Forum

[M4OOH]

Hi all, new here. Ive been driving 11 years and hold a hgv1, hazardous goods and crane license I have been involved in an accident recently (2nd since i passed and 1st for 10 years) and i would like some advice regarding some road signs, i am in court soon about it and want to be 100% certain that i am right so that i can stand my ground firmly. I have searched the internet for details but cant find anything.
I was driving a hgv at the time and was overtaken by a car which was in a lane that came to an end (plenty of warning signs and arrows on the road) basically the car driver applied their brakes when they realised there was traffic in front of me and got back in behind me, somehow in the process hitting the back of my truck with the front/side of their car?? Anyway i just want to clarify 100% what the merge arrows on the road actually mean in technical terms, and when seeing advance signs that the lane is ending what course of action should/should not be taken? Im of the opinion that the arrows on the road mean that if you are in that lane you should get out of it safely, even if it means slowing down and getting behind a vehicle (particularly a large one) that you might be overtaking at the time, not try and use every inch left and bully your way in front of someone already in that lane. Basically i think that if you are in that situation its your responsibility to merge safely.
Can someone help please? it would be much appreciated.
A frustrated driver!
Spencer

[musosmiffy]

Welcome to the boards Spencer. I'm obviously not police or a lawyer but my view is:

1) The car hit you!
2) The car was in a lane that was coming to an end and he/she had the lane markings (arrows) to merge. All drivers will have responsibility to ensure safety but surely the major element of the responsibility would lie with the car driver to do it safely and in good time?

As an aside, if I was in a 'fight' with an HGV, I would quickly back down! Life is just too short.

I assume you didn't exacerbate the situation by accelerating as the car was trying to get ahead and then in front of you? Are YOU being prosecuted?

Good luck.

[M4OOH]

Hi, thanks for the reply, i am indeed being prosecuted, undue care and attention. As well as the outside lane ending it was also approaching a roundabout in fairly dense traffic, hence the no space in front of me to pull into. The driver of the other car actually says in their statement "i was amazed how quickly the truck built up speed" part of the highway code says that when overtaking you should assess the speed of the traffic! i was keeping up with the flow of traffic in front of me (the truck was un-laden so was easily keeping up with the cars in front) im hoping that in court they see that the way i do, which is basically that the other driver wasnt paying enough attention to a vehicle they planned on overtaking as they should have been, which is surely undue care and attention on their part??