Xantia vs. Lorrey...

[addo]

...statistically my son is likely to have another collision within the next 18 months..

Statistically, I am likely to kill the next f*cker who runs into me.

Thieving buggers, insurers - loading a premium for five years on the basis of an eighteen month window of actuarial pud-pulling.

[Chlorate]

I was very tempted yesterday Addo, I've never felt such rage.
I lept out of the car and screamed at him and suddenly the feeling of "oh lord that was close" hit and I froze.

[Eddie Nuff]

who without indicating or checking his blind spots . . . as the front corner of the lorrey slammed into my rear corner

You've answered your own question. By its own nature you cannot check a blind spot - it is a blind spot and you were in his. Your car would have been sat under the mirrors and under the windscreen hence giving him no sight of you. It's not an excuse to lay him blameless, for it is his fault, but it does explain why the accident happened. As a norm no-one sets out to intentionally collide with another car, the paperwork alone is ludicrous, but by their very nature the nearside of a HGV is not a good place to be. You should always treat the nearside as a yellow box and not enter unless you can exit.

Not having a dig, just commenting from experience.

[Eddie Nuff]

We have to accept foreign vehicles (and I assume LH drive) on our roads, but we shouldn't have to fork out for the deficiencies of LHD vehicles or the incompetence of foreign drivers.

Is the foreign driver incompetent because the vehicle is LHD? Is a British driver who has an accident on the continent incompetent because the steering wheel is on the wrong side?

Not our fault if they've got blind spots and inadequate mirrors.

All vehicles have blind spots, and you can put as many mirrors on a HGV as a car driver thinks they should have - they will still have blind spots!

[Eddie Nuff]

Seems like quite an uncommon colour though.

It certainly is. It takes some looking after but looks spot on after a wash and polish.

[Xantidote]

All vehicles have blind spots, and you can put as many mirrors on a HGV as a car driver thinks they should have - they will still have blind spots!

The point is, knowing you've got blind spot(s), then you should be taking extra care to ensure there's no-one there. Not Chlorate's fault was it? Or shouldn't any of us be on the road at all?

[Xaccers]

All vehicles have blind spots, and you can put as many mirrors on a HGV as a car driver thinks they should have - they will still have blind spots!

The point is, knowing you've got blind spot(s), then you should be taking extra care to ensure there's no-one there. Not Chlorate's fault was it? Or shouldn't any of us be on the road at all?

Exactly, in a car this is why you turn your head and check the mirror's blind spot. It's saved me when I was caught between two trucks in heavy rain, I needed to move out and overtake the truck in front, my mirror showed no headlights in the spray beside the lorry behind me, I indicated, checked my blind spot and some numpty in a silver Astray with no lights on so invisible at a distance emerged from the spray. Had I just relied on my mirrors I'd have pulled out and hit him.
If you're in a vehicle which has blind spots you cannot check, then when manoeuvring into that region you do so with extreme caution, ensuring you indicate and move slowly to give any vehicle in such a spot the chance to see you and either alert you to their presence, or move out of the way.

[KP]

Lorries are meant to have mirrors to remove said blind spots after the had killed enough cyclists due to them.

Also you cant treat them as a yellow box, otherwise you could turn right in them

TBH i tend to stay out of their way other than draughting them and read the road and traffic ahead and behind as much as possible to help you work out whats going to happen. The mrs hates it when im sat in the passenger seat and warn her about a car miles ahead thats not indicating but looks like its going to sweep across lanes to make a slip road and low and behold it does! or the ones dribbling in and out of lanes with no indication. You can just spot them miles off when you get into the habit of it.

[Stickyfinger]

TBH i tend to stay out of their way other than draughting them and read the road and traffic ahead and behind as much as possible to help you work out whats going to happen. The mrs hates it when im sat in the passenger seat and warn her about a car miles ahead thats not indicating but looks like its going to sweep across lanes to make a slip road and low and behold it does! or the ones dribbling in and out of lanes with no indication. You can just spot them miles off when you get into the habit of it.

As an Ex Biker, reading ahead saves your life.....

rule of thumb No1....everybody will attempt to kill you without warning in ANY way they can
rule of thumb No2...every corner or junction WILL have a slippy manhole cover placed in the exact spot where you need grip...

[Mandrake]

All vehicles have blind spots, and you can put as many mirrors on a HGV as a car driver thinks they should have - they will still have blind spots!

The point is, knowing you've got blind spot(s), then you should be taking extra care to ensure there's no-one there. Not Chlorate's fault was it? Or shouldn't any of us be on the road at all?

Exactly, in a car this is why you turn your head and check the mirror's blind spot. It's saved me when I was caught between two trucks in heavy rain, I needed to move out and overtake the truck in front, my mirror showed no headlights in the spray beside the lorry behind me, I indicated, checked my blind spot and some numpty in a silver Astray with no lights on so invisible at a distance emerged from the spray. Had I just relied on my mirrors I'd have pulled out and hit him.

It's quite a while since I learned to drive but I'm sure turning and looking behind me was drummed into me by the driving instructors...and again at defensive driving school...(yes I did go to that to shorten my learners/restricted period )

I never change lanes on a motorway or dual carriageway without turning my head to look behind me - sure I might glance in the mirrors first to see when an opportunity is opening up but just before I make a move I quickly look over my shoulder and on many occasions I've been surprised by a car that snuck up on me without being seen in the mirrors, or a driver two lanes away who decided to merge into the same lane as me at the same time (!) Looking over my shoulder averted the mishap and I've yet to have any contact with another car on a motorway. (In fact I've only ever hit another car once in 23 years of driving, head on, on a country road and maintain to this day that it wasn't my fault... )

Here's the thing though, despite being taught about blind spots and turning to look over your shoulder when learning to drive - when I'm driving on the motorway not only do many cars drift between lanes without indicating, I have *NEVER* seen a driver in front of me turn their head around to look over their shoulder before changing lanes as I do. NEVER! Staggering really.... Do most drivers not even understand the concept of a blind spot ?

[Chlorate]

Finally got hold of a camera:

[Xaccers]

It's quite a while since I learned to drive but I'm sure turning and looking behind me was drummed into me by the driving instructors...and again at defensive driving school...(yes I did go to that to shorten my learners/restricted period )

I never change lanes on a motorway or dual carriageway without turning my head to look behind me - sure I might glance in the mirrors first to see when an opportunity is opening up but just before I make a move I quickly look over my shoulder and on many occasions I've been surprised by a car that snuck up on me without being seen in the mirrors, or a driver two lanes away who decided to merge into the same lane as me at the same time (!) Looking over my shoulder averted the mishap and I've yet to have any contact with another car on a motorway. (In fact I've only ever hit another car once in 23 years of driving, head on, on a country road and maintain to this day that it wasn't my fault... )

Here's the thing though, despite being taught about blind spots and turning to look over your shoulder when learning to drive - when I'm driving on the motorway not only do many cars drift between lanes without indicating, I have *NEVER* seen a driver in front of me turn their head around to look over their shoulder before changing lanes as I do. NEVER! Staggering really.... Do most drivers not even understand the concept of a blind spot ?

Coming home from the station tonight someone to the right of me sounded their horn. A Merc had decided he wanted to turn right and didn't bother looking before changing lanes. Thankfully the car he was about to hit had a driver that was more on the ball and was able to brake and sound his horn averting the accident.

[oscar]

Well you shouldn't be looking round behind you for sure on the motorway and any high speed road for that matter as in the time you have you have travelled few hundred yards and that clear road has now stopped as you have now gone squat against the back of a truck!
Mirror mirror all the time you should be looking in them regularly i use all 3 plus not looking at the two feet in front of you but as far as can see even long way up if in a valley/long curve so see if any hold ups so ready for it and read whats going on ahead and behind you so cover it all as your coming up behind an artic hes @56 max your doing 60's so read the closing speed now before you go to overtake what else is going on? Well when you check hes coming up on a slower moving truck like many that run@50's now the one in front needs to pull out so you have to allow for that!
When you drive commercially you have to live by your wits as no "friends" on the road as the biker said all out to kill you i used to do at one stage 100 thousand plus miles a year did once 1000 in 24hrs London to Aberdeen and back well stopped in yorks for night but kept eyes open and keep looking round so that keeps you alert.

When in a truck/awkward/vehicle you move your head so cover all angles and anticipate things being there you dont just look in mirrors at last minute and pull out like many do you should be reading the road conditions plus allowing for numpties and middle well one lane in from outside(coz there awfully fast)dimwitts that can't point there thing in the nearside in case fall off the road!(it's amazing how many ever got a licence if they did as the nearside of there vehicle is like a no mans land and never look in nearside mirror).

Treat all with contempt think there going to do something stupid(probably will anyway)that way you save your no claims and live to see another day.

[Northern_Mike]

I never change lanes on a motorway or dual carriageway without turning my head to look behind me - sure I might glance in the mirrors first to see when an opportunity is opening up but just before I make a move I quickly look over my shoulder ?

Exactly! I had a bike licence long before a car licence, and it's one of the first things you're taught - it's called, and rightly so, a "lifesaver". A quick glance over the shoulder is all it needs - though on a bike you'd do it when turning left too.

I've only once hit another car, and that was because I was following my brother too closely on the 'bike. I thought he'd gone at a T-Junction, because I could see there was nothing coming when I looked right... He was a lot lower down, and couldn't see. I remember seeing his brake lights as I opened the throttle and ran into the back of him.

I've had a few accidents, but they've all been in "safe" places, where I've been "experimenting"..

[Rhothgar]

With sufficient observation, a blind spot is irrelevant.

Any driver should be aware of what is around them and has been creeping up or speeding up on them at any given time.

I don't accept any argument that someone makes trying to state blind spots exist - that's bullshit! The vehicle doesn't just appear in said blind spot.

By the looks of the position of the hit, in either an 18 wheeler or a Luton, that should not have happened. A blind spot in either of these vehicles would be mid to front portion I would imagine not rear end of lorry ploughed to rear end of xantia.

Sounds like lorry driver was no doubt texting / eating / picking his nose or scratching his arse.

Glad to hear you're OK - lucky escape. No idea how your excess is £700 (unless you chose it).

Insurance companies are scandalous - they will still hike your premium even if it is non-fault and you have protected NCD.

Play them at their own game - you can demand the car is repaired. We had £750 damage repaired on Sylv's ZX 2 years ago. I argued that we had recently fitted genuine backbox at £205. New Michelins all round and that the car was loved and cherished.

Time was when they used to write off at about 70% - that does not happen anymore from what I understand. They will go up to 100% value of the car (higher in some cases).

Also, you're in luck possibly. Depending on which area of Derbyshire you're in.

A mate of mine as just bought 20k worth of Pro-Align 4 wheel alignment kit. He is currently doing alignments for £40 which I understand is dirt cheap.

I had a Pro-Align session about 20 years ago, funnily enough in Northampton on my Triumph Vitesse. Transformation was astonishing. Cost over £100 then!