SWMBO returned from Sainsburys on Sunday to say she had been in an accident.
As described she was reversing out of a parking space and a car rushes past her in the gap. I have no reason not to believe her and her brother was also in the car. She has minor scuffs to the bumper (Paint shop) and a broken fog lamp (Ford estimate £350).
Other driver (Fiat 500) has wing, door and rear quarter panel damage.
I expected it to go knock for knock
Tesco just told her that it will go against her because she was reversing . . . .
Now this implies that whatever the circumstances if I rush though behind a car that is reversing out of a parking space then it is their fault, every time. This cannot be correct.
couple of typos edited
Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 20 Mar 13 at 10:19
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>> Now this implies that whatever the circumstances if I rush though behind a car that
>> is reversing out of a parking space then it is theri faut, every time. This
>> cannot be correct.
Why not? Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Look at it like this, she is in effect reversing out of a side road into a main road.....
Not sure what Tesco has to do with it tho. Its nothing to do with them - they are not the arbiters of blame or wrongdoing.
It will be a nock for nock thing probably at the end of the day, so I wouldn't get into a tizzy or make a big thing about it. Its why you have insurance.
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 20 Mar 13 at 09:41
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These things are never cut and dried and it usually takes two.
As for supermarket car parks, its pure luck that there are not far more shunts like this.
Umpteen incompetent half shunts trying to reverse out of space, ignoring any passing traffic or pedestrians assuming they will stop/vanish, often enough having bought cars far too big for them or with restricted vision that they can't cope with.
Then you have the other sort who travel far too quickly through the car park, any pedestrian or blindly manoeuvering car is going to get clobbered for they won't be able to stop if minded to do so anyway.
Incredible that so much damage could be caused in a supermarket car park.
If people bought cars small enough and with vision enough for them to cope with, actually learned to drive and reversed into parking spaces the whole car park experience would be so much easier, this also applies to male reps especially in cars far too big for them making the pigs ear they do of attempting to drive into parking spaces in MSA's.
Pity its going to be a contested insurance jobbie, the OP's wifes car sound slike a £150 cash reapir at a one man and his dog bodyshop.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Wed 20 Mar 13 at 10:01
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>> If people bought cars small enough and with vision enough for them to cope with,
>> actually learned to drive and reversed into parking spaces the whole car park experience would
>> be so much easier,
The only time that I do not reverse into a parking space is if the car will be loaded on my return to the car. I do notice that my car is often the only car reversed in.
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>> and reversed into parking spaces
Except most people want access to their boot when they come out of the supermarket to unload their trolley contents into. I'd sooner people park nose in so they can access their boot without having to drag their trolley between their car and mine and risk scraping the paintwork, which'll be more likely mine than theirs.
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I suspect Tesco are the Insurers.
The onus is on the driver of the reversing vehicle to ensure that it is safe to do so. Clearly she failed to notice an approaching vehicle. Should have asked her passenger to see her out.
From the Highway code
use all your mirrors
check the ‘blind spot’ behind you (the part of the road you cannot see easily in the mirrors)
check there are no pedestrians (particularly children), cyclists, other road users or obstructions in the road behind you.
Reverse slowly while checking all around
looking mainly through the rear window
being aware that the front of your vehicle will swing out as you turn.
Get someone to guide you if you cannot see clearly.
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It's nothing to do with Tesco, is it. But in a collision between somebody reversing out of a space, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary most people would assume the reverser to be at fault.
But, if she and the bro are adamant that the other party was trying to drive through a gap that wasn't there, then it might go 50/50.
Either way she'll lose her excess and rack up a claim so I can't see how it will make any difference to her.
Knock-for-knock is nothing to do with blame. It is an administrative arrangement between insurers. Irrelevant here.
Last edited by: Manatee on Wed 20 Mar 13 at 09:52
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>>As described she was reversing out of a Parking space
For ease of parking and leaving 99% of the time I reverse into spaces, as does SWMBO..........our sons and D-i-Ls have not been converted.
I also park on an end space, far from the doors of the supermarket, never next to a banger/MPV/Large 4x4/van etc..............if there are no spaces that meet my criteria I would drive to AN Other supermarket......saves in dings and crunches.
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>> It's nothing to do with Tesco, is it.
The supermarket was Sainsburys. As mentioned elsewhere, Tesco is probably the OPs insurer.
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Ah right, good point, my bad.
Would never have happened in a Waitrose car park.
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 20 Mar 13 at 10:29
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>> Would never have happened in a Waitrose car park.
>>
What is a "Waitrose" ?
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Its a "Supermarket"
Difficult concept for an exile I know.
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>>
>> What is a "Waitrose" ?
>>
Something designed to keep the proles out of Fortnum's.
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Of course it would. It's just that the chauffeur would have dealt with it discreetly.
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Just in the first few days of helping sort out the coming together of a family member's car and a lady in a Golf on a roundabout. Golf seemingly attempted to take a late exit from the inner (nearest middle) lane of a large roundabout graunching their nearside across front of family members car which was proceeding in the nearside lane passing the exit in question.
I was quite surprised at the very small amount of verbal information the insurance co requested at the initial phone call and they haven't asked for drawings etc. I got the impression with no personal injury and no police involvement they may be going straight to knock for knock.
Probably less trouble for them to do this and recover costs through excess and increased premium rather than fight the other insurance co. Family member may have to use legal protection cover to recover excess.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Wed 20 Mar 13 at 11:30
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THanks for the responses.
SWMBo did argue with Tesco and their response was that the reverser is at fault.
Spoken to the claims manager at work in the interim. His view is that there is no point and that the court goes against the reverser.
Sainsbury is the supermarket, Tesco is the insurer.
I have had numerous close calls of a similar nature and the disturbing issue for me is that the courts seem to support the action of the inconsiderate driver in this case.
Won't really affect us much as her NCD is protected and the isurance is around £300 a year.
Don't particularly want a protracted argument with the insurer so looks like chalk one up to experience and watch eveyone's insurance premium go up again nxt year.
Next time I need some bodywork doing for free I am going to a supermarket to look for someone reversing out of a parking space . . . it will be their fault won't it!
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Not that it'll make you feel better, but it works like this;
She reversed out into the path of another car. That other driver thus had to decide whether to brake and wait, or to try to squeeze through.
He was inconsiderate and made the wrong choice, but nonetheless a choice that was pushed upon him.
If he had been speeding, *and* you could prove it, that might be different. But that's about it.
Of course, in the real world waiting until there is no other vehicle capable of reaching you is impractical, but there you are.
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Would it make any difference
a if the other driver had been coming down a one way lane the "wrong" way
b if the other driver had been reversing to get the space OP's wife was coming out of
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Why does insurance cost so much . . . .
Yesterday SWMBO missed a call from a solicitor who had been engaged by her insurer, they want to support her in taking action to recover her excess.
My question was simple, if the insurer say it is her fault who does the solicitor think they can recover her excess from - her?
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Another Insurance claim thread - Zero
