Can someone ease my friends mind? -Accident, Alberta ,Canada.

[believermam]

So a friend was driving in the far right lane of 3 including the left turning lane at the upcoming intersection.
He was driving in a straight line, never made a lane change or an attempt to do so.

There was an accident at the intersection causing the left two lanes of traffic to be shuffled into the far right lane in order for everyone to turn right at the intersection and avoid the accident all together.

This is when an older gentleman decided to just change lanes with no signal light or any prior warning even though my friend's vehicle was already in the path of him doing so.

The wife and husband jumped out all frantic screaming and cussing, they both took turns digging their finger into my friend's chest saying things like "your a fuckin punk little shit, that damage was already there, ect."

They also refused to provide any documents like insurance, registration or driver's license. The gentleman even went as far as physically pushing my friend. That's when my friend walked over to the previous accident and asked an officer for assistance.

After a ton of back n forth with the husband and wife my friend was able to get the copies of documents and on we went.

We are both curious if this accident is as cut and dry as we think it is? Someone driving into your lane and striking your vehicle...

Thanks for any advice.

 

[former32%C2%B0mason]

@believermam Assuming it works generally the same way as it does in the states:

The issue is going to be proving what happened. The other people involved in the accident sound a bit unhinged and it wouldn't be surprising if they lied to their insurance to make it seem like they weren't at fault. Without independent evidence, such as a dash cam or a credible unbiased witness, it could end up being word vs. word with both companies denying liability and each person paying for their own damage. All you can do is tell the truth about what happened when the adjuster asks. If there was a police report filed and any comments from them at the scene that could be helpful, though it won't be the final determination.

 

[believermam]

@former32%C2%B0mason I don't see how anyone who drives into the other lane with 3/4 of their vehicle across the line before it made contact to the front of my friends vehicle would be anything other then at fault

But I appreciate your advice

 

[former32%C2%B0mason]

@believermam Of course they are at fault, at least from your description. However it sounds like they may be crazy enough to lie and tell their insurance company a different story. Without video evidence, it could end up being their story against your friend's. It also depends on how much the insurance companies want to investigate if your friend insists they were not at fault. They could go as far as examining and comparing the damage (but could still come to the conclusion that it can't be determined from that), or they might just deny liability based on their customer's statement. Dealing with crazy people is very unfortunate.

 

[believermam]

@former32%C2%B0mason Oh I get what your saying now yeah.

 

[resjudicata]

@believermam Collisions in Canada are not cut and dry nor are they black and white.

As an instructor and collision safety specialist I can tell you that Insurance looks at every driver as being responsible for avoiding collisions.

Driver in right lane knows there’s a collision and traffic is merging into his lane - so he has an obligation to allow vehicles to enter his lane and keep himself safe. It’s not “his” lane. He’s just occupying that lane. So yes - he will have a little more of a say over the lane because he was already in that lane - however he also has to keep himself safe and avoid collisions as well.

The other driver who hit him SHOULD be at fault and very well could be - but it really depends on the statements you give to insurance and the word for words on what you say.

Most people say too much when they’re nervous and indict themselves making themselves 50% liable for a collision they never caused.

What I mean by this is if the driver said something like “I seen him moving over but he didn’t have a signal light on or anything “ - this tells insurance you SEEN that car moving towards you and you did nothing.

Signal light or not - doesn’t really matter. If he SEEN the car coming and don’t try to avoid an accident - he “could” be found partially at fault.

If he said he seen the car but it was driving straight and then the next thing he knows he was side swiped - that could mean he didn’t anticipate the car to move over suddenly and they might not find your friend at fault for the collision because it was not preventable.

They will look at whether or not this collision was preventable by both drivers. And they also have to take into consideration the other peoples statement as well.

Best thing to do would to go after assault charges on that other driver for touching your friend and being aggressive and threatening. The fact he needed police to intervene says everything. I would go make a police statement on the whole situation and ask to press charges of assault down at the police station. This will show that other driver was very aggressive and could help your claim because aggressive drivers are reckless drivers. (Even if you don’t go thru with it - it shows that you were violated at a scene by these other people which will paint a picture as to what these people are like)

Biggest piece of advice is just be very careful in what you say to insurance. They record EVERYTHING you say and will hold it against you if they can.

Most times if the collisions was unavoidable and that person hit you - they should be found at fault. But it’s not clear cut and dry with insurance so be careful out there! Drive defensively at all times.