Whos To Blame??

[shellby512]

my friend turned left into a one-way street ,My friend indicated to move over into the Right-hand lane(fine so far) The road in which we wanted to turn RIGHT into was only approx..5/6 car lengths from the original junction(the one where we turned left into one-way)so my friend didnt turn off the indicator, as my friend proceeded with the right turn we got impacted on the drivers side..the damage to my friends car is all on the drivers door and partly on the rear door....The front of my friends car and wing are NOT damaged in anyway..
we dont know where the other car came from but its possable from the junction behind in a straight line. my friend was a nervous wreck and was more concerned over her 4 yr old daughter who was sat in her car seat on the impacted side than what was wrong with the car. The other driver was shouting abuse to both of us saying my friend cut her up causing the crash.. we phoned the police but they wouldn't come out and told us just to exchange details.(job Done) later that night my friend recieved a phone call from the other drivers Father who also started giving abuse and threatining to come round etc.etc
my friend is not stupid at driving she has held a clean licience for 15 yrs and has never had an accident before.
i know there's always a first time but can anyone help on who's to blame??? my friend keeps saying its her fault because she was turning right...but another friend says its the other drivers fault because its a complete side impact no damage to front or rear of car Just side..Plus my hubby whos a body shop repairer says the impact was done at force (more than 30mph)we were on 30mph road!! OH the other cars damage is broken headlight and dented wing(nearside)
anyone please help????

[buildersmate]

Sounds like the other car was speeding for sure.
But why didn't she position herself in the right hand lane of the one way street during the original execution of the turn if the junction was only about 25 metres into that street?

[shellby512]

my friend didnt position herself into the right hand lane as we turned the corner because the last time we went down this road it was two way traffic (about a year ago)
the road didnt state oneway until we had turned the corner, the lights at the junction where we turned left only indicated a "no right turn" (which this road has always been a one way street because it leads from the bus station)
so as my friend turned the corner noticed its one-way she indicated to move over( as far as i am aware the lights for comming straight over were still on red) but like i said before... we wanted to turn right into the side road so didnt turn off the indicator

[Loosehead]

So after the initial turn she was still signalling left, and a car overtook on the right at the same time as your friend turned right???

If that's the case then you friend is effectively signalling one way and turning the other, very difficult to make it anyone elses fault. Although the other driver should not make any assumptions based on the indicator alone but I think your friend is mainly at fault. Assuming I have understood correctly.

[redcrx]

if your friend was signalling left still and yet pulling into the right hand lane she is certainly at fault.
If she was pulling into the right hand lane and didnt see the other car then she wasnt paying attention either and again will be her own fault even if the other car was speeding.

[DJerba]

i dont understand

[andrea81]

Well the inurers will sort it out and decide, just make sure you put plenty of diagrams of the accident. If I were to guess, I would say it was the other driver, but you should be sure to let insurers know how agressive he was, they could probably guess that he was speeding and not a good driver!

[sigma]

If your friend turned right across the rh lane then they are at fault. You stated that the damage was caused by at force but you then described light damage to the other car !!!

[derekpara]

No matter who's fault it was, your friend should not have to tolerate threats or harrasment from anyone. If it happens again, keep detailed notes, warn the offender that you will report them to the police - and do so if they continue to threaten you.

[Toureman]

Your friend is at fault because she turned right into the other cars path.

[shellby512]

sorry i think i have confused some people!!!! and its difficult really to explane...
after turning left at the traffic lights into the one-way road which used to be two way traffic.... my friend checked before she changed signals to move over to the right lane (nothing was there as far as i know --i cannot see in her mirror) knowing that the road we wanted to turn into was still on the right and only approx..5/6 car lengths from the lighted junction, we were at least 90% into the right hand lane and right at the road we were turning right into..our cars nose was into the road we were turning right into when this other car hit us directly in the side..the only place we think the other car came from was directly behind from the lighted junction....
like i said before my friend isnt a stupid driver and certanly wouldnt put her child at risk of being in an accident let alone herself..
In regards to the threatining phone calls she has recieved 2 more,, she has contacted the police and was given a log number and was told some one would come out BUT no-one has come or even phoned her back...
thanks to everone for your help and i know its a tricky problem finding fault but i would have thought a side impact when your part way into another road would have been the other cars fault???(sorry but i dont drive so not sure on road laws)
Thanks again

[gouldc]

We see this all the time - the other car came from no-where. If the other car was driving at a ridiculous speed (ie inappropriate for the road layout and conditions and above the limit), then the damage to both vehicles normally renders them undrivable at the scene.

Police will only attend the scene if there is an injury reported.

There are case laws established about checking your mirrors before turning (mainly due to motorcycles having a tendency to overtake queues of traffic), and the simple case here is that your friend clearly didn't carry out the correct checks before performing the manouevure.

In regards to aggression, we see this all the time in accidnets, and whilst not acceptable behaviour, if your friend did cut the other party up (which is what it seems like from what you've described here, then it's understandable as I can't tolerate stupid drivers either. Obviously it's equally unacceptable for abuse over the phone.

No-one likes to admit they were wrong in an accident, but I can almost guarantee this will be a split liability (70/30 in favour of the car driver - case law is Joliffe vs Hayes if I remember correctly)

[BenDToy]

Having read this again carefully, I think you make 2 very important points 1) Your friend was actually indicating right to change lanes, and continued the signal to indicate the right turn. 2) the manouevre into the rh lane was (virtually) completed and you were already turning right into the side road when the collision happened.
This suggests to me that the other driver was at fault, and it is certainly not just down to your friend. The lane change looks like it may be a complete red herring. She was correct to firstly position herself in the left lane when she turned left, and then change lanes before turning right. The sticky point is whether she turned right from the left lane, which sounds possible, but that may not be obvious from the insurance claim form (if you know what I mean!). The insurance companies will probably settle "knock for knock" but I blame the other driver who it seems ignored your friend's right indicator signal. Think about this - if your friend had just been changing lanes, and not turning right, is it possible that the other driver would still have run into her? That may throw a very different complexion on things.
The location of the damage is not a factor because if she had turned right from the lh lane the damage would be the same.
Report the calls to the police again, and keep reporting them until something happens. This is unacceptable behaviour and should be dealt with. If I remember rightly, the insurance claim form may ask for details of any communication with the other driver. If so, then mention the phone calls on here as well. This will do no harm to your friend's case.