NSW Car Accident Due to Obstructed View - Who is Liable?

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Jsw1981

Member
16 October 2015
1
0
1
Hello,

I have just been involved in a car accident and need to know what the best course of action is as I currently only insured for 3rd party injuries and don't believe I am responsible due to extenuating circumstances.

I was pulling out of a drive way to turn right, the street I was pulling onto has a clear vision of traffic on the left, on the right however there is a truck parked on the street approx 4-5 meters from the driveway. This truck has been parked in same spot for weeks.

Today as I was leaving this particular car park, I indicated that I was turning right and pulled as far out onto the road as was safe. I checked traffic on the left and there were no cars at all in that direction, when checking traffic on the right visibility was blocked by the truck so you can only see cars as they pass the truck, after looking for a few seconds to make sure I wouldn't pull out into oncoming traffic I pulled out quickly.

What I was unaware of was that in this few seconds that I was checking my right side that a car had exited another driveway turning left, this driveway is approx 50 metres to my left on the opposite of the road and as i was turning onto opposite lane we collided. My question is, who is liable?

While I have collided with this car in a manner that implies I have breached the road traffic law, I did take every precaution I could to leave safely. Unfortunately I can't look in 2 directions at once. Also the other driver must have exited other car park very fast as I said it was only a few seconds after I checked left side and then checked right that I entered the road, the other driver admitted they saw me pulling out and said they thought I would stop. So while they had right of way when accident occurred, they saw me pulling out and I didn't see them and because I had checked my left side for traffic and had an obstructed view on the right so I couldn't reasonably check traffic in that direction I pulled out as safely as I could in that situation, would I be 100% liable?
 
23 October 2015
2
0
1
Hello,

I have just been involved in a car accident and need to know what the best course of action is as I currently only insured for 3rd party injuries and don't believe I am responsible due to extenuating circumstances.

I was pulling out of a drive way to turn right, the street I was pulling onto has a clear vision of traffic on the left, on the right however there is a truck parked on the street approx 4-5 meters from the driveway. This truck has been parked in same spot for weeks.

Today as I was leaving this particular car park, I indicated that I was turning right and pulled as far out onto the road as was safe. I checked traffic on the left and there were no cars at all in that direction, when checking traffic on the right visibility was blocked by the truck so you can only see cars as they pass the truck, after looking for a few seconds to make sure I wouldn't pull out into oncoming traffic I pulled out quickly.

What I was unaware of was that in this few seconds that I was checking my right side that a car had exited another driveway turning left, this driveway is approx 50 metres to my left on the opposite of the road and as i was turning onto opposite lane we collided. My question is, who is liable?

While I have collided with this car in a manner that implies I have breached the road traffic law, I did take every precaution I could to leave safely. Unfortunately I can't look in 2 directions at once. Also the other driver must have exited other car park very fast as I said it was only a few seconds after I checked left side and then checked right that I entered the road, the other driver admitted they saw me pulling out and said they thought I would stop. So while they had right of way when accident occurred, they saw me pulling out and I didn't see them and because I had checked my left side for traffic and had an obstructed view on the right so I couldn't reasonably check traffic in that direction I pulled out as safely as I could in that situation, would I be 100% liable?

I'm not a lawyer, just a concerned citizen. I feel your pain. You turned into on coming traffic whether you like it or not.
 

Therese

Well-Known Member
11 October 2015
122
7
414
My understanding is that there is a high chance you are liable as you had to give way.

However if you could try and demonstrate that the other driver did not take reasonable care then maybe you could shift some of the liability.

The Legal Aid Website in NSW could be a helpful source: Crashed your car? - Legal Aid NSW

I would also get in contact with a Solicitor or Legal Aid Centre so you could further understand possible steps to take.