To everyone saying that its Westie’s fault, that’s not necessarily entirely true. Good to see Kaos’s opinion on this one, but to my mind, you owe a duty of care not to do stupid stuff on the road, especially where people’s attention may not be on you. So stopping suddenly to rubber-neck is not something you should be doing, and not compatible with your duties to other road users. In short, even if it is Westie’s fault, if there was no good reason to stop, a considerable amount of the damage might actually be attributable to her behaviour. And it is not a forgone conclusion that it is Westie’s fault, given the circumstances.
And get the cop’s details from the Met. He might have seen something, even if he only saw the aftermath, he could be a witness as to the consistency of her statement as to why she stopped.
Normal 0 false false false EN-GB JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:“Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:“”; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:“Calibri”,“sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}I had a low speed accident, similar thing, I did a lifesaver as I was
about to overtake a car, on a busy multi-lane road, which for no
apparent reason slowed down whilst I was looking over my shoulder.
I managed to hit the brakes hard and only hit the back of the car
quite gently, mostly with my left fist and handlebar. Put a nice dent
in the boot from my armoured glove.
We exchanged phone numbers, I admitted it was my fault. She got
a reasonable estimate and I paid cash for repair of the car. I got
her to sign a letter saying the cash was for full and final settlement
of all costs following our crash.
Morals of that story…
be careful when doing lifesaverssome people can be decent/sensibleyou do not need to go via insurance.
THANKS FOR THE COMMENTS SO FAR, I JUST HAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT SHE WILL TAKE THE CAR TO A MERC DEALERS AND IM GONNA GET SCREWED ON COSTS. As regards my own damage im hopeful that it is only the fron rim and the mudguard, but obviously a closer inspection will tell. I have put forward my case to my insurers to see how they can help, the lady was very decent and informed me that I can dispute the claim that she puts in , I have got a CAD ref number from the copper that we spoke to and he didn’t see what happened.
I have also applied to see the CCTV for the accident, so will see what that can provide.
Unfortunately not - he should have left enough room to stop regardless of her apparent inept driving. Not the news Westie would want to hear but nevertheless correct.
Glad to hear you came off without personal injury, for my two penneth
She can’t just slam on the brakes and expect you to be 100% liable.
Assuming she is not denying a sudden (Emergency) stop, was it reasonable of her to do so? There are two questions here where the Courts will apportion blame by
What was her reason to carry out an Emergency Stop?Is her reason for carrying out that Emergency Stop reasonable excuse to risk a collision?Unless you, or you legal advisors, can come up with a Case Study of a similar incident then only The Courts can decide on the percentage liability. That said there are many Case Studies of rear end shunts where liability has been awarded any where from 100% either way to any permutation of split liability in between.
well speculation is one thing, but lets see what happens, thankfully looks like the bike has come off okish so the wheel is buckled, and the mudguard broken, forks are fine as is headstock etc, frame seems good, looks like the mercs bumper took most of the brunt.
Also in the case of O’Hara -v- Central Scottish Motor Traction Co Ltd it was said that pulling up suddenly and violently is prima facie evidence of negligence.
What do they say old law is good law.
This is only a pointer and legal advice will be needed to confirm if it still applies.
Unless I missed it I am not sure why she stopped so suddenly. Was it to look at the accident or was it because she had been looking at the accident and then realised traffic ahead of her had stopped so braked as well?
Matt - best scenario it seems - would be that you can prove some negligence on her part. But unless it is 100% against her (absolutely no chance of that imho) - you still lose your NCB and have to declare an ‘at fault’ claim when reinsuring. I went through a legal case (went 70:30 against me) only to learn at the end - that unless is was 100% in my favour - it made absolutely nil difference to me what share was decided against me.
It’s a f*gger - but that’s the reality of where you are at I’m afraid.
*No difference - other than I got part (30%) of my excess paid to me - i.e. The 200 on my excess which I had paid ref the damage on my bike - her insurer coughed up 30% of that. (£60)
so the wheel is buckled, and the mudguard broken, forks are fine as is headstock etc, frame seems good, looks like the mercs bumper took most of the brunt.