In my last post I mentioned near the end that I had been in an accident. The insurance company just cleared me of fault, so here's what happened.

Three weeks ago, I was taking a 1000-mile trip across Europe. I had just gotten back to the UK and was nearly home when I encountered a construction zone on the motorway. The normally 70mph speed limit dropped and traffic began to build up ahead of me. I was coasting down and doing 57mph when I glanced in my mirror and saw a white Ford Fiesta approaching. I had a fraction of a second to hesitate, realize he wasn't slowing, swear, brace my head to the headrest, and then impact.

I have a dashcam, and while it doesn't face the rear to actually see the impact, the audio and GPS were helpful in reconstructing this timeline.

Other drivers around us were startled to say the least and quickly opened a hole for the two of us to get to the shoulder. (Audio records me muttering swears continuously.) One driver stopped to check on us and ask if we needed a witness. A few other cars pulled in. I'm guessing they may have been friends of the Fiesta driver. All had some basic mods, I noticed. It was a holiday, so maybe they were going to a car show or something.

Anyway, here's the damage:




I'd say the Fiesta got it worse.

Based on the situation, I'm guessing the impact was less than 15mph. His airbag didn't go off. I think we hit corner-to-corner because he was trying to go off the shoulder and avoid me. When he came up to my window, he said something like "I was trying to stop and it just wouldn't." A rear dashcam might have seen if he was distracted somehow.

At any rate, he was insured and we traded info. Because it was a construction zone, a highway safety truck showed up quickly. Since no one was injured, they advised me no police report was required.

Both cars were able to drive away from the scene. The XKR drove perfectly fine, straight and true, no warning lights or anything.

My insurance company picked a garage, but they said it would be until August before they had availability. The second garage I had them pick got the repair done in less than ten days. It ran £3200 (USD$4000).

Unfortunately, my MOT (annual inspection) expired while the car was out of my hands, so now I have another problem.

-
Debrief: What could I have done differently? Not a lot. Maybe if I'd kept more attention on my mirror, I would have had more warning, but I doubt I would have actually had much more decision time before realizing the Fiesta wasn't slowing. I might have been able to speed up a little to lessen the impact, or even changed lanes to get out of the way, but the traffic building up made that far from a sure thing.

Anyway, no injuries. Shame this happened to the prettiest car I've ever owned, but I am pleased the damage was only cosmetic.

 

You're OK, he's OK, and cars are just cars. Glad yours is getting properly repaired.

 

It's a pity that such a high proportion of drivers in the UK seem to be totally unable to actually drive a car without crashing into something. Unless someone is injured, the Police are generally not interested. I would like to see many more of the these totally unnecessary crashes result in prosecution with commensurate fines and driving bans. Maybe that would encourage more people to actually pay attention to the task at hand.

Richard

 

Coming from the US, I find British drivers to be quite good. Perhaps not as good as the Japanese, but definitely better than Americans.

 

So many people drive and text here in So Cal and probably everywhere. Lots of fender benders caused by idiots looking at their phones.

 

No injuries and the damage could have been a lot worse. Good to hear the insurance worked in your favour.

Graham

 

I can't recommend enough having a dash-cam in these litiganous(sp?) times. I got accused of a work-zone accident (2) years ago, and its still fighting it's way through the $ystem. Looks like your incident had a good outcome!!!

 

The Google helps;Showing results for litiginous
Search instead for litiganous

[more litigious; most litigious] formal. : too ready or eager to sue someone or something in a court of law : tending or likely to engage in lawsuits. a very litigious group of people.

 

Duly noted...tip o' the hat!!!

 

We're considerably less inclined to make legal advice our first resort in the UK - it is usually the last resort if an accident cannot be resolved between the parties insurers. I'm often amazed reading on the forum how confrontational and protracted accident insurance settlements can be in the US. Two years and your work-zone accident is still not resolved.

Graham

 

Equatorial,

im glad you are OK, could have been worse. Looks like the damage was isolated to the bumper, and spared the aluminium Bodywork. Hope that the paint is a good match.