Ask Me Help Desk - Who is at fault?

Yesterday evening I had an accident at a mini-roundabout. The other driver is saying that the crash was my fault. I will explain what happened and could you please tell me who you think was at fault.

I was approaching a 4-arm mini roundabout and indicating to turn right. I stopped at give way marking and checked there was nothing approaching from the right. However, the visibility from where I was positioned is not great. There was nothing coming - from what I could see - so I pulled out. As I was about to turn the wheel, I saw a people carrier coming towards me, and he hit the front wheel on the drivers side. I believe he was traveling too fast to approach a roundabout and did not appear to brake, as no skid marks where found at the scene. The other driver also admitted being late for work. He said that I pulled out on hmi but surely if this was the case I would have hit him.

From my understanding, you have to give way to the right AND any cars already on the roundabout. I was already on the roundabout so surely the crash was his fault.
What do you think? Thanks x

Where are you; are you in the US? Asking because here, all roundabouts flow to the right and you said you checked to make sure no one was coming from the right. Yet you say you were hit on the driver's side... So are you in a country that drives on the left side of the road?

What's important here is how far you were pulled out into the intersection because this shows who "owned" the space. You say that the other driver hit your front wheel - so it doesn't sound like you owned the space. You said you looked but your visibility was limited and you essentially proceeded 'blindly'. It sounds like you were at fault based on what you've said.

Did you file a claim with your insurance company? They have accident investigators whose job is to gauge fault based on the damages.

I'm in the UK.

At the roundabout in question, my give way line is a lot further back than the giveway line he would have come to. This would mean I would have to travel a lot further than him to get to the point we crashed.

Yes, I did proceed 'blindly', however, the other driver had a very good view of the roundabout and all exits. If I pulled out and still didn't see him, that would mean he was quite far away from the roundabout and would have had a really good view of me. If he was travelling at an appropriate speed, he would have been able to brake when he saw me and would have avoided an accident. But, because he was travelling at a speed inapproprate for the roundabout, he did not have chance to brake.

Will the insurance company take this into consideration?

Quote:

Originally Posted by misskirsty

I'm in the UK.

At the roundabout in question, my give way line is a lot further back than the giveway line he would have come to. This would mean i would have to travel alot further than him to get to the point we crashed.

Yes, i did proceed 'blindly', however, the other driver had a very good view of the roundabout and all exits. If i pulled out and still didnt see him, that would mean he was quite far away from the roundabout and would have had a really good view of me. If he was travelling at an appropiate speed, he would have been able to brake when he saw me and would have avoided an accident. But, because he was travelling at a speed inapproprate for the roundabout, he did not have chance to brake.

Will the insurance company take this into consideration?

I'm not in the UK so I don't know what the insurance companies will do where you are.

However, in the US - New York State, where I'm an accident investigator - if you pulled out in front of the other driver, you are at fault. I don't know how you would prove contributory negligence on his part in the form of excessive speed unless someone had (literally) a radar detector.

It is your responsibility not to enter a roadway until it is safe.