MotorbikesToday.com

hi all,
had an accident with a car few days ago on two lane road (two lanes in the same direction, I was riding between cars), cars were doing about 20 mph and I had about 30mhp, then one of cars tried to get from rh lane to lh lane, had his indicator on but I was too close to him to stop and hit his front passenger side wing.
Is there anyone who knows for sure whos fault was it, as I've got no clue if claim it of insurance or not(obviously don't want to loose ncb)
thanks

OK, first things first. Glad you're OK. I'm assuming that the damage isn't too severe becaue you're thinking about not claiming.

Now actually saying who was to blame without being there is pretty much impossible as you can imagine, but the basic facts as you've stated them make me a little concerned that you may be on a sticky wicket. While the driver plainly failed to take an adequate lookout inasmuch as he hit you when he made his lane change, you've got a couple of things going against you. Three, in fact.

1) The speed. Filtering at 30mph, while we all do it, is going to be considered excessive I suspect.
2) He indicated. That works in his favour as it suggests he's not an oaf. The fact that you acknowledge seieng the indicator doesn't help.
3) You were, technically, overtaking on the left. While that's not actually an offence, it again puts you at a disadvantage.

Did you sound your horn at all? Or did you just brake, shut your eyes and pile in? Which, of course, is what most of us would do.

Sorry mate, but if he's not pursuing it then I'd be inclined to let this one go down to experience lest you end up getting clobbered for his costs as well. If it's something you can cover without claiming then all well and good. But otherwise I'm afraid I wouldn't rate your chances too highly.


Sorry.

YG

PS Note, though, that I'm NOT a lawyer or an insurance expert. If you're serious about looking at this then I suggest you try someone like Plantec (on the left hand of the home page) and see what they say...