I class myself as a good driver so I’ve been able to dodge many accidents in my time that have almost been caused by other drivers. For this one, we’ll talk vehicles switching lanes on roundabouts.
So I was driving home after a pub lunch yesterday when a driver in a lane to the left of me needed to go right. To go right, you need to be in my lane, which was also a lane for going straight on. Essentially, had the other driver had carried on, he / she would have come off the wrong exit with me.
So what do you do? Well, any sensible driver may attempt lane change when it’s safe – but if it isn’t, you probably need to just suck it up and come off the wrong exit.
What you should not do is just start moving in to another lane, which is what happened with me. Luckily I spotted it and was able to slam on and hit my horn, but it was a near miss.
Liability
Ultimately, if a driver changes lanes, they have the primary duty of care to make sure that the lane they are moving in to is totally clear. If it isn’t clear, a driver shouldn’t be moving over!
If you are correctly proceeding in the correct lane like I was, and another driver cuts you up or merges straight in to a collision with you, you should have a successful claim for personal injury compensation. The driver liable is the one that merges negligently when it was too dangerous to do so.
Are there any excuses?
Not normally – although it all does depend on the case. Some drivers may argue they were indicating, but that still doesn’t give them the right to just start moving over.
One such scenario where liability could be split is where two drivers merge in to the same lane at the same time. Perhaps two drivers merged in to a lane between them and hit each other – both can be seen to be at fault.
What to do?
Call us on 0800 634 75 75 for free and friendly legal advice about making a roundabout accident claim for compensation. If the other driver was at fault, you should have a winning claim if you have been injured as a result.