Traffic accident help needed please

[danny24]

Hi everyone, Not to sure if anyone could help me, basically i was involved in a RTA the other week were the car in front of me started spinning on black ice i was about 20-30 yards away so i applied my brakes gently but i was also on black ice so my braking distance was impared although i managed to stop about a metre away from the spinning car when the back end of the ladys car spun round and hit me. Now she's saying i hit her from behind which just didn't happen and i don't know what to do is it my fault or hers? At the end of the day i was driving 25 mph and had left adequate space between us and also managed to control my skid and stop before she hit me! But she was driving at exessive speed for condition and slammed on her brakes as a car came round the heavily wooded roundabout. I really don't want to be labelled a bad driver for no reason. Any help is appreciated greatly thanks

 

[tim1989]

what part of your car did she hit? any pics

 

[custard]

if you were stationary then she hit you
proving it is another thing though
got pics,google map links to to where it happened?

 

[danny24]

No pics at the min sorry she hit the bonnet on the drivers side of my car don't know whether i can say this but i wasn't in my punto i was in my mums jeep which is massive and if i'd of hit her i would of shunted her car out of the way but she came to a standstill at the drivers side of my car. Cant get pics of were it happened but it was on a dual carriage way about 10m from a large wooded roundabout on grip strips.

 

[MikeSalt]

If it hit the side of your car, then she's the one that is going to have the hard time to prove you run into her.

 

[jo0lz]

YOU need to take a lot of time in filling your claims form in

You'll need a good set of diagrams showing EXACTLY how the accident happened, sketching plans showing before, during, after,

You'll need a long description of the road conditions that day,
Can you grab a local weather report from the net to prove the icy conditions that day?

You need to relay the full story of the incident on that claims form

mention you noticed her excessive speed for the road conditions

Mention an estimate of the speed you think she was doing before she span out

Mention you had left a significant gap, larger than normal, between the front of your vehicle and the rear of hers because of the road conditions

Mention when you saw her spin you braked and successfully managed to stop your vehicle without hitting hers

Mention your vehicle was stationary when the spining rear of her vehicle side swiped the front offside of your stationary vehicle.

Clearly if you had lost control of your vehicle, skidding forwards you would have run into her rear end flat on??

Of course I'm assuming you have no witnesses to the accident???
SO its just her word against yours

NOW the bad news.....
I have personal experience that being stationary in an accident does not absolve you of blame if it can be proven [or assumed] that you were driving without due care and attention before you stopped

THE RoZZeRs+LeGaLs.....
Have the police been advised of the accident?
If the answers are yes to all of the following
1/.Only the two cars involved are damaged
2/.No other property, such as kerbs, fences, lappost, signs etc... where hit
3/.There were no personal injuries
4/.Both parties have exchanged insurance details
......then you don't have to have told the RoZZeRs
If there is a NO to any one of those 4 questions you should legally report the accident to the police within 24 hours

If she is already making a false claim and looking to possibly commit insurance fraud it MIGHT be worth YOU seeking independant legal advice OR asking your insurance company for legal advice

If you are not absolutely sure you can prove she side swiped you and you were not at fault there is a risk that the Insurance Companies end up suggesting that YOU were driving without due care and attention and are at fault because you did not stop sufficiently quickly to avoid the incident
i.e. if you had stopped quicker . . .she could have just spun round and round and round and not hit anything and so no insurance claim....

Advice for future
If you have an RTA . . . .before anyone moves any vehicles take LOADS of pictures of the vehicles and their position in the road and the road conditions at the time of the RTA

Before we all had camera phones I used to have a disposable camera in the car for just this
Having been caught out more than once by lying swines of other drivers making false insurance claims that I could not disprove

ALSO once the cars are moved take sufficient pictures of the damage to the cars
I've had experience of people claiming for previously done damage

Previous personal bad experience
I got stung when 17 having lightly bumped my Dad's motor into the back of a woman who stopped dead in an urban clearway; where it was illegal to stop!!
So I clearly didn't expect her to stop dead in my path....
But it was my fault for being closer to her than my braking distance was at the speed we were both doing
She claimed [and got!] a whole respray for her car! when all I did was ripple her rear hatch a little
Luckily for me the cow did not sue for whiplash as well

I meanwhile being young an naive reported the accident to the police even though I didn't need to
To then have the Desk Sargeant at the CopShop say that I could be done for driving without due care and attention!!
The RoZZeRs didn't see it as worth pursuing in the end [luckily for me!]


BEST of LUCK!!!!!!

 

[payney1]

If she has hit your vehicle whilst you were stationery, then the other driver is to blame.

You need to provide the insurance company with pictures of the damage to your vehicle, and the location of where the collision took place. The damage to your vehicle should show that you did not hit the other persons car.

And like others have said, draw diagrams!

The more you can tell / show the insurance company, the more it will help, and don't give up and settle for 50 / 50.

Good luck

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Am I missing something? Was she spinning on the spot

How her car hit yours if she was ahead and spining forwards and you stopped a distance behind her

I assume your legit on the Jeep.

As others have said, lots of google earth picks with how the accident happened etc.

 

[bozzy]

Although lot's of advice above is good I expect without a witness it will count for nothing. I expect a 50/50 on this one or worse case you may lose entirely if you admit to being behind the other vehicle prior to the collision.

 

[the mk1 kid]

Am I missing something? Was she spinning on the spot

How her car hit yours if she was ahead and spining forwards and you stopped a distance behind her

I assume your legit on the Jeep.

As others have said, lots of google earth picks with how the accident happened etc.

You're not, i'm equally confused!!?

Tom

 

[sledge]

Icy roads? no witnesses? no injuries? two parties? no Police involvement? confusing and conflicting statements? Looks like a classic knock-for-knock if you ask me

 

[the mk1 kid]

Icy roads? no witnesses? no injuries? two parties? no Police involvement? confusing and conflicting statements? Looks like a classic knock-for-knock if you ask me

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

You're not, i'm equally confused!!?

Tom

Thank god for that. Was thinking it was me.

Icy roads? no witnesses? no injuries? two parties? no Police involvement? confusing and conflicting statements? Looks like a classic knock-for-knock if you ask me

Agreed. People gonna be getting sick of me saying this, but classic example of the benefits of in car DVR.

Key example. Had we collided without proof that the Honda driver swerved into my lane, this probably would have been a 50/50. Luckily I avoided him though.