Whos fault was this accident

zedster4

zedster4

Zorg Addict
East Anglian Crew
Joined
Jan 19, 2012
Points
59
Hi, guys,

A friend of mine at work had yet another road accident and I was wondering who is at fault. He was traveling on a duel carriage way and entered a roundabout in the outside lane intending to leave the roundabout in the outside lane as well, effectively going straight over. Now, the person on the inside lane decided they didn't want to leave at the same exit and continued to go round, albeit on the inside lane. All this resulted in them hitting into my friends car.
who do you think was at fault here? I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Bazza (Zedster) :coolsteer)
 
I would say the guy on the inside lane but watch the insurance company go for knock for knock
 
Am I missing something here? How did they manage to hit?
I work in the insurance industry
Make sure your mate says he is not at fault
 
The way they used to show how to use a roundabout on TV years ago said you should only use the left lane to leave at the first exit. ANY other exits should be accessed from the right lane and moving to the left lane 1 (ONE) exit before the one you need to take. Your friend was definitely not in the wrong @zedster4
On a similar vein, Dave (@Grumpy) told me on Saturday (as he does driver training) that my N/S door mirror is trained too low to the floor to give a good view to the rear and if an insurance assessor saw it they could use that as a reason to not pay out, alter the payout etc. BUT, and this is a big but, you do not need to even have this mirror on your vehicle to pass on M.O.T. test, only the O/S door mirror AND the interior rear view mirror OR the N/S door mirror. However, if your car is a dual purpose vehicle (hatchback , estate car, car derived van etc.) you have to have both external mirrors to be legal. I found this out many years ago when I had a Mini traveller. Wish all the authorities sang from the same song book.

Tony.
 
Unless lane 1 was marked for left turn or straight ahead only I'm sure the insurance co. will go knock for knock.

Not what you want to hear I'm sure.
 
To be totally honest most roundabouts are a total free- for - all these days. As shown in the video I posted last week.

Tony.
 
As for your ns mirror being set to low Tony.
As Dave is taller than your self and your mirror is set for you Tony who is to say your mirror is set wrong.
If i change my back rest on my seat i have to change my mirror angle
 
Low Rider said:
As for your ns mirror being set to low Tony.
As Dave is taller than your self and your mirror is set for you Tony who is to say your mirror is set wrong.
If i change my back rest on my seat i have to change my mirror angle
Click to expand...

I have to agree with that comment Steve, as an M.O.T. tester when looking at the mirror(s) you only have to verify that they give a "view to the rear" , you cannot move the position of the mirror but you do have to ensure that the seat position can be moved and locked in position which again does contradict the other?

Tony.
 
It can depend on the roundabout, a colleague was in the same position as the guy in the inside lane and was going right around the roundabout and got hit by a person in the outside lane going straight over, but the signage and markings for going all the way around was for the inside lane (M4 M32 Junction) the person that hit him had left the M4 by mistake and was rejoining the M4, totally legal, my colleague was deemed to be in the right. The strange thing is there is no signage on the slip saying which lane is for the M4 if you have come from the M4.
 
I was taught that in the absence of signs that the left lane is for left and straight on and that right was for right.
It gets more complicated on dual carriageways where both lanes can be used for straight on and anyone turning right from the inside lane has to be aware that those on their right might but cutting across their path and they must exercise caution - they might not have been seen.
It's further complicated where white lines indicate which lane to exit the roundabout. Whose crossed a white line?
If the signs on entry show both lanes for straight on the guy on the left is clearly at fault, otherwise, it's likely to be knock for knock unless you can prove the guy on the left wasn't indicating to go right. However, I don't think indicating gives you the right to cut across the path of another vehicle (failing to yield to traffic from the right).
 
If the person on the inside was going right at the roundabout (past 12 o' clock) then IMO they are to blame 100%.

the-highway-code-rule-185.jpg


As the picture shown the car that hit your friend should have been in the right hand lane, picture above and text below taken from the highway code.

Highway Code said:
When taking an exit to the right or going full circle, unless signs or markings indicate otherwise
  • signal right and approach in the right-hand lane
  • keep to the right on the roundabout until you need to change lanes to exit the roundabout
  • signal left after you have passed the exit before the one you want.
When taking any intermediate exit, unless signs or markings indicate otherwise
  • select the appropriate lane on approach to and on the roundabout
  • you should not normally need to signal on approach
  • stay in this lane until you need to alter course to exit the roundabout
  • signal left after you have passed the exit before the one you want.
When there are more than three lanes at the entrance to a roundabout, use the most appropriate lane on approach and through it.
Click to expand...
 
the-highway-code-rule-185.webp
View attachment 37600 indicating doesnt really mean anything, a bit like giving someone a flash with your headlights, its just a signal of intent. yes it does seem like roundabouts have become a free for all, especialy those reps cars that think if i go into the inside lane i can cut accross the outside lane when i go straight on:mad: i dont have an issue here if its quite, JUST JOIN THE QUEUE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE:mad: there i feel better now:)

like the to88er in the green car, though here with 2 lanes it would be ok, but even with two lanes you should still follow the basic rule of thumb- the 12 oclock thingy.
 
Last edited:
Many factors on this, as stated, as a rule of thumb if you are going left or ahead it would be the inside lane. If going past the "12 O'Clock" the right hand lane would be used, however, this is all dependant on road markings as two lanes can be used for straight ahead. Lane etiquette is key and more often than not people in the inside lane fail to follow the lane markings on the roundabout or in absence, fail to follow the imaginary lane markings and cut across the path of lane 2 drivers making a pinch point for the driver also going ahead thus causing an accident. Even if going straight ahead you are required to indicate your intentions to exit at mid point of the exit before (most people don't). Without seeing the road layout and signs, difficult to say but I suspect the guy on the inside may be at fault if he's failed to follow lane etiquette on the roundabout and taken the "racing line". Many do.
 
Always under the impression that if going 90 or straight across stay in inside lane if going 270 take right hand lane until you move over at about 180 to take next exit. Seems to me both cars in wrong lane so knock for knock.
 
Have a look at this, red line is the direction the cars are travelling from, road marking indicate all 3 lanes are for going around the roundabout to the 9 oclock position, red circle point of accident, the car that hit my colleague was in the middle lane my colleague in the inside (right lane as you look at it) which was correct but the guy going back onto the M4 was also in the correct lane as both inside lanes are also for joining the M4 see the break in the lines at this point. I would have said knock for knock but thats not what happened, the markings are terrible at this location.
Capture.webp
 
I was taught not to over or under take on a roundabout, so you hold your position to the other cars just incase they cross in front of you
 
My view would be that if the driver on the inside lane found he was in the wrong lane and needed to keep going round, a driver in the middle lane that would have wanted to exit should abort the manoeuvre if it was blocked by the car on the inside and go round again. The guy on the inside may have been in the wrong lane for that exit but driving into him in a bid to take that exit is poor observation. Go round, avoid the incident and be 30 seconds late for where you're going. Everybody is happy, no incident. Not an accident as it's preventable.
 
NODZED said:
Have a look at this, red line is the direction the cars are travelling from, road marking indicate all 3 lanes are for going around the roundabout to the 9 oclock position, red circle point of accident, the car that hit my colleague was in the middle lane my colleague in the inside (right lane as you look at it) which was correct but the guy going back onto the M4 was also in the correct lane as both inside lanes are also for joining the M4 see the break in the lines at this point. I would have said knock for knock but thats not what happened, the markings are terrible at this location.
View attachment 37603
Click to expand...
IMO If your colleague was in the nearside lane (left hand side if you are sat in the car) and wishing to exit the roundabout at 9 o'clock then I would put the blame on your colleague for passing an open exit, your colleague should have used either the middle lane or the offside lane (right lane as you are sat in the car) the lines are just guidance to help multiple lanes of traffic move around the roundabout.
 
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