Car Accident, Need Help with Video Footage or Witness

I had a major car accident with airbags deployed yesterday (Sunday) on the Great Western Highway crossing the Bridge Rd in front of Budget Car Rental Westmead. The car on the picture is the other driver's car. My car is a Hyundai i40 wagon. I would like to ask if you witnessed this accident please PM me. Or if you have video footage of the accident that will do as well. Their insurance will chase me as "at fault" however, he was crossing the intersection at full speed on the bus lane which he is now allowed to (he could only turn left from the bus lane). My partner got some bruises and a whiplash but she is ok and I am ok as well.

The place is know by the locals to have this type of accident very often. When I was crossing both lanes the traffic was not moving.

TLDR: contact me if you witnessed or have video footage of yesterday's accident in front of Budget Car rental Westmead.

https://i.imgur.com/QYqMlPv.jpg

closed Comments

  • +3

    Why I don't drive without dashcams. Good to hear you are both okay and hoping someone in here can help. UP

  • +2

    Did you cross the on-coming traffic? What colour was the light (which is going to be hard to price anyway with the footage you seek)?

    However, I guess your question wasn't about blame but if footage exists. I only ask the above question for you to reflect on if you're indeed at fault or not, as footage won't help if you are at fault.

    • Light was green for both of us

      • +5

        If you both had green and you made the turn (assuming right turn across his going straight), then it sounds like you're at fault. It doesn't matter that he was in the bus lane, which can allow cars to drive in it (dependent on location/time/intersection layout etc).

        Hence my earlier comment that dash cam may night assist you if you're indeed at fault and you may be expending energy unnecessarily or potentially generating expectations of the situation which aren't warranted.

        EDIT: Upon checking the photo, you're correct it seems that he shouldn't have been in the bus lane. It says BUS 24 hours. BUT.. that still doesn't mean that he is at fault or that you're absolved of your involvement in the crash

  • +3

    Glad you are okay.

    Contact your insurer. They may assist with obtaining footage from the surrounding businesses if they think it is worth disputing.

  • +5

    Do you have insurance?

  • +8

    he was crossing the intersection at full speed

    What speed is one meant to cross intersections?

    • -1

      Does he mean the full speed the car was capable of or the speed limit or at the OPs limit of attention?

  • +4

    Afraid that regardless of dashcam etc. it will be deemed your fault as you turned in front of oncoming traffic. This is the first event and what happened afterwards does not count in assessing who is at fault.
    Exact same thing happened to me!

  • +5

    MS paint please, hard to understand what had happened for us to make our decision.

    • +8

      Yo! Wassup

      • +1

        Please help Op to draw one, like the magic pad in Toy's story.

    • +8

      OP turned right through a gap in stationary traffic. Other vehicle was driving down the bus lane full tilt. Probably makes up about 40% of accidents on Dashcams Australia

      • If that's the case, dashcam footage isn't going to save him anyway.

      • People who drive in bus lanes, never trust they are going to turn.

  • You didn’t mention that you have insurance or not ?

    • -2

      I don't have

      • +3

        Good luck with that.

  • Will insurer accept MS Paint diagrams?

    Plus, what a strange photo. I see no i40 wagon. Where's the other photos?

  • +7

    Sounds like you're at fault, you cant just assume people will turn because its a bus lane.

    • -1

      Yay, we only can sound like without the MS paint

  • +1

    While I don't have the full information, the fact they drove on the lane way won't make it their fault.

    As you were moving away from your original lane, into another lane, it is your responsibility to be safe while you do this.

    Even if you have a video to show, the other driver doing what you say, it won't matter much

    Let your insurer deal with it. Ps, take care of those necks

  • Try asking Dashcam Australia on FB.

  • My partner got some bruises and a whiplash but she

    Did you call Parra LAC?

  • +1

    Sounds like op may not have insurance?

    • You got to ask/imply it subtly.

      • Colour me surprised!

        • +1

          It'll be interesting to know if the other party has insurance. If they don't, I reckon they should hash it out over 7 rounds in the octagon.

          • @[Deactivated]: I would pay to see it. If they can get a few spectators, they may be able to split the earnings and each buy a Datsun sunny.

          • @[Deactivated]: Other party was insured

            • @[Deactivated]: Why the name change?

            • @[Deactivated]: You will be receiving quite the bill from their insurance company then.

  • +9

    I don't get what difference it would make if he was going straight or turning left from the bus lane - in either case it wouldn't have been clear for you to turn?

  • As said above, sounds like you're at least partly at fault anyway. Video footage won't help that.

    • It won't matter. OP is uninsured. Unless the other party doesn't have comprehensive, OP is pretty screwed.

    • 100% at fault

  • Any reason why you don't have insurance?

    • -1

      Firstly, congrats to OP for not creating a soon to be Disabled new user just for this post.

      Probably the usual reason; Can afford a car but not the insurance…

      It's idiocy to drive without at least a 3rd party cover.

      I've always gone as far as obtaining a cover note for a car purchase, before picking it up from the owner. This saved me on one occasion years ago, when ~10mins after picking up the car (Ford Laser TX3 Turbo 4WD - fun car), some idiot crashed in to me.

      • +1

        Apparently cover notes aren't a thing anymore but all insurers give you a cooling off period. I guess the only difference is that you have to pay for it upfront.

        • Well things have changed since then, the period I'm referring to -re accident was 1998.

          Good to see there is an alternative.

      • Ford Laser TX3 Turbo 4WD

        Always wanted a black one with white wheels when I first got my license. Purchased an RS2000 instead. Wish I still had it. Prices on those are stupid.

        • +1

          I owned a Red KE TX3 Turbo (early 90's), and the newer Black KH TX3 Turbo 4WD (late 90's). Both were great/fun cars to drive thorough the windy Adelaide hills.

  • Are you not allowed to travel in the bus lane if you're within 100 meters of making a turn?

    • Road Rule 158 deals with how a driver can use a bus lane if they are not a bus. And yes, 100m under the right circumstances.

  • +4

    It seems as though you have turned across oncoming traffic, where that oncoming traffic had a green light and therefore right of way.

    The fact that the car you collided with was in a bus lane at the time is not relevant from an insurance/at fault perspective.

    Given you don't have insurance, it's time to start preparing your finances.

  • +1

    Just did a quick quote on racv. Third party insurance for me for an i40 is $120pa

    • How much to buy another i40 and pay out the third party for their golf?

      • It could have been worse, I think I see 4 exhaust pipes on the BMW M(?) further up the road in the photo.

        • Which high definition (FBI enhanced?) picture are you looking at? The maroon car looks like a lancer or maybe an eclipse or are you talking the white car further up.

          I think the giant "look" on the footpath is ironic.

          • +1

            @MS Paint: I'm talking about the dark coloured car on the left at the next lights.

            No, I'm not drawing you a MS Paint diagram. ;)

  • Nvm, re-read OP for answer..

  • +1

    Stopped reading after OPs responses deemed them at fault. Probably should have stopped when they said “no insurance”…

  • The place is know by the locals to have this type of accident very often.

    And you still turned across oncoming traffic?

    Weren't you paying attention?

    That's why insurance should be compulsory for all cars.

  • I know this intersection well, and have seen some near misses there.
    You are wrong in the assumption that "on the bus lane which he is now allowed to (he could only turn left from the bus lane)."
    The other car could have been taking a left into the Budget yard or Hawkesbury Road from GW Highway, which are both within 100m of the intersection of your crash. So they are legally allowed to be in that bus lane. Even if they were speeding, you were changing lanes and you will be deemed at fault for this.
    Sucks that you don't have insurance. All the best!

    • Yep I've seen nasty accidents at this intersection. The combination of the curved road preceding it and the fact that many people illegally use the bus lane makes turning right across banked-up traffic very dicey. OP's comment should be "he was crossing the intersection at full speed on the bus lane which he is [not] allowed to". Sorry OP but you're going to struggle to get out of this one even though he was using the bus lane incorrectly given you were turning right across traffic.

      I don't get how intersections like this allow traffic to turn at will (ie. the red arrow is not on all the time except for when turning) but intersections like this (turning into Oakes Rd off Old Windsor Rd) have a full time red even though it's a straight road and you can see oncoming traffic for 500m+
      https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Oakes+Rd,+Winston+Hills…

      • Ah! I realised now that the OP had a typo of "now" instead of "not". But the other driver could still be turning left going into the Budget yard or into Hawkesbury road that are within 100m of the Bridge Rd intersection, which means they weren't using the lane incorrectly. That would put OP at fault nevertheless.

        • Turning into Bridge Rd yes (but you'd expect them to be at low speed). You cannot enter the bus lane before Bridge Rd to turn left into Hawkesbury Rd; you can only move into it where the line is broken just before Hawkesbury Rd (where the white car is on this Google Maps view). People do it all the time but it is illegal.

          https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Bridge+Rd,+Westmead+NSW…

          Similarly in the reverse direction people use the bus lane from Hawkesbury Rd to go past Bridge Rd and then filter onto the M4 onramp; again illegal as you can only enter the bus lane just before the on-ramp where the line is broken (but again most people don't care).

    • With these types of intersection, dont you just slowly ease into it? The traffic is banked up anyway, no rush to just slam the accelerator until it is clear, or
      to let Jesus take the wheel.

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