Foreign lorry driver hit our car
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Last Sunday I was travelling home from London on the M25 with my other half, was going past Heathrow airport when a Polish lorry driver decided to plough his vehicle into the side of our car! We were in the middle lane doing about 35mph (there was a long line of slow moving traffic due to an imposed speed restriction of 40mph), we overtook a lorry who was on the inside lane, and as about 3/4 of our car had passed him he decided to pull out into the middle lane,despite there being about 6 car lengths of room in front of him in the inside lane. |
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Well of course he went straight into the back of our car, scratching it all down the side and denting the back bumper as he dragged us along the motorway! I was in the passenger side so leaned out of the window and indicated for him to follow us to the hard shoulder. I might add that he only decided to do this when I got out of the car as if I was going to run across the carriageway and kick his door in! At the side of the road he patted the damage to the car and in very broad Polish, "Is small car... I did not see!", to which my reply was "If it had been a guy on a motorbike you would have killed him you ass-hole!" |
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He only gave me his insurance details when a lovely lady pulled over and said she had seen what happened, he had simply not looked and pulled out into our car! She has kindly said she would be our witness - thank God there are honest people about! I am so cross, luckily both myself and my other half are OK but the car is FUBAR, it could have been so much worse. Lorry drivers are a liability at the best of times, but the foreign ones drive like maniacs! Only 10 minutes before we had been cut up by a Portuguese lorry driver doing 50mph (in the 40mph zone). If they can't read simple signs (like how fast you should be going) and abide by the Highway Code (Mirror Signal Manoeuvre) they shouldn't be driving in this country! Furthermore, since the accident we have been told we are unable to claim for the damage to the car. The driver did not report the accident to his insurance company and they have no record of the accident or the lorry. The lady that I spoke to at the call centre said that all we could do was to either contact their insurance company ourselves (which I have done by email already) and wait for a response or to have the repairs done ourselves and keep all receipts and then take the matter out with an independent solicitor. She said that when people are hit by Polish drivers in this country, more often than not the case is never resolved. If an English man or woman had a RTA abroad the foreign police/authorities can contact the DVLA in Swansea and get all our personal details, but as the driver was Polish and has Polish insurance, due to some stupid EU regulation the British police cannot force the Polish authorities to trace this individual. How is this right? By:Sarah |
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Comments from visitors
just read your story on tue 6/12/11 at 4am i was on the m4 with my daughter going to stanstead airport a polish lorry in front of us had a blow out or his wheel came off it was very dark i could not avoid it and it hit me when i pulled over i had a lot of damage to my car and i had an important meeting to go to so i tried to carry on but failed im third party fire and theft and been told that i got to swallow the damage why its not my fault its left me with no car aND A BILL OF AROUND £400 pound like i can afford this at this time of year is there any one who can help me
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Just been reading the comments regarding accidents involving foreign lorry drivers. Particularly when changing lanes. Having been hit for the second time in such circumstances. (Most recently Monday 26th September 2011) I have been looking at the statistics.
There were 30 people killed last year in such circumstances. Almost half of the accidents that occur on the M25 are caused by foreign lorry drivers who say they could not see the vehicle they hit, when changing lanes. (These statistics are freely available on the internet). Last year 52 people were killed in the construction industry. This industry is smothered in regulations brought in by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to reduce these figures.
Last year VOSA issued 200000 special mirrors to foreign lorry drivers in an attempt to defeat the so called "blindspot". ( By the way guess who paid for them?).
The result has been a 10% INCREASE (this year) in accidents of this nature. So the mirrors are not working.
It is about time those who regulate road traffic did something about it. It is my view that every foreign lorry travelling on our roads should be fitted with offside, mirror arm cameras. These can be trained on the blindspot and produce the image on a viewer in the cab. This is identical to revering camera technology. I have these on my lorries and they work really well. They do not constantly break down. But do occasionally get damaged if your mirrors get whacked. However, the regulation should say that where fitted it is the hauliers responsibility to ensure that they are working.
Some advice if you are hit......... Always get the police involved dont rely on the traffic officers often used to attend (no injury) accidents instead of the police. All foreign drivers have to carry a green card with their insurance details and driver details on. The police can verify these at the roadside. Traffic Officers cannot.
I would also suggest that everyone who has a gripe about this writes to the Secretary of State for Transport. Currently this is Philip Hammond MP. I will be writing this week. I'm also writing to the AA and RAC to seek their support. If enough people do this the government will have to take notice. Whenever I drive abroad I am subjected to the traffic regulations active in that country. Why shouldn't it be the same for foreign drivers here?
We should impound the vehicles until the insurances have been verified and claims acknowledged.
There were 30 people killed last year in such circumstances. Almost half of the accidents that occur on the M25 are caused by foreign lorry drivers who say they could not see the vehicle they hit, when changing lanes. (These statistics are freely available on the internet). Last year 52 people were killed in the construction industry. This industry is smothered in regulations brought in by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to reduce these figures.
Last year VOSA issued 200000 special mirrors to foreign lorry drivers in an attempt to defeat the so called "blindspot". ( By the way guess who paid for them?).
The result has been a 10% INCREASE (this year) in accidents of this nature. So the mirrors are not working.
It is about time those who regulate road traffic did something about it. It is my view that every foreign lorry travelling on our roads should be fitted with offside, mirror arm cameras. These can be trained on the blindspot and produce the image on a viewer in the cab. This is identical to revering camera technology. I have these on my lorries and they work really well. They do not constantly break down. But do occasionally get damaged if your mirrors get whacked. However, the regulation should say that where fitted it is the hauliers responsibility to ensure that they are working.
Some advice if you are hit......... Always get the police involved dont rely on the traffic officers often used to attend (no injury) accidents instead of the police. All foreign drivers have to carry a green card with their insurance details and driver details on. The police can verify these at the roadside. Traffic Officers cannot.
I would also suggest that everyone who has a gripe about this writes to the Secretary of State for Transport. Currently this is Philip Hammond MP. I will be writing this week. I'm also writing to the AA and RAC to seek their support. If enough people do this the government will have to take notice. Whenever I drive abroad I am subjected to the traffic regulations active in that country. Why shouldn't it be the same for foreign drivers here?
We should impound the vehicles until the insurances have been verified and claims acknowledged.
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Kevin (Pissed off) Windsor. - 29-Sep-11 20:52
Hello Sarah,
if you have the the Polish Drivers isurance details I can help with claiming for your loss from the lorry drivers insurance.
Contact Nigel 07766 527119
if you have the the Polish Drivers isurance details I can help with claiming for your loss from the lorry drivers insurance.
Contact Nigel 07766 527119
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On M6 in notoriously slow area between J9 and J10. All 3 lanes moving at much the same speed, around 30mph. Me on inside lane. Without any warning British registered lorry in middle lane tried to change lane. I took evasive action onto hard shoulder but lorry struck rear panel of my Peugeot 406 estate. Driver full of apology. Then produced Czech HGV licence with photograph. Could not produce any insurance documentation. Highways Agency arrived. Told them of the insurance problem. They interviewed driver. Came back said may have to call police if unable to sort out. Contacted vehicle owner in Northern Ireland. Obtained details. The car is now "Beyond economic repair". So here we have a British trailer, N. Ireland tractor unit and Czech driver. Told by my uninsured loss company that the driver denies being involved in any accident as he was at an hospital appointment at the time.
Some hopes of sorting this one out even though the motorway cameras captured the whole incident and the Highways Agency attended.
Some hopes of sorting this one out even though the motorway cameras captured the whole incident and the Highways Agency attended.
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I had a similar problem - with a German truck driver on the M1. My car was written off and I had to pay £100 excess. When my insurance company renewed my policy I was dumped with a huge increase in my premium. When I complained I was told my insurance company was unable to resolve the claim, despite having the truck driver's insurance details that had been verified by the police at the scene. I am now £100 pounds short and saddled with a large monthly insurance bill. I have written to my MP to complain. They need to sort out this problem or at least Insurance companies must be compelled to inform UK drivers that they will have to pay if they have an accident with a EU driver even if it is not the UK driver's fault. I for one have stopped using the motorway to commute to work - I use the back routes now. It is too risky with all these EU drivers!
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FINES AND PENALTIES FOR FOREIGN DRIVERSCurrently it is not possible to give foreign drivers (non-GB licence holders) an endorseable fixed penalty notice. Also, if a foreign driver is summonsed and issued with a non-endorseable fixed penalty notice, there is no way of ensuring that they do not simply evade punishment by leaving the country. [4]
Research shows that foreign drivers are at least as likely to offend as UK drivers are. VOSA statistics show that drivers’ hours offences are detected in 3.7% of UK drivers, but this rises to 12.8% for overseas drivers. However, they cannot, in practice be prosecuted. The Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 makes it clear that failure to comply with a warrant served at an overseas address does not constitute contempt of court nor is it a ground for issuing a warrant to secure the attendance of the person in question. [5]
Research shows that foreign drivers are at least as likely to offend as UK drivers are. VOSA statistics show that drivers’ hours offences are detected in 3.7% of UK drivers, but this rises to 12.8% for overseas drivers. However, they cannot, in practice be prosecuted. The Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 makes it clear that failure to comply with a warrant served at an overseas address does not constitute contempt of court nor is it a ground for issuing a warrant to secure the attendance of the person in question. [5]
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I have recently had a very similar accident... I was very lucky not to be ki11ed or seriously injured. It was dark, raining and the Dutch lorry, without indicating, hit the side of my car and pushed me into the outside lane. The police are unable to prosecute so I am implementing a civil case. A good friend of mine is a lorry driver and agrees that foreign lorries do have a terrible safety record. An article on tracktrans.com compounds that: (http://www.tracktrans.com)
I would like there to be European laws allowing the UK law to prosecute foreign drivers and issue them fines and points. Since my accident, I have spoken to many people who have had similar experiences and had to drop cases. I have also spoken to those who have lost loved ones due to careless foreign lorry drivers. I live in Folkestone, a thoroughfare for lorries heading to Europe and this problem needs to be addressed...
I would like there to be European laws allowing the UK law to prosecute foreign drivers and issue them fines and points. Since my accident, I have spoken to many people who have had similar experiences and had to drop cases. I have also spoken to those who have lost loved ones due to careless foreign lorry drivers. I live in Folkestone, a thoroughfare for lorries heading to Europe and this problem needs to be addressed...
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I had a similar accident but my insurance company has been able to get in touch with the insurance company of the foreign driver. However, I am having difficultiles on convincing them that the accident was foreign driver's fault. Is there anyway that I can obtain the camera recordings for the motorway? If so, anyone knows who should I contact?
Thank you
Benjamin
Thank you
Benjamin
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Spamming, idiotic rubbish, saddo, boring troll, It would appear that I have struck a nerve, But I assure you Mike I am not Ben. I cannot be bullied, you self opinionated unski11ed worker.
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Bob- this will be the last message to you as you are a boring troll, people like Sean are interested and hopefully will gain something, you however are just some saddo sat at your PC all day waiting for people to respond to your little digs.
Motorcycle speed cop? I have never seen a motorcycle speed cop and doubt there is such a thing in the UK. There are Police motorcyclists! If you are sat in a car you can see 360 degrees if you turn your head!!!!! Your sentence doesn't even make sense, "when were olws them", lol, says all really Bob.
As for Stobarts, I wouldn't know, go find out who they insure with, I doubt theres any difference between them and any other fleets but I saw 3 written off from stobarts in December alone.
End of talking to you, your spamming this site with your idiotic rubbish.
Motorcycle speed cop? I have never seen a motorcycle speed cop and doubt there is such a thing in the UK. There are Police motorcyclists! If you are sat in a car you can see 360 degrees if you turn your head!!!!! Your sentence doesn't even make sense, "when were olws them", lol, says all really Bob.
As for Stobarts, I wouldn't know, go find out who they insure with, I doubt theres any difference between them and any other fleets but I saw 3 written off from stobarts in December alone.
End of talking to you, your spamming this site with your idiotic rubbish.
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Just a thought Mike, ask a motorcycle speed cop where he sits when checking the speed of a motorist, another passing thought, when were owls them being the only creature with 360° vision allowed to drive?
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If I was a betting man, I would back Eddie Stobart's safety record against any other firm in the road transport industry
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Sean
Only if it was mounted on a 5ft pole in front of the lorry on the passenger side, this wouldn’t be good news for pedestrians or make the vehilce manoeuvrable. I was incorrect saying 5, all trucks since 2007 have 6, as a new mirror was added to eliminate the blind spot to the front which was causing deaths at pedestrian crossings.
You cannot eliminate blind spots on lorries, sure you could use cameras but with my experience of reversing cameras is they fail within months so don’t get replaced. With every mirror added you then create another blind spot which makes it hard to see that car/motorbike when pulling out from a junction. Imagine standing 8 ft from a house window and trying to see a bicycle lent against the wall outside, below the window without walking closer. There are visual aids intended for cyclists available on the net which show all the blind spots a lorry has.
When I drive in Europe I always notice the driving standards are better and drivers see the number plate and give a wide berth, why can't British drivers do this?
Only if it was mounted on a 5ft pole in front of the lorry on the passenger side, this wouldn’t be good news for pedestrians or make the vehilce manoeuvrable. I was incorrect saying 5, all trucks since 2007 have 6, as a new mirror was added to eliminate the blind spot to the front which was causing deaths at pedestrian crossings.
You cannot eliminate blind spots on lorries, sure you could use cameras but with my experience of reversing cameras is they fail within months so don’t get replaced. With every mirror added you then create another blind spot which makes it hard to see that car/motorbike when pulling out from a junction. Imagine standing 8 ft from a house window and trying to see a bicycle lent against the wall outside, below the window without walking closer. There are visual aids intended for cyclists available on the net which show all the blind spots a lorry has.
When I drive in Europe I always notice the driving standards are better and drivers see the number plate and give a wide berth, why can't British drivers do this?
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Mike
One question that you can probably answer for me.
Why, if a lorry has 5 mirrors, isn't one of them, or more, positioned to show that most dangerous point for a car to position itself. Surely the mirrors should cover the whole side of the vehicle seeing as it appears that these accidents are not one offs but fairly frequent?
Many thanks
Sean
One question that you can probably answer for me.
Why, if a lorry has 5 mirrors, isn't one of them, or more, positioned to show that most dangerous point for a car to position itself. Surely the mirrors should cover the whole side of the vehicle seeing as it appears that these accidents are not one offs but fairly frequent?
Many thanks
Sean
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Sean, its nothing to do with "lorry drivers being annoyed" that it happens, its a simple fact that if you sit in a lorries blindspot which is on the passenger side near the cab then you are risking being in a accident. if the driver can't see you when he checks 5 mirrors and out of the window then he isn't going to know you are there. Drivers just sit right next to cabs in heavy traffic rather than alongside the trailer where they can be seen.
Boblet, cars and bikes dont have blindpots like lorries as you can see 360 degrees, you can't see 360 degrees in a lorry unless you have x ray vesion. I would love to give you the keys to a lorry and let you show me how its done with all your knowledge of driving, you can't even legally drive a HGV on the road so why not shut up and talk about something you do know about. The worst HGV drivers I have assessed have still been better than any of the best car drivers but that goes to reason as no company will put someone in a £100,000 truck with a load that can be priceless if they are a bad driver. So Bob how many times have you driver a right hand drive truck on Euro work?
Boblet, cars and bikes dont have blindpots like lorries as you can see 360 degrees, you can't see 360 degrees in a lorry unless you have x ray vesion. I would love to give you the keys to a lorry and let you show me how its done with all your knowledge of driving, you can't even legally drive a HGV on the road so why not shut up and talk about something you do know about. The worst HGV drivers I have assessed have still been better than any of the best car drivers but that goes to reason as no company will put someone in a £100,000 truck with a load that can be priceless if they are a bad driver. So Bob how many times have you driver a right hand drive truck on Euro work?
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Iam not sure what you said Trucker? but can I clear a little point up for you, cars have blind spots to, as do motor bikes you have to learn how to drive with them, they exist where ever there is a rear view mirror.
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I am sorry for you Sean, this dubious practice started a few years ago, it is called knock for knock it is the crooked system insurance companies use for handling insurance claims. You must make a claim on the Polish company it may well be the same company.
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Hi. One of my taxis was hit by a Polish lorry moving from the inside lane to the middle and 5 months later they have come back to say that my driver drove into the truck. My advice to anyone that this happens to is to bite the bullet and do not claim. This is due to the fact that today I found out that even though I am dropping the claim, they can come back and claim off my insurance for damage to their lorry.
Not only are they lying but could potentially profit from their accident and there is nothing my insurance will do about it. They have simply bent over and accepted what the polish are going to deliver, at MY expense.
It feels great to be British and protected from these lorry drivers who clearly don't give a dam what they do over here as they know nothing will happen to them from a toothless lion.
As for the idiot trucker saying it is no wonder car drivers are hit, I wonder how he would react if his parents or children were ki11ed because a lorry driver was annoyed they were travelling in the middle lane along side him so just pulled out. What a brainless idiot you are 'Trucker'.
Not only are they lying but could potentially profit from their accident and there is nothing my insurance will do about it. They have simply bent over and accepted what the polish are going to deliver, at MY expense.
It feels great to be British and protected from these lorry drivers who clearly don't give a dam what they do over here as they know nothing will happen to them from a toothless lion.
As for the idiot trucker saying it is no wonder car drivers are hit, I wonder how he would react if his parents or children were ki11ed because a lorry driver was annoyed they were travelling in the middle lane along side him so just pulled out. What a brainless idiot you are 'Trucker'.
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Its okey all you car drivers moaning bout lorry drivers we could moan about car drivers all day long but do you think about wen your driving your cars and you always rush to get in front of us , when coming up to round abouts coming into our breaking space and when you sit beside us on the motorways it's no wonder you get hit there is a easy answer for this problem don't sit beside a Hgv for a long period of time simple even us English driver have blind spots think more when your driving car drivers !!!!!!!
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Ben, obviously you don't know anyone that works in a hospital. Its common for people to die in hospital due to wrong drug dosage and failures during operations. The difference is most of the time they can cover it up easily. My nan died during a routine hip operation due to incorrect dosage and a nurse I know ki11ed two people when she started by accident.
People make mistakes, every bank will have at least one till difference a day, so someone has paid in money and its not been processed correctly and won't get to where it is supposed to.
Prisioners escape due to someone breaching a procedure etc etc. You don't seem to have much experience of life, lol! Humans make mistakes, never been short changed at a till or had items for free becuase they were not scanned at the till? You can't drive a lorry so you can't comment, until you do then you have no idea.
People make mistakes, every bank will have at least one till difference a day, so someone has paid in money and its not been processed correctly and won't get to where it is supposed to.
Prisioners escape due to someone breaching a procedure etc etc. You don't seem to have much experience of life, lol! Humans make mistakes, never been short changed at a till or had items for free becuase they were not scanned at the till? You can't drive a lorry so you can't comment, until you do then you have no idea.
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