Cut off by a lorry, any advice

[Ben125]

I was going down the over taking lane on my way home from belfast a while back , a big 40 footer mustn't have checked his mirrors or just didn't see me and cut out , i slammed the brakes on but didn't stop quick enough and we collided. it was all the back of his lorry cutting across the front of my car , cars is absolutely ruined. His insurance company are saying its my fault cause i went into the back of him.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation or have any advice on what i could do ? I just want the money for my car back really. cheers

 

[pablo]

just let your insurance fight for you i guess

 

[Darren91]

It's times like this you need a dashcam

 

[stevieturbo]

And of course to take plenty of photos at the scene showing ALL damage to both vehicles, any debris on the road etc etc.

There is absolutely no excuse for not taking photos, lets face it, who doesnt have a camera phone etc these days ?

The damage will tell clearly whether you ran into the back of him, or whether he side swiped you.

 

[Wild Thing]

More info required, was it daytime/night, weather conditions, if bad visability did you have your lights on. No disrespect but some motorists expect lorry drivers to be physic gods

 

[Daz500]

If he hit you side on, easy enough but it sounds like he cut into your lane, reduced your braking distance and then you drove into the back off him? Correct? If so, that sounds like your going to get shafted as it'll be hard to prove you weren't paying attention. Do you have any side damage?

On the motorway, there should be CCTV cameras recording. Not sure how you can get access to the footage though?

 

[Chris_E90]

As somebody who drives '40 footers' im a bit baffled, im not saying lorry wasnt at fault but we dont exactly 'cut out' it takes more than 5 seconds to shift from one lane to another and a lot more depending on what your loaded with so although he did cut out on you did you not notice this in time to react or were you pushing on that hard you couldnt get stopped in time?

Sounds like its gonna be a tricky 1 to settle, just doesnt sound as clean cut as lorry pulled out and you made contact. Lorry definatly shouldnt have pulled out but then neither should the 20 odd cars minimum that do it to us on a daily basis

 

[stevieturbo]

On the motorway, there should be CCTV cameras recording. Not sure how you can get access to the footage though?

Any cameras here are for viewing only, last I heard they do not record and keep the images.

Chances of them giving you access to them if they were recorded is pretty slim anyway, plus judging by the Traffic Watch cameras online....they'd be pointing some random direction anyway

 

[purplea4T]

If it is the rear of his container that's caught you when you were completing an overtake then he is at fault. I've been involved in an accidents like this in personal life and in work and it is has been the fault of the other driver pulling out whilst I've been committed to overtakes on both single and dual carriageways three times out of three.
As you said, its the fault of the driver not checking mirrors before coming out of their lane. Push your insurance company to fight this for you, you haven't driven into the rear of a stationary vehicle, you have, from what I've read in your post had a vehicle drive where you have priority and subsequently struck it.

 

[Ben125]

I wish i did have a dash cam now ! It was night time with a bit of rain, yeah i had all my lights on etc , i just think he didn't check/didn't see me. i was beside him when he started to pull in so i slammed the brakes on but didn't get stopped in time so we collided. Yeah purplea4t thats exactly what happened ! although its hard to get the evidence to prove this i guess, solicitor reckons theres not enough evidence to take it to court

 

[purplea4T]

I wouldn't be worried about going to court, more so having a claim on your insurance that you are at fault or even 50/50. Have you informed your own insurer and asked them for advice?

 

[O.C.D]

i'm a truck driver myself first of all.... did the trucker have his right indicator on if not he could have fell asleep at the wheel and drifted into the other lane then the impact woke him ....just a thought. Hope all turns out well for you mate.

 

[Eamo_vxr]

I wish i did have a dash cam now ! It was night time with a bit of rain, yeah i had all my lights on etc , i just think he didn't check/didn't see me. i was beside him when he started to pull in so i slammed the brakes on but didn't get stopped in time so we collided. Yeah purplea4t thats exactly what happened ! although its hard to get the evidence to prove this i guess, solicitor reckons theres not enough evidence to take it to court

You would have to have some sort of side damage , it's not physically possible to hit the back of him without your error, if your going the appropriate speed and paying due care and attention.

I'm not saying that's what happened but that's the way they will see it.
side damage = his fault
Front damage = your fault

 

[Johnpete]

If the lorry was pulling into the lane then you would have more damage on one side of the front as you would have hit the lorry at an angle. If it was pulled in fully and you hit it square on I doubt the blame is partially yours.

 

[Cruising R32]

Post some photos of the damage to your car and the truck, it would be a lot easier for people to understand and picture what happened...

If you were over taking and doing 70mph and the truck was moving along at between 50-60mph before he pulled out, he would have really had to serve out sharply for you to hit him straigh on to the rear...

Plus if I read it right, you said you were along side him as he started to move out into your lane, so how did you hit the rear of the truck?

If it did happen that way, and the rear corner of his trailer hit the front of your car as you were braking, then you should have horizontal scraping across the front of your car rather than just crush damage.
So I would imagine it would be handy enough to prove he pulled out in front of you giving you no time to avoid the collision...

More information is definitely needed if you want peoples opinions and thoughts.

 

[zafturbo]

Did you hit the drivers side of the trailor I.e tail light ect ,rear driver side of crash bar or did you go straight into the back of him square on.As said previously if you went right into the back of him you could find it very hard to prove you were not in the wrong .You have to take into consideration that the truck cannot change lane fully in 1-2 seconds and will infact take considerably more time than this to get fully into your lane and the insurance will defo push the case that you in fact went into the back of him under his braking and you not paying due care and attention.i really hope this is not the case for you and that you get it sorted quickly and that you get your car sorted ASAP.truck driver

 

[Sailorbaz]

Another thing to think about, Did you use your horn to let him know your presence in case he didn't see you?

 

[Coog]

Another thing to think about, Did you use your horn to let him know your presence in case he didn't see you?

Seriously?

Sounds like a right pain. Keep us updated.

 

[Sailorbaz]

Another thing to think about, Did you use your horn to let him know your presence in case he didn't see you?

Seriously?

I'm not trying to be a *#nt here but he maybe genuinely didn't see you, and sounding your horn to let him know your presence might have averted said collision.

Contrary to popular belief but that's what your horn is actually for, not to say hello to your mate in the middle of Magherafelt Main Street.

From the Highway Code:-
112
The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence. Never sound your horn aggressively. You MUST NOT use your horn

• while stationary on the road
• when driving in a built-up area between the hours of 11.30 pm and 7.00 am

except when another road user poses a danger.
Law CUR reg 99

https://www.gov.uk/general-rules-all-drivers-riders-103-to-158/other-stopping-procedures-107-to-112

 

[weeloaney]

So are you saying that anytime you passing a lorry or other vehicles for that matter you use your horn?

 

[pablo]

I think the point was that if you hadnt time to avoid hitting the lorry you probably wouldnt have time to sound the horn. as youd be kakking your pants.

 

[Coog]

I think the point was that if you hadnt time to avoid hitting the lorry you probably wouldnt have time to sound the horn. as youd be kakking your pants.

Well there's that, the fact that the lorry driver won't hear you and the action of tooting the horn every time you pass something on the road.

 

[Lyons]

Is it the front of your car that's damaged, or the side? If its the front and you hit the back of him, I would imagine it won't go in your favour I'm afraid.

 

[Sailorbaz]

So are you saying that anytime you passing a lorry or other vehicles for that matter you use your horn?

Lol no. But as soon as it becomes apparent that he was moving into your lane and hadn't seen you, an option could have been to use your horn. Hey, I only saying what the insurance company might say. I'm on your side and agree he shouldn't have pulled over into your lane onto you.

Well there's that, the fact that the lorry driver won't hear you and the action of tooting the horn every time you pass something on the road.

Why wouldn't the lorry driver hear you? Lack of care and attention?

I won't comment on sounding the horn every time you pass something.

 

[Coog]

Why wouldn't the lorry driver hear you? Lack of care and attention?

I won't comment on sounding the horn every time you pass something.

lol yeah of course. He did swing into a lane with a car in it. The lorry driver is 40 foot away with a trailer in between, sitting over a huge diesel engine in a cab listening to Johnny Cash at volume 11. He'll never hear you.

Plus unless you're into the habit of blurting the horn every time you pass something (just in case they don't see you) I suspect that tooting the horn will be a little late in the game if the back-end of trailer is on the way out. Plus he won't hear you anyway