Given our extensive experience in dealing with road accident claims successfully, you come to appreciate more and more just how easy it is to end up in an accident. In fact, I personally notice potential hazards on the roads better than I used to having given advice and taken on the claims of countless victims in road accidents.
I also find that the law of averages, for some unknown reason, often applies to any near misses I’m involved in. I recall a few months ago I was almost a victim of 4 road accidents in one week alone! Well, it’s happened again the other day – I had two near misses in just one night, which really shows how easy it is to become a victim of a road accident!
My experiences the other night were, funnily enough, both similar in circumstance; and it got me thinking about an important area of road regulation: Lanes! Unfortunately, it seems there are still some drivers out there that do not appreciate the importance of changing and merging lanes safely:
Merging Lanes
I’ll start with the obvious one, which is based on my near miss last Sunday. You may have noticed in cities, particular on some inner ring roads that have been formed in to two lane roads, there are parts before and after junctions that include a third lane, and sections where the road is merged back in to one lane (probably due to surrounding buildings making it impossible to change a two way road in to dual lanes on either side). If you decide to use that third lane, or you realise that your lane on the right is going to merge in to the left one, you should know how to go about it!
If you’re in the lane that is going to merge in to an existing lane, any vehicles already in the other lane have the right of way. So, you should ensure it is genuinely safe to merge over. If you see that the gap is closing, you do not (referring to one of my near misses) speed up in an attempt to merge through the closing gap recklessly and dangerously. If the gap is closing, merge behind the vehicle already in the lane (as long as it’s safe to do so) rather than trying to speed past. So, if someone tries to fly past you on the outside lane as the gap is closing and they crash in to you – you may have a claim.
Roundabouts
Now this is a common one. Personally, I find most roundabouts are quite easy to navigate using the lanes. But there are drivers out there that end up in the wrong lane, panic, and cause an accident. If you suddenly realise you are in the wrong lane and are going to end up going straight on rather than being able to turn right (referring to my experience the other day), you do not indicate and start moving over to the next lane unless it’s safe to do so.
I have no idea what the driver was thinking when he / she literally just started moving over. Perhaps they expected I would then move over in to the next lane for them – which is crazy! Thankfully, rather than moving over in to my car, which is what the driver was seemingly going to do, they swerved back and ended up on the road their lane was designated for. Granted: if you can see the lane is clear, you can try and move over. But if the lane you need to move in to is full of cars, you cannot simply indicate and start moving over in the hope other cars will make room for you – in many circumstances, there is no room to make.
The best advice I can give anyone is just to always take extra care and never take any risks when it comes to changing lanes. And if someone causes an accident with your car because they cannot appreciate the importance of taking care when changing lanes, speak to an expert independent injury lawyer as its likely you have a successful claim for compensation.
