MPV could have stalled and been unable to restart his engine this would surely make the lorry driver guilty of careless driving.

[oilburninnut]

i contacted them today but they wern't interested,they didn't even know there had been an accident there.

[Mac1961]

As the MPV had been stationary for some time and the Lorry driver had time to stop, then the latter is guilty of 'Careless Driving'.

But if, as oilburninnut says, the lorry driver deliberately hit the MPV, the lorry driver is guilty of 'Criminal Damage' and, if there were any injuries, guilty of 'Causing Grievous Bodily Harm' as well. Both those offences are much more serious than 'Careless Driving'.

[oilburninnut]

i wouldn't say he deffinatly did it deliberatly,but how he failed to see it from 1/2 a mile away i will never know,police not interested and i bet their insurance company never submit my statement,

[heresmo]

My view is that as a witness, you can/should only state what you saw (I know you have already said that you don't intend to offer an opnion on what might/should have happened). If you were a car behind the people carrier, I guess you couldn't have seen the road ahead as viewed from the cab of the oncoming lorry.

I have to "force my way out", to turn right out of my junction (as doubtless many of us do), but a judgement is of course involved in that decision to proceed. I guess what each driver says will determine how it is settled :ne_nau:

In your position, I woudn't worry too much about the rights or wrongs as someone else will decide, but I'd sure worry out turning out in future... LOL

Glad no-one hurt

Mo

[heresmo]

Following thread just arrived, if the people carrier had to sit in a road when an oncoming vehicle was half a mile away and still was hit, then surely someone should have "let it out" before then or there is a very serious traffic management problem at that junction.

Regards

Mo

[ScoobyChris]

In terms of the accident, I think it is clearly the lorry driver's fault as he failed to see a stationary hazard blocking his path which he then hit (hopefully he saw it at some point and did brake or that would have been a big impact :( ).

In terms of the situation, I think it's always dangerous to sit blocking an empty lane because people don't expect it and also lots of people undertake to queue jump. I try and stick the car's nose out a little and hope that it's enough to make approaching traffic in that lane slow down and let me out (the approaching traffic's brake lights will also be visible to other approaching traffic). I'll then tackle the 2nd lane in the same way....

Chris

[oilburninnut]

he didn't slow at all:eek:there was a lot of damage to both vehicles it was as if he was just going to drive through the people carrier

[dstev2000]

Blatant example of driving without due care and attention.

On the phone perhaps?

Remember the M3 crash where the lorry driver was fiddling with his dash mounted phone and ploughed full whack into a pug 106? Luckily there were no fatailities or serious injuries but it does have some similarities about it.

[oilburninnut]

wasn't on a hand held phone,he had both hands on the wheel,and appeared to be looking straight at the mpv:eek:

[heresmo]

wasn't on a hand held phone,he had both hands on the wheel,and appeared to be looking straight at the mpv:eek:

Well, there is an argument that if you pull into the middle of a road, you expect an exit to become available. The lorry driver could (IMO) reasonably have expected that the MPV would not have done that without some expectation of getting across the road (and thus out of his way) before he arrived, assuming it's a flowing road and not a high street or near a school where he might be expected to brake at a moment's notice. Seemingly either the lorry driver was wasn't looking (though apparently he was) or the MPV hadn't cleared, but presumably the MPV must also have seen a lorry approaching from half a mile away, so should have reversed if no chance of getting out since it's illegal to cause oncoming traffic to brake on a main road. Not really clear cut to me without knowing all the details.

I'm not arguing with anyone by the way, just not sure how each side of the story stacks up is all.

Regards

Mo

[oilburninnut]

he couldn't reverse,i was right up his ass:rolleyes: