car accident who is at fault

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cintec

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driving along on a road 2 lanes 1 is a bus lane I look in left mirror as I know the bus lane ends in about 20 feet see a car who is behind me so I continue along.

The car obviously doesn't know this road too well and speeds up by the time he realises the bus lane ends he has gone into my passenger door. Minor damage wing mirror, door handle and some damage to the body work( too dark to see damage)

This was my first ever crash too be honest with the adrenaline rush I was shaking :) the guy starts yelling at me saying I sped up obviously trying to blame me I asked him was he insured(he is) so I told him to calm down were both insured.

A car that was behind us both witnessed the accident and stopped I never asked them a question they just said " I saw what happened you were ahead and he was driving like a lunatic" apparently he had gone past them moments earlier.

I exchanged details the third party is a limo and I assume the company would have fleet insurance I didn't ask him if his passengers were ok although since they all surrounded me I presume they were.


While I feel it wasn't my fault I don't know if I could have avoided the collision, I have called my insurance already will the insurance company side with me can't really afford to lose my NCB although it's out of my hands.
 
Didn't you call the Guards straght after the collision? My understanding is they must be alerted by law but I could be wrong about that.

Also I guess it sounds wrong that he was in a Bus Lane trying to turn out, the authorities would probably want to know why he was driving in a Bus Lane and it may be obvious that he panicked when he saw the end of the bus lane, that's when he swerved out and hit you. But it so much easier for the guards/court to get an idea when you call them.
 
Its not. Gardai rarely make any decision on liability on the matter. When they show they state that they are only there to check everyone has insurance and drivers licence.
 
If he was driving a limo he may have a taxi licence and be entitled to be in bus lane. However on the face of it it sounds like his fault as he changed direction without due care and attention and you were simply driving in a straight line. Try to get some sort of witness statement.
 
I called the guards they wouldn't come out unless someone was hurt told me to exchange information
The guy was in the bus lane because he is a limo it was late in the evening so he would have been allowed in it after 7pm anyway.

Will the insurance company be able to tell who is at fault by looking at the damage
 
Is it not the responsibility of the person changing lanes to make sure that they have enough room to do so whilst also giving other drivers enough indication and warning that they are moving into a different lane ?
 
Just to clarify ...

It was not a bus lane,because it was after 7 pm, so this is irrelevant.

The inside lane came to a stop and he had to pull out into the main lane.

You were in the main lane, and he drove into you.

Based on this understanding, you did nothing wrong - he had to wait for a gap in the lane to pull out.

Do the two lanes merge into one lane, where neither lane continues?

You say that the "bus lane ends in about 20 feet". Did your lane end as well?

It's less clear cut, but if the front of his car went into your passenger side, then you were ahead and he should have waited.

If the witness says that he was speeding, then you have little to worry about.

It's very difficult for a professional driver to admit responsibility so they always blame the other party, and often quite aggressively. You need to stand up to him.

In the event of an accident, you should remain calm even if the other guy is going mad. Don't accept blame or blame the other. See can you agree on the facts. Then write them down and get both parties to sign them. Then let the insurance companies work out who is to blame.
 
alexandra123 said:
Is it not the responsibility of the person changing lanes to make sure that they have enough room to do so whilst also giving other drivers enough indication and warning that they are moving into a different lane ?
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It is, but on the basis of my own experience I would urge the OP not to assume that the insurance company will actually care too much about who was in the wrong. It suits them to agree (without your involvement or assent) a 60/40 or 70/30 deal which allows them to lower the NCB on both parties). They will only advise you of this afterwards, unless you act.

If I was you, I wouldn't be talking in terms of "could I have possibly done something to avoid the collision?". Sure you could; you could have swerved over the white line onto the wrong side of the road, for example. It sounds like the guy was quite aggressive, too — why did all the passengers "surround" you? — and it's likely he'll contest it. So make sure to contact that witness and ask them for a written statement, and advise your own insurer in writing that you attribute the accident 100% to the other driver (and have a witness) and that you admit (and have admitted) no liability.

Edit: post crossed with Brendan's.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
The inside lane came to a stop and he had to pull out into the main lane.

You were in the main lane, and he drove into you.

Based on this understanding, you did nothing wrong - he had to wait for a gap in the lane to pull out.

Do the two lanes merge into one lane, where neither lane continues?

You say that the "bus lane ends in about 20 feet". Did your lane end as well?

It's less clear cut, but if the front of his car went into your passenger side, then you were ahead and he should have waited.
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I don't have a picture of the lane but the bus lane narrows the lane I was in doesn't I didn't have to cross the white dividing line where he would have, if he was ahead I would have slowed and let him move over. He should have slowed down and moved accross behind me but instead he accelerated and tried to pass I don't think he spotted that the bus lane ended.

I have a big tyre mark on my rear passenger door where he hit me.

He kept trying to get me to accept blame which I wouldn't discuss with him my only reply was that I would let my insurance deal with it.

I was never in an accident before so I probably made several mistakes I have his details and the details of the witness and nothing else I didn't discuss the accident with the third party.

@DrMoriarty when I say surrounded I basically was looking at the damage to my car when all of the passengers got out and surrounded my car obviously wanting to have a look at the damage they were all drinking and just wanted to get to whatever party they were originally going to.

I think he will contest the crash I don't know if there was much if any damage to his car it was dark and with those big tyres on a hummer he may have got no damage maybe scraped an alloy.
 
Should I contact the company that the driver worked for? at the very least I was thinking I should confirm his details and give them mine or will my insurance do this
 
No, just provide all the details to your own insurer, fill in the accident report form they give you, and make sure they understand that you wish to claim against the other driver's insurance. If you have comprehensive insurance yourself, they may suggest that you claim now against your own insurance "to speed things up", with the idea that your NCB will be restored if/when the claim is settled by the other company.

Unless you're in a huge hurry, I would resist the temptation to do this and would press the other insurance company to settle the claim within a reasonable time.
 
cintec said:
Should I contact the company that the driver worked for? at the very least I was thinking I should confirm his details and give them mine or will my insurance do this
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Best to confirm with your insurance company that they will do this. Once you have reported the claim to them it is best to let them deal with the matter and you keep in touch with them regularly to check how the claim is progressing.
 
DrMoriarty said:
No, just provide all the details to your own insurer, fill in the accident report form they give you, and make sure they understand that you wish to claim against the other driver's insurance. If you have comprehensive insurance yourself, they may suggest that you claim now against your own insurance "to speed things up", with the idea that your NCB will be restored if/when the claim is settled by the other company.

Unless you're in a huge hurry, I would resist the temptation to do this and would press the other insurance company to settle the claim within a reasonable time.
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I was thinking that if I spoke with the manager or owner that they might accept liability and prefer to pay for the repairs rather than going through insurance.
Even if they wanted to contest it then the insurance companies could sort it out.
 
I don't think you should report it to your insurance company, yet at least.

You should be claiming against him and not your own insurance company.

If he claims against your insurance company, it would be different.

Get an estimate and send it to his employer together with the witness statement.

Brendan
 
Brendan Burgess said:
I don't think you should report it to your insurance company, yet at least.

You should be claiming against him and not your own insurance company.

If he claims against your insurance company, it would be different.

Get an estimate and send it to his employer together with the witness statement.

Brendan
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I have already informed my insurance company there out of hours service took my details and someone will be calling me back on Tuesday.
 
looking at the car today it appears that the only damage is the wing mirror and the door handle the paint work look ok there is alot of rubber from the limos tyres I haven't tried to wash it off as it is proof that he hit into the side of me.
 
JohnJay said:
Only if somebody is hurt
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Thanks, I had a suspicion based on sometimes it does not hurt until lthe next morning. :p But yes you are right it seems.

cintec said:
I have already informed my insurance company there out of hours service took my details and someone will be calling me back on Tuesday.
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I find if anything can go wrong it will, at the weekend or a bank holiday!

Hope it works out for you. PS I didn't know limos can go in a bus lane, I must watch out for them.
 
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