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Most of us, at least those of us who drive, will have practised the emergency stop. Its part of learning to drive after all. But the question is when should it be applied and in what circumstances would it be unreasonable to perform an emergency stop?

Clearly an emergency stop is required and is reasonable in the case of an emergency, such as if a child or person ran out into the road.
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If you know the basic rules of the road, you should know that when you are emerging from a parked position, you need to make sure that the road is clear in both directions so that you don’t pull out on anybody. That means checking your blind spots as well as your mirrors with a good gaze over your shoulder, and looking ahead to make sure the entire road is clear.

So what happens if you are happily driving along and another driver ignorantly pulls out of a parked position and collides with your car? In theory you have a fairly straightforward claim for compensation. The damage areas to your car should show that your version of events is correct, and it’s always wise to whip out your smart phone and take some snaps at the scene of the accident, and call the police if necessary. If there are any witnesses to the accident, please make sure you take their information.
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Normally it can be fairly easy to tell who is at fault in a straightforward road traffic accident. However, in some cases like accidents on a roundabout or a head on collision, the damage areas on both vehicles may not clearly show who is to blame. I’d like to think people would be honest and admit if they were at fault, but we all know we don’t live in an ideal world. As such, you can end up in a situation where the other driver won’t admit liability for the accident even though they were at fault.

There are commonly two scenarios when this kind of thing happens. The first is that you instruct a quality personal injury lawyer like us to fight for your claim for compensation. As specialists in personal injury claiming, we can instruct experts and obtain all sorts of evidence to help prove your case. Make the claim as quickly as you can as there may even be CCTV covering the surrounding area that we can obtain. However, most places get rid of footage after a mere few weeks so we need to secure it as quickly as possible.
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Most crossings are governed by the Zebra, Pelican and Puffin Crossing Regulations and General Directions 1997. This piece of legislation isn’t particularly “well known” however it contains important provisions if you do have an accident that occurs on one of the included crossings.

In this blog I will focus upon zebra crossings as these are usually more prone to accidents as they are not regulated by traffic lights but just the “zebra markings” on the floor and commonly the yellow beacons.

Whilst pedestrian crossings are clearly an appropriate place for pedestrians to cross, they do not provide an absolute right of way for a pedestrian. Therefore as expressed in the Highway Code it is imperative that pedestrians still take vigilant steps to ensure the area if safe prior to stepping out. Therefore there is some responsibility on the pedestrian to judge whether a speeding car is going to stop at the crossing. However, in these types of claims a number of factors can affect where blame is held to lie.
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Normally you will end up suffering with whiplash after a road traffic accident; unless it was serious and caused you multiple bodily injuries. For the purpose of this article I’m going to stick with whiplash.

Some people are lucky and their whiplash symptoms will completely resolve after a few days. For others, you could be suffering for weeks, months, or even years. There is no miracle cure for whiplash – the pain and symptoms can be managed with pain killers and anti-inflammatory medication, but sometimes it takes more than just a few pills to recover from this sort of injury. That’s where we come in!

We offer the whole package for a whiplash claim – we will settle your claim for the highest amount, and we will deal with your vehicle hire and repair needs, and private medical care as well. We can arrange private treatment to help you recover from your injuries at a much faster rate. This is great for you for two reasons – first you get to recover quicker, and secondly you kind of have to take treatment if it’s needed or offered as you have a duty to mitigate your losses. That means you must do all you can to recover as quickly as you can rather than just suffering on and on needlessly.
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Given that road accidents are so common, I can normally tell you that, statistically, the average minor whiplash claim settles for around £2,500. The bracket for minor whiplash, which is where most people will be, is between £1,000 – £5,000.

However, motorbike injuries are of course normally far worse.
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You know what – I’m sick to death of potholes on the road! One cost me £200 in damage in January, so I’m even more wary about potholes on the road. I’m constantly dodging them! But as is commonly the case, it’s not possible to avoid every single one. I cringe whenever I feel the dip and hear the bang of driving straight over another damned pothole!

But it’s not just vehicle damage you have to worry about in certain situations when it comes to driving over a huge gaping hole in the road. It’s very easy to end up with a whiplash injury as well as doing some damage to your car. Hitting a pothole at speed will cause your car to suddenly and violently jolt. The instinct to brake may also kick in afterwards as well, or you may lose control of the car if the hole has bust a tyre or damage your vehicle.

If you feel stiffness and pain in the neck, back, and shoulder area, usually around 12 – 24 hours after the accident, you may well be suffering from whiplash caused by driving over the hole. You should see a doctor as soon as possible and explain the accident to them so your medical records can show a record of what has happened.
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Potholes are everywhere at the moment – mainly because of the unpredictable weather we seem to be having at the moment. However, can you claim compensation if you are unfortunate enough to injure yourself by tripping and falling on them?

Although you may be entitled to claim it is important to make you aware that these can be very difficult cases to win. This is mainly because it is unreasonable to expect the local authority to know whenever a pothole appears and to run to it immediately and repair it- they cannot stand all day watching the roads (apparently they have other things to do). Therefore it can all come down to evidence!

As the claimant you have to prove that the part of the highway where the accident occurred was not reasonably safe. (You may notice the term “reasonable” comes into play a lot here but unfortunately there isn’t any sure fire definition it will come down to individual circumstances.) So in general when will it be considered that a highway will not be “reasonably safe”?
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Ultimately as a passenger you normally have a guaranteed compensation claim so long as a collision took place. As a passenger, unless you did anything daft like yanked the handbrake or barked in the drivers face and put them off, you can’t really be held responsible when you have no control over the vehicle or the collision. As an innocent passenger, someone else is at fault, so you normally have a guaranteed claim.

As a passenger, you have the same rights as any innocent driver to make a claim for compensation. Don’t think you have no right just because you don’t own any of the vehicles involved – you’re still covered by the insurers!
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We take on a lot of road accident claims involving car parks; they’re extremely common. From people pulling out of spaces without looking (usually reversing), or people not paying enough due care and attention to pedestrians, we’ve seen it all!

From the perspective of a driver, there is an increased duty to look out for pedestrians in a car park. It’s obvious that car parks will be full of people walking in between cars with shopping, and it’s expected that there will be mums trying to juggle a trolley load of shopping together with screaming kids who are running around and generally hating being there! The Highway Code normally stipulates that in situations where pedestrians are likely to be, the driver has an increased duty of care.

As such, if you have been hit by a driver who has not been paying enough attention in a car park, it’s likely we can help you out with a claim for personal injury compensation. Even at low speeds being hit by a car can do some pretty serious damage, which is why we offer the whole package – we recover compensation for your injuries, as well as losses like lost earnings or medical expenses, and we will try and assist with private medical care funded by the other side right from the start as well.
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