[lendee]

I made a wide left while turning into a very tight street with cars parked on the corner. the car behind slammed into my rear passenger door damaging both cars.
at the time he mentioned that he thought i was moving to the other side of the road and couldn't brake in time because of the rainy conditions, but basically assumed responsibilty, so much so that he never asked for my insurance details.
I took his details and he called me the next day to provide his insurance details. I told him i would get quotes for the damage on my car to see if he wanted to pay cash or go through his insurance, which he is fine with .
Quotes are well over £1,000.
When i called him today to see what he wants to do, he says i should pay for the damage to my car because i was partly responsible, and that if i try to claim from his insurance they will dispute it and if it goes to court i may end up being found mostly responsible because i made the wide turn and he just continued going straight.

Is it likely that i will be found responsible?
thanks

[smudger]

Welcome to the site lendee, the first mistake you made was giving him the opportunity to settle out with insurance.
That looks like it has turned against you now?:(

You should have contacted your own insurance company straight away, and gave them all the details.

One good thing in your favour is, you were hit from behind, and no matter what the other drivers says, or tells his insurance company, they are at fault! Good luck;)

[MrDanno]

Originally Posted by lendee

and couldn't brake in time because of the rainy conditions,

That says it all! Driving not in accordance with the highway code!

[lendee]

Thanks guys,
i guess it never pays to be the nice guy.
Just wondering; on the phone his brother (i know...) told me that a friend of his did a similar thing to me and ended up in court being 85% liable. it sounds like he's just trying it on but it got me a little concerned that i might end up liable somewhat.
He obviously knows that he was wrong because he hasn't even tried to ask my insurance details and is planning on paying his own repair ( a good few hundred £) out of pocket. He's trying to tell me that i'll be better off paying paying for my own repair myself, because if i claim i could end up losing.
Just wanted to make sure that they are talking drivel before i pursue the claim...

[MrDanno]

Originally Posted by lendee

on the phone his brother (i know...) told me that a friend of his did a similar thing to me and ended up in court being 85% liable.

Do you think he is -

A, Trying to help you avoid being liable.

or

B, Trying to help his brother walk free.

[wagolynn]

Read the terms and conditions of your insurance, I am sure you will find that you have to report the incident to them anyway. You have come across a very good reason for this clause.
Contact your insurers give them the facts, avoid opinions, and leave it to them to sort out. Pass on all correspondence about the incident to your insurers and refer all other attempts to communicate with you by the other party to your insurers. In the unlikely event, that you wish to pay for the damage to your car you can arrange that with your insurers.
As to the incident itself, take a little time to think about, what you can do in future to prevent this happening again. E.g., could you slow earlier, thus slowing down any following traffic and perhaps reducing the need for a wide left? Or approach from the opposite direction, now making it an easy right turn.

[wagolynn]

Hi Lendee,
Re post #6, the comments about thinking of how to prevent this sort of problem again, are not meant to suggest you are to blame in this case, they are just part of defensive driving.

[lendee]

thanks wagolynn
in the end one of the garages i went to for a quote had an accident management company contact me. i gave them the details and they are pushing ahead.
Re: defensive driving, thanks for the idea about approaching from the other side, i will use that. i wasnt travelling at any speed at all, but it so difficult to make that left without going wide.

Will report back...

[Snowball]

There is one of those sharp left hand turns that I often use. Coming off the M69 at junction 2, the B590 towards Hinckley is a 60mph designated road. After about a mile there is a sharp L/H road to Aston Flamville and, as it is a narrow road with frequent traffic exiting it, you have to drop to no more than 15mph to make the turn close to the nearside verge. The limit drops to 40mph just after this turning, so signalling and slowing down well before the actual turning is essential.
There is still the odd clown who bombs up behind you; apparently expecting you to try and make the turn at nearly 60mph, and who then brakes hard and glares at you for daring to slow down to a sensible speed.:eek:

[smudger]

Talking of Breaking Hard, we have alloy wheels on our car, and hate having to clean them, so I make conscious effort not to brake hard, as that keeps them clean for longer.;)

I know that's Sad, but I must admit it does make me drive better and plan ahead more;)

[wagolynn]

That’s not sad Smudger, you will be saving on fuel, tyres and driving safer too, sort of win, win, win.

[MrDanno]

Originally Posted by smudger

Talking of Breaking Hard, we have alloy wheels on our car, and hate having to clean them, so I make conscious effort not to brake hard, as that keeps them clean for longer.;)

I know that's Sad, but I must admit it does make me drive better and plan ahead more;)

These non-asbestos pads generate more brake dust, Than the old fashioned ones.

I hardly use the brakes when I drive and I prefer to just use them lightly when needed but, the original pads still made a lot of dust that seemed to be attracted to sticking on the wheels. I changed them for EBC Green pads and they hardly generate any dust that sticks to the wheels.

[smudger]

Well, I never knew that MrDanno, just goes to show we learn something new every day;)

I have noticed however, that if you don't clean the dust off on a regular basis, it builds up and gets very hard to remove.