Accident Turning Right onto Slippway who is liable?

[kevlewins]

I had just picked up a work collegue and had an accident while turning through a gap in stationary traffic.

Sequence of events & Observations
1. I was travelling up the bank towards Bensham Road from Askew Road West
2. The flow of traffic (Single lane) in the opposite direction was stationary as it was approximately 8:10am (Rush hour traffic)
3. Therefore, the oncoming traffic was leaving a gap to allow vehicles from the lane I was travelling in to turn right across the opposing traffic and enter the junction.
4. I observed there was a gap in the single lane of stationary traffic.
5. I signalled right to turn into the gap.
6. As there was only one lane, I proceeded through the gap at a relatively slow speed checking left for cyclists.
7. The purpose of the junction is for cars turning across the flow of traffic only as there is another filter lane on the slip road further up the road for the oncoming flow of traffic.
8. I entered the corner at the start of the junction passing the car which had kept the junction clear.
9. The other party was travelling down the inside of the single file traffic, effectively undertaking and appeared to be encroaching on the junction. They were travelling at a speed between 20-30 mph.
10. They hit the rear passenger side of the car between the door and the rear wheel.
11. This pushed me into the curb of the junction and the drivers side rear wheel collided with this.

I am unsure if i am at fault if they are, i believe if it were a 2 lane road then i was definetly, but it is not they were encroaching on the junction and after the location where the incident happened they would have needed to bump up onto the curb to pass the stationary traffic.

[kempie]

Is this the junction, off Cuthbert Street?

If so, then clearly there is only one lane available to the oncoming traffic along that road and for another vehicle to pass queuing traffic would involve the "misuse of any lane to avoid queuing or gain some other advantage over other drivers". This is conduct appropriate for a charge of "driving without reasonable consideration" (Section 3 RTA 1988) as indicated by the CPS web page in regard of driving offences...

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/section9/chapter_b .html#17

The commission of said offence is a primary factor in the collision and hopefully your insurer will apportion the blame squarely on that offending driver.

[gouldc]

To paraphrase Kempie (who is correct), this would be a split liability claim, with both parties taking some fault.

I sympathise fully, but it's the way the court decides these things. You don't expect people to be carrying out an illegal maneouver, but then as a driver, you have to expect the unexpected