Was cruising home Friday morning on a road I know very well to come round a corner at 70mph+ to find a herd of cows on the road. The farmer usually puts signs out when he is moving them. I touched the brakes and car slid so pulled handbrake to try and keep me on the road. Anyway ended up in the field backwards. Just glad the only damage was to the back bumper as I had a Towbar fitted it managed to break a wee tree and flaten the hedge. Pictures will follow. The cows had broke out

Was also told by the police that the farmer is responsible for his animals. And he should fix my car. But I don't know what to do as he is a neighbour. Any ideas

would doubt his liability insurance will pay you out,contact your insurance company they will sort out liability but you may loose any no claims you have

I'm sorry but I don't see how this is the fault of the farmer...

A few to pick up from your post:

"a road I know very well" - Which probably means that you were driving too fast for the conditions letting your knowledge of the road guide you.

"round a corner at 70mph+" - For a start that is way above the speed limit on the road and if the police knew this fact they could possibly get you done for driving without due care and attention.

You should always be driving at a speed to allow you to stop in the distance you can see. If you can't see what is round then bend then you should be slowing down to get a better view in case you need to stop. The way I see it is that it is entirely your fault!

Phil

I got protected no claims so not worried about that. He is responsible he admitted that they broke out so I dunno what to do maybe take it on the chin dunno how bad it is yet. Car is sitting at the airport. Will know more today

Yeh he may be responsible for his livestock and they did break out but you are responsible for your driving and being able to stop in time etc etc.

He would have probably taken a different view if you had crashed into one of the cows and killed it. You/your insurance would have had to pay for a new cow!

Phil

The speed limit for he road is 70. I might have been over it.

I got protected no claims so not worried about that.

That might be irrelevent if they decide the insurance is null and void as it has a tow bar fitted

If I was you I would remove the fact that you have stated "Was cruising home Friday morning on a road I know very well to come round a corner at 70mph+"

If the farmer or his Insurance Company or even your own Insurance Company read your statement, I don't think you will have a leg to stand on.

DB.

I cleared this with insurance recently and was informed I'm just not Allowed go tow on the road with it.

Insurance companys won't be gettin involved. The farmer said he would fix it. But my problem is that he is a neighbour. And it isn't my fault and it isn't really his fault. It jet one of them things. So should I just fix it myself or let him do it

I touched the brakes and car slid so pulled handbrake to try and keep me on the road.

Am i the only one who is struggling to see why you would do that? the 'car slid' meaning either the wheels locked up (unlikely with ABS) or it started to go sideways - you then forced the car into spinning by pulling the handbrake on, WHY?

1.You were travelling well over the speed limit (was it on a dual carriageway?),

2. You were travelling too fast for the road conditions

3. Pulling the handbrake on actually made the situation worse.

The speed limit for he road is 70. I might have been over it.

Was it a dual carriageway?. if the road was a single (2 way) carriageway then the national speed limit is 60mph. Even then the limit is just that, a limit and not a target to be aimed for. As per the post by Gizmo68 pulling the handbrake will have made the situation far worse and the car impossible to control.

Insurance companys won't be gettin involved. The farmer said he would fix it. But my problem is that he is a neighbour. And it isn't my fault and it isn't really his fault. It jet one of them things. So should I just fix it myself or let him do it

I'd suggest that it is your fault buddy. You've already admitted you were doing 70+ and cornering as well! And why would you pull your handbrake?! That's going to lock the back wheels which is certainly not going to help matters if you're already going into a skid in the first place. So everything you were doing so far was incorrect, which has directly contributed to you totalling your car! You should always be able to stop within the distance you can see to be clear. If you couldn't see into the bend then under no circumstances should you have been doing "70+". In addition, it sounds to me like the road was near farmland so under normal circumstances it's going to be muddy and wet anyway and therefore more slippery, especially with the recent poor weather. Also, as someone else has pointed out, if it was a single lane carriageway (and it sounds like it was) the speed limit is 60 maximum. I'm not lecturing you, but maybe you should be taking a little bit more responsibility for your actions? What if it had been a family out walking or cyclists in the road or a slow moving vehicle? So I would say at the very least you should pay for the damage, or at most you should thank your neighbour for his generosity and maybe offer to split the repair bill 50/50.

just ask the farmer for a reasonable amount to repair your car

then drive slower round that bend in future, and dont pull your handbrake on in an emergency

:popcorn:

Ive used my handbrake once or twice I have to admit. You know, hill starts and alike

Nah kidding, you were speeding, smashed ya car up. End of.

I'm not going to get involved in who's fault it was, but if the Farmer is offering to pay and you'd like to keep him sweet then as said above, split the cost maybe?

One thing I would say having recently had a rear end repair is that those bumpers can hide allot of structural damage.. If you struck anything at any point then check your boot floor and spare wheel well for deformation. And also check your under tray is still attached.

Would be very interesting to see a 70mph limit road with a corner so tight that you can't see round it

One thing I would say having recently had a rear end repair is that those bumpers can hide allot of structural damage.. If you struck anything at any point then check your boot floor and spare wheel well for deformation. .

especially since you had a towbar fitted

Doesn't seem to be other damage other than the reAr bumper. And a few scrapes up the doors, hopefully they will buff out. The reason I slid is cause my abs never worked. And the road was slippy have since found out that there was an accident on road the night before causing the broken fence.

forgetting fault/blame etc get the car checked over - think about the forces involved in ~1300kg coming to a fairly abrupt stop, what took the initial brunt of those forces and what it's directly attached to...

The car didn't come to an abrupt stop. In ended up in the field. Must post pictures up of it

Doesn't seem to be other damage other than the reAr bumper. And a few scrapes up the doors, hopefully they will buff out. The reason I slid is cause my abs never worked. And the road was slippy have since found out that there was an accident on road the night before causing the broken fence.

So you was driving a defective vehicle at well in excess of the speed limit or in what must have been poor conditions for the car to enter a slide, and to top it all off you are such an incompitent driver you actually jerked the handbrake up at 70mph:eek: I think the poor farmer and your insurer should be sent a link to this thread!

The reason I slid is cause my abs never worked. And the road was slippy

The ABS most likely was doing its best at the time, sadly its not able to override the laws of physics. ABS should not be looked upon as a tool to help you, if you are going to quickly around the corner then it doesnt matter if the car has ABS, ESP, ASR etc. you are going to crash, especially as in this case where the road by your own admission was slippy.

Braking in a corner ABS or no ABS at speed will always lead to understeer, or even worse oversteer in the wet, as the whole weight of the car is transfered to a single front wheel which causes the backend to go light. You then grabbed the handbrake which caused the backend to lose what little grip it had, so around you go. If you keep the brakes applied the slide becomes worse, what you should have done is ease of the brakes and apply them more gently.

It does not matter that the cows were in the road, or that their were no signs. What if around the corner was a group of cyclists taking the width of the road.