Collision

cianmg

So two weeks ago I was reversing out of my drive way I appeared to have no obstructions and continued to reverse at a slower speed then usual less then walking speed.
Suddenly there was the sound of a horn and the sound of clashing metal. I was half way across the road. the other driver hit me while he was in the wrong lane. He had been delivering for a take away and had been driving very quickly for an estate. His bumper was damaged and there was no obvious damage to my car

He has now this week made a claim on my insurance for damage to his car.
I would take the blame but the speed I was going its not like I came out of no where I was clearly on the road within a safe stopping distance for him and the estate is full of children playing on the road and that speed is simply unacceptable
My insurance company said it is my fault as he had right of way and there is no proof of him speeding and even though he wasn't insured commercially they still want to hand money to him
Is there anyway out of this? thanks

alphabeat

your first mistake was reversing out of a driveway onto a road .

CiniO

cianmg wrote: »

I would take the blame but the speed I was going its not like I came out of no where I was clearly on the road within a safe stopping distance for him

If you reverse you have to give way to other road users.
Even if you were reversing slowly, he could have assumed that you are going to stop and let him go, while he had right of way.

and the estate is full of children playing on the road and that speed is simply unacceptable

If his speed was not above speed limit, there's not much he can be blamed for.

even though he wasn't insured commercially they still want to hand money to him

If it was your fault and your insurer is paying to him, it doesn't really matter how was he insured, or if he was insured at all.

Noccy_Mondy

Always reverse into a driveway. Makes things a lot easier and gives you a better view when leaving. That goes for everyone. But sure that's no use to you now op!

Tigger

cianmg wrote: »

continued to reverse at a slower speed then usual less then walking speed.

slower than you normally reverse out ?
may i ask why on this particular occasion you were going slower than usual?

Suddenly there was the sound of a horn and the sound of clashing metal. I was half way across the road. the other driver hit me while he was in the wrong lane. He had been delivering for a take away and had been driving very quickly for an estate. His bumper was damaged and there was no obvious damage to my car

how do you know how fast he was going
if you took ages to reverse out then he had loads of time to arrive

He has now this week made a claim on my insurance for damage to his car.
I would take the blame but the speed I was going its not like I came out of no where I was clearly on the road within a safe stopping distance for him and the estate is full of children playing on the road and that speed is simply unacceptable
My insurance company said it is my fault as he had right of way and there is no proof of him speeding and even though he wasn't insured commercially they still want to hand money to him
Is there anyway out of this? thanks

i'm afraid not

ironclaw

There was a massive thread here a while back about the definition of 'roadway' and 'main road' etc etc and when and where you could reverse out. Its generally considered illegal to reverse on to a 'main road' but honestly if you want to get into it, I recommend a solicitor who is an expert in the RTA. But for me, you should always be reversing into a car park space or your house, because it completely removes any ambiguity and makes any case far more clear cut. And all for the case of perhaps 5 extra seconds to complete a reverse manoeuvre.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057111780

keithclancy

Unfortunately when you are reversing, its similar to the "He ran into the back of me" line.

Not much hope I would think

Uriel.

Noccy_Mondy wrote: »

Always reverse into a driveway. Makes things a lot easier and gives you a better view when leaving. That goes for everyone. But sure that's no use to you now op!

Can be exceptionally difficult if not impossible to do when on a busy main road for example.

Even in a bloody car park sure - good distance before pulling into car park space, indicate, then stick on the hazard lights, positioned in middle of road, drive past space to reverse in, car behind pulls right up to behind you. Happens all the time.

Now try it on a main road at rush hour, with cars behind you. Ideally you reverse in, reality is often so very much different unfortunately.

Chris_Heilong

OP as some of the helpful posts have mentioned, when reversing on to a road you must give right of way, the only thing in your favor is he was on the wrong side of the road, however if you did not photograph this then there is little evidence to prove this. If your insurance company has already mentioned

djimi

I suppose the question could be asked how, if he was driving at an appropriate speed, did he not have time to see the OP and stop? Assuming the OP wasnt reversing just beyond a blind corner or something. If the OP was most of the way out of their drive at the time then I think its fair to say the road was not clear for the other car to attempt to proceed.

wonski

djimi wrote: »

I suppose the question could be asked how, if he was driving at an appropriate speed, did he not have time to see the OP and stop? Assuming the OP wasnt reversing just beyond a blind corner or something. If the OP was most of the way out of their drive at the time then I think its fair to say the road was not clear for the other car to attempt to proceed.

Could be cars parked up or anything realy, it was an estate.
No insurance company is going to investigate this really - right of way is very simple rule, and the damage doesn't seem to be of big value...

ironclaw

Uriel. wrote: »

Can be exceptionally difficult if not impossible to do when on a busy main road for example.
.

Which by the letter of the law it would be illegal to reverse onto such a road. No one was put in a queue, made draw from a lottery and given no choice of where to live. The vast majority of people choose where they wish to live and take factors such as road, noise, neighbours, work, commute etc into consideration.

Please don't use that as an excuse because it isn't. If anything, someone living on such a road should be even more aware of their surroundings and the danger of reversing. Its effectively driving with your eyes half shut!

Uriel.

ironclaw wrote: »

Which by the letter of the law it would be illegal to reverse onto such a road. No one was put in a queue, made draw from a lottery and given no choice of where to live. The vast majority of people choose where they wish to live and take factors such as road, noise, neighbours, work, commute etc into consideration.

Please don't use that as an excuse because it isn't. If anything, someone living on such a road should be even more aware of their surroundings and the danger of reversing. Its effectively driving with your eyes half shut!

where the f&&k is that coming from?
Please tell me where I disputed the the situation of legal liability in respect of reversing onto a main road.

biko

So you were reversing out from a driveway in an estate onto an estate road?
Anyway, it will be deemed your fault as you didn't see him (whether he was flying or took a chance to sneak past doesn't matter much for your insurer).
Take it on the chin and start reversing into the driveway instead.

ianobrien

OP, you entered a roadway and didn't yield to traffic on the road so it's your fault I'm afraid. The fact that the person who was on the road was in the "wrong lane" is immaterial as you didn't yield to traffic on that lane.

ironclaw

Uriel. wrote: »

where the f&&k is that coming from?
Please tell me where I disputed the the situation of legal liability in respect of reversing onto a main road.

Here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=88178020&postcount=7

And also have a look at that thread plus the additional (massive) one here from a few weeks back. Its fairly clear cut. Your original post kinda made the 'ah sure its grand' excuse because it might be hard to do or inconvenient to reverse in a given situation. I'm just making the point that no one is told where to live, and if the law is the law, then there are no excuses.

The issue, at least as I see it, is what the definition of a 'major road' versus 'another road' In my opinion, if you live on a major road then its fairly clear, reversing out is illegal. And if it isn't illegal, its plain stupid driving as you cannot see. Change that to an estate where it can be reasonable to expect cars to reverse out of driveways, then it gets a little foggy. And then you have the whole debate of is a 'driveway' actually a road etc etc. Its all on the other thread, so knock yourself out.

Uriel.

ironclaw wrote: »

Here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=88178020&postcount=7

And also have a look at that thread plus the additional (massive) one here from a few weeks back. Its fairly clear cut. Your original post kinda made the 'ah sure its grand' excuse because it might be hard to do or inconvenient to reverse in a given situation. I'm just making the point that no one is told where to live, and if the law is the law, then there are no excuses.

The issue, at least as I see it, is what the definition of a 'major road' versus 'another road' In my opinion, if you live on a major road then its fairly clear, reversing out is illegal. And if it isn't illegal, its plain stupid driving as you cannot see. Change that to an estate where it can be reasonable to expect cars to reverse out of driveways, then it gets a little foggy. And then you have the whole debate of is a 'driveway' actually a road etc etc. Its all on the other thread, so knock yourself out.

Sigh. My post never dealt with the issue or reversing out of a driveway. I thought that was clear.