Been involved in a rear-ender. I was turning right from a minor road onto a short dual-carriageway section with one lane on each side.
There was a large section between the carriageways for waiting to turn right, enough space for two cars easily, so I followed another car across the one carriageway to the centre.
The car in front stopped at the line and waited for a gap to turn right. I stopped behind them. You could see approaching traffic on the major road for at least 200m, probably up to 270m (according to Google Maps measurement tool). Speed limit on the major road was 50mph.
When a gap in approaching traffic happened, the car in front started pulling out onto the carriageway, passing over the lines. I started moving forward to approach the line.
A vehicle appeared in the distance (250-270m away) and the vehicle in front partway out of the junction emergency braked. The approaching vehicle would have taken over 10 seconds to get to our location at 50mph (and it looked to be going slower than that).
I was already rolling and braked too. The road was damp from earlier rain and there was diesel/oil on the junction - I skidded into the back of him.
I reversed and pulled to the side of the waiting area, as did the other vehicle. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures or proof they crossed the line and emergency braked, although the pictures do show how close they are pulled up to the line and imply he must have been over the line.
They had a towbar and while it did some damage to my car (I can handle that), luckily for them prevented damage to their vehicle bar a 2 inch crack in the plastic bumper.
To save the fun of insurance claims, we agreed they should get a repair quote.
Now they've come back with a quote over £500 for two new panels and the labour to fit them - for a 2 inch crack that would be unnoticeable if glued.
What to do?
Do I tell them it's ridiculous? Do I go straight to insurance?
What are my chances of the insurance company realising/deciding it's not 100% my fault?
To top things off, when they opened their door to drive off they whacked my wingmirror and cracked it! Have their paint marks to show it!
Many thanks in advance!
There was a large section between the carriageways for waiting to turn right, enough space for two cars easily, so I followed another car across the one carriageway to the centre.
The car in front stopped at the line and waited for a gap to turn right. I stopped behind them. You could see approaching traffic on the major road for at least 200m, probably up to 270m (according to Google Maps measurement tool). Speed limit on the major road was 50mph.
When a gap in approaching traffic happened, the car in front started pulling out onto the carriageway, passing over the lines. I started moving forward to approach the line.
A vehicle appeared in the distance (250-270m away) and the vehicle in front partway out of the junction emergency braked. The approaching vehicle would have taken over 10 seconds to get to our location at 50mph (and it looked to be going slower than that).
I was already rolling and braked too. The road was damp from earlier rain and there was diesel/oil on the junction - I skidded into the back of him.
I reversed and pulled to the side of the waiting area, as did the other vehicle. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures or proof they crossed the line and emergency braked, although the pictures do show how close they are pulled up to the line and imply he must have been over the line.
They had a towbar and while it did some damage to my car (I can handle that), luckily for them prevented damage to their vehicle bar a 2 inch crack in the plastic bumper.
To save the fun of insurance claims, we agreed they should get a repair quote.
Now they've come back with a quote over £500 for two new panels and the labour to fit them - for a 2 inch crack that would be unnoticeable if glued.
What to do?
Do I tell them it's ridiculous? Do I go straight to insurance?
What are my chances of the insurance company realising/deciding it's not 100% my fault?
To top things off, when they opened their door to drive off they whacked my wingmirror and cracked it! Have their paint marks to show it!
Many thanks in advance!