Man seeks £50,000 in compensation from insurer after Rolls-Royce crash

Expert witness says that driver caused damage to car

A classic car enthusiast caused nearly £50,000 damage to his Rolls-Royce by scraping it along the side of a lorry, an expert witness told a court.

Trevor Pickering’s vintage Roll-Royce Silver Cloud was left with catastrophic damage after it was involved in a collision with a passing truck and trailer.

Expert witness Alan Bathgate told Perth Sheriff Court he believed the damage on the car could only have been caused by it crossing the centre line and hitting the other vehicle.

Mr Bathgate said: “The Rolls-Royce has absolutely no crumple zones. The angle of the damage to the Rolls-Royce indicates where the vehicles were in relation to each other.

“The impact is towards the centre of the vehicle. That could only come from the Rolls-Royce moving forward. It could only occur by the Rolls-Royce driving forward and pushing into the lorry.”

Mr Pickering, who is seeking £48,112 compensation for the damage, told the court the lorry and trailer crossed the centre line and smashed into his vintage car while he was on holiday in Scotland.

He is seeking compensation from insurer Aviva after claiming another driver was responsible for the crash.

Mr Pickering, of Loddon, Norfolk, claims the accident put his beloved classic car off the road for a year and deprived him of the pleasure of driving it.

In his claim against the Perth-based insurer, he said the accident had happened on the A984 between Dunkeld and Caputh in Perthshire on July 15 2016.

His writ states: “As he came round the left-hand bend the articulated lorry was travelling in the opposite direction.

“The lorry encroached over the centre line of the roadway and collided with the pursuer’s correctly proceeding vehicle.

“A (third) vehicle, travelling behind Mr Pickering’s car, then struck the rear of it. The accident was caused by the fault and negligence of the insured defender. It was the duty of the insured to take reasonable care for the safety of other road users.

“He had a duty to exercise reasonable care in driving his vehicle, to keep it under control and to avoid his vehicle crossing over the centre line.

“Had he fulfilled the duties incumbent upon him the accident would not have occurred. His vehicle suffered extensive damage and repairs amounted to 46,676 pounds.”

He said the £3,724 damage caused by the rear shunt would be taken off the bill.

However, he said recovering his vehicle cost £1,416, while a hire car and taxi amounted to £243 and loss of use “conservatively” was estimated at £2,500.

Aviva are defending the action and claim that it was Mr Pickering who was on the wrong side of the road at the time of the first collision.

The company claim it was he who failed to exercise the proper duty of care and caused the crash.

The court was told that there was no dispute between the parties about the cost of the damage, but the issue came down to who was on the wrong side of the road.

Sheriff Gillian Wade said she would issue her judgment in writing at a later date.

Trevor Pickering was involved in the accident, which took place while he was on holiday in Scotland.