My advice is you probably don't want to go to court over it, even if it means assuming liability and paying the excess.
if you pull out of driveway, especially a driveway on a blind corner, it's basically the same as entering a new road at T-junction. you have to give way to existing traffic and wait for a safe time to enter. If the person was speeding, or you were already on the road and driving when she came around the corner, you could make a case that she was driving unsafely. your case would be helped if there were any signs warning of your driveway that she didn't heed. But unless you have these factors, and are able to prove it, I'd just cop it. Im assuming it's a driveway, but if you're talking about an entering road the law is the same
( cumquat may will not be commenting further on the allegations, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 10:55, archived)

i'm not going to argue with what the insurance companies decide, i'm just trying to give them all the information and provide photos.
she, on the other hand, seems to think it's all totally my fault and be arranging hire cars and everything, when it's my car that isn't driveable and hers was practically fine.
( sleepybinky, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 11:02, archived)

not strictly true
you must drive a road at a speed suitable for dealing with hazards. How fast Binky pulled out doesn't matter. If when Binky started to move she couldn't see the other car, then the other car is by definition going too fast for the road if it then hits Binky's car.

You're dead right about it being your responsibility to make sure that the road is clear, but all you can possibly do is look. If the bend is that bad that a driver pulling onto the road can't see, the resposibility lies with the driver already on the road to slow down.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 11:07, archived)

anyway, hill start round the corner for me, it was about 3-5mph maximum, just to get over the top.

( sleepybinky, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 11:09, archived)

Think of it this way
if she'd come round the corner and hit a person standing in the road it would be her fault. What's the big difference? So, some blame must lie with her as she is driving too fast for the visibility. You'll have to take some of the blame I'm afraid, because since the police weren't called no-one can actually be sure entirely who was to blame. Even then, these days there are never skid marks so speed is harder to assess.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 11:13, archived)

You're right, but as I said, it depends on how far out on the road she was when the other driver hit her
An existing hazard doesn't include someone suddenly pulling out in front of you. however binky did say 'scraped my panels', which suggests she was already pulled out and on the road when the other driver hit her. In this case, you are right, the other driver should be driving at speed where she can safely avoid (brake) even stationary hazards
( cumquat may will not be commenting further on the allegations, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 11:16, archived)

yeah, it's a difficult one
as how far out she was needs to be balanced against the visibility for the junction

Oh, a cunning idea. Binky, is there a sign on the road where the woman was driving warning of the junction you pulled out of? as in, you know, the usual triangle with the black road junction on it? if so, it's a very strong argument to say that she should have known there was a junction just around the corner and should have slowed down.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 11:20, archived)

nope, country lanes
but she lives faiiiirly local, so she should bloody know that you can't go along them faster than 20, or 30 on an exceptionally visible bit.
( sleepybinky, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 11:43, archived)

scraped her panels, on the corner of my car.
she didn't stop in time or pull over into the hedge away from me.

i dunno i can see it all being called my fault.
( sleepybinky, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 11:51, archived)

It seems pretty straightforward from what you've said.
If she was going too fast to go around you, around a blind corner, then she was driving too fast for the road and it's her fault. As tmb has said, there could have been a tractor round the corner and then she would have been fucked.
( BraynDedd Natasha Kaplinsky's labia majora, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 11:57, archived)

she wasn't going round a blind corner, she was going past blind entrances.

( sleepybinky, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 11:58, archived)

Then it's still her fault, she shouldn't have been so far over to the left.

( BraynDedd Natasha Kaplinsky's labia majora, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 12:12, archived)

to the right.
but it's a single lane, it isn't exactly wide.
( sleepybinky, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 12:42, archived)

and i will accept that i pulled out without having a clear view, because you actually need to pull out to see
so yeah i did drive into her a bit, but she wasn't exactly slow and oh god i don't know.
( sleepybinky, Wed 22 Jun 2011, 11:58, archived)