Accident: Advice needed urgently

Just been out on the SV and had an elderly (read 80!) year old woman driver pull out on me at a junction. Traffic stopped on opposite side of road, so she leaves side road to join traffic going opposite direction to me and pulls right in front of me. Hit her lower bumper head on at about 20mph. Front tyre appears to have taken impact and there's no obvious damage (ridden bike back it seems fine). Anyway, she's given me her insurance details (SAGA) and name etc, i've given her my name, address, tel no. She is adamant i am at fault because the traffic going in other direction had stopped to let her out and therefore so should I?!, tried to explain she was at fault at which point she told me to close the car door as she was leaving. I wanted to call Police to determine my innocence but she left the scene. She is expecting my insurance to pay for the new bumper etc etc. Where do i stand? Called my insurance company (Express) to inform them and ask advice and they say i should give her the details and they will argue case for me as a 'non-fault' claim. Lots of witnesses but no-one stopped so there's no statements and she never bothered to ask if i was alright. Whats the likely outcome here guys, is this likely to go against me and is there any possible unseen damage to the bike?

Sorry to here about ur accident. From what it sounds like, its her fault. but its your word against hers, the best thing is to always call the police, even if she drives off, then who's the one that looks more trustworthy. Never leave it if you don't know who to blame, always call the police, Ive had a couple of accidents, and even though they have sometimes been ever so slightly bias towards the car driver they have to listen and make a descsion based on both statements and the evidence on the scene. and Ive always found myself better off than if I would of if i hadn't called them.

Hopefully her account of events will be indentical to yours should you claim...and hence she will be proven wrong. This is the classic 'but someone waved me out' scenario.
Get the bike checked, there could be some bits deformed. I doubt the police would attend if theres no injured party. Hopefully you will escape the 50:50 easiest way out trap.

wel its her foult i think so her company shoudl pay for it .. thats what id think anyway


stupid old people they should be banned at a certain age! as u can tel ive had a few run ins with old people ....

Originally Posted by suzsv650

wel its her foult i think so her company shoudl pay for it .. thats what id think anyway


stupid old people they should be banned at a certain age! as u can tel ive had a few run ins with old people ....

Over your spelling, I should imagine.

Sorry to hear about that Mr Uki, glad you are OK.

Bike damage - check the forks are straight.

Insurance - sounds like she must be at fault, but with no witnesses these things can be tricky.

The Police would not have come out unless you were hurt in which case they have to.

Give her your details and let the ins co's deal with it, not much else you can do I am afraid. But keep an eye on what is going on and dont be afraid to intervene if you think it is going unfair.

Highway code clearly states that people shouldn't wave other road users on for exactly this reason. You were traveling in a straight line in your lane. She entered your lane without checking if you were there. She's in the wrong.

get the bike checked over, and in future try to remember to get witnesses. (Which is hard when the adrenaline starts going I know...)

Glad to hear you're ok.

Thanks for the quick response guys, much appreciated. Wish i had called the police, unfortunately threatening an 80 year old to not go anywhere seemed a bad idea at the time and i'm too nice!! What happens if i don't have damage and don't need to claim? I assume my insurance will have to argue my innocence to avoid liability for her damage?

This is the tricky one. Do you report it in case she does if you have no damage or not? I'd probably report it. Or you could wait and see if your company contacts you if she does put in a claim. Someone may know if thats ok to do. Ive done both over the years and when I got a letter the insurance company were arsy I ahdnt notified them. But after all, you could say there was no damage etc. As long as she gave you all the required details I dont think you can detain her unless somethings really amiss.

[Biker Biggles]

Did you manage to not drop the bike?If it fell over there will almost certainly be some scratches and damage.It's clearly her fault and unless she reinvents what happened you should make a claim for your damage and minor injuries.As she did'nt stay around to check,your kit could have some damage too.Then there is the damaged tyre and buckled front wheel-------