Someone just crashed into me :-(

Post by **rsawatson** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:56 pm

I was just driving home, approaching a roundabout, indicating right. As I moved onto the roundabout, the driver in the left hand lane decellerated and just ploughed into my off side for no reason whatsoever! I could not believe what I was seeing!

Anyway, to make matters worse he just carried on driving! After presumably realising that I was indeed still following him he stopped. He got out the car - refused to accept it was his fault and blamed it totally on me - claimed that I was in the wrong - raised his voice - I got angry - gave him a load of 'this' about how much I look after my car and the last thing it needs is prats like him driving into me...

Anyway, once I'd kind of calmed down I asked for his details and he refused to give them to me! Once I reminded him that it was in fact the law, he reluctantly obliged. Such audacity!

Now I have a scratched and dented front wing. Because of the nature of it being a busy roundabout together with the fact he drove off, I have no witnesses and it's my word against his. I'm now really worried that I won't get anything at all. All I want is my pride and joy to be how it was before he got himself involved!

I can only hope.

<br>

Post by **8009STEVE** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:11 pm

Send a photo of damage to your car along with the insurance claim. Did you get a photo of his damage? if so, the send that as well. Make sure you do the diagram of before and at point of impact, include road markings. Tell insurance that he drove off and only stopped after he realised that you were following. Tell them that he refused to give details.

Throw as much mud as you can and a lot af it will stick.

Hpoe it all goes well.

Hope his name did not end in "SKI"

Post by **Dean** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:33 pm

Yes I agree, just let the insurances fight it out between them. Fill in the forms like Steve says... good luck. ;)

Post by **Blaketon** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:53 pm

Most people, especially ones as arrogant as him, would hardly have driven on if you really had wronged them. These people have dual standards and expect to do un to others, that which they will not accept done to them. They are the sorts of people I could happily “Smack in the mouth”

.

I have to ask whether you had any way of verifying his details (Did you see his license?), as his behaviour suggests he has something to hide (Stolen car, no insurance, banned driver – sorry if that sounds full of doom and gloom). It may be worth finding out if there is any CCTV of the roundabout.

I have to say that as the driver of classic cars (I have no “Modern”) and also a keen cyclist (By cyclist, I don’t mean someone who rides on pavements or at night without lights – these are the equivalent of the uninsured, no MOT, banned motorists), I find certain parallels exist between the two pursuits. I think that these are based on assumptions, made by the non cyclist or non classic driver, based upon their own standards.

For example, “I can only ride a bike at 10mph, so every bike travels at no more than 10mph” or “My cars are all a bit clapped after five years in my ownership, so one that is 40 years old must be on its last legs”. In each case it leads people to assume that the old car or bike is travelling much more slowly than it really is and it leads them into making inappropriate manoeuvres, such as attempting to overtake a cyclist and then turning left into the cyclist or pulling out of a junction in front of you because they assume they have plenty of time.

Of my cars, the Morris Traveller attracts more attention than either of the MGs (Midget and BGT V8 ). It was not something I anticipated when I bought it and so when (After about twenty minutes of ownership) I found an Australian tourist filming it at a motorway service station, I was taken aback. I don’t think it has been filmed since but it does tend to attract attention. The point is however that for every person who admires it, when stationary, there are ten who either can’t wait to overtake it or who appear to resent being overtaken by it.

I hope you get it sorted and that it doesn't happen again.

Post by **ASL642** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 3:00 pm

Word of caution! Do you have an Excess? How much is it? Remember before you make a claim they expect you to fork out this amount - expecially if there were no witnesses. I know it's hard to take but if the excess is more than repair to a panel + paint you may find it cheaper to forget it and just have the repair done privately. Insurance companies seem to be getting lazier and can't be bothered to chase the other party - they seem to think it's easier to settle "knock for knock" which means they take your money and don't claim off the other party. This leaves you with a higher remium.

Post by **moggie-tom** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 3:09 pm

Sorry to hear about your incident.

it leads people to assume that the old car or bike is travelling much more slowly than it really is and it leads them into making inappropriate manoeuvres

What really gets me is when lorries try and overtake when they aren't exactly fast themselves and they end up holding everyone up behind.

Post by **superchargedfool** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 3:23 pm

As annoying as it is what I am going to suggest I think I am right.

Just have it fixed and forget it!

It is a £100 to £200 repair even if you go somewhere really expensive. If you claim it will be aggro, you may lose your no claims or use up a protected life. You will have to pay your excess and it will take ages to sort if he fights.

And thats all if he has insurance at all.

Just swallow it have it fixed and be gratefull it wasn't worse.

It isn't worth the aggro.

Post by **youngun** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 3:27 pm

Get the guys details verified, get as much evidence as possible and hammer the chap. He deserves it for being so obnoxious and arrogant in the first place.

YG

Post by **Dean** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 3:37 pm

Ask DVLA for A V888... find out where he lives and we will all pay him a visit...

Post by **d_harris** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 3:43 pm

I am in the midst of an insurance claim at the moment can't go into too much detail here as its about to go to court. Basic Jist is that someone says I hit his car when I wasn't even there!

If he wants to be difficult it could take YEARS to sort out, lose you any NCB you have or are about to earn and put an accident on record as a young driver (you've only recently passed your test right?) if you claim you will find your policy double or even treble next year. For the sake of a £200 repair job its not worth the haslle IMHO

Post by **superchargedfool** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 3:49 pm

I am a believer in eye for an eye and if someone deficates on you do it back worse but sometimes you know the aggro just isn't worth it.

Post by **Jefftav** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 3:55 pm

Don't want to be a doom monger (bit I am going to be) Almost a very similar thing happened to me except the man was extremely pleasant (this was after I had stopped him driving off, mind you) and gave me his business details ( a respectable local business man) and he asked for 3 estimates and he would write a cheque as he didn't want any hassle. You all know whats coming. He never paid up and when I enquired with the police/solicitor apart from sueing him there is nothing you can do as he did leave his details (the police weren't interested in checking that he did have insurance, too busy it seems). Another police officer (of the record of course) told me next time to start screaming and yelling roll around on the floor like I have been hit by a bullet an ambulance & police will come then take 2 weeks off for whiplash injury as well as claiming for car damage. This way the police will come and get involved and the other parties insurance have to get involved (if they have any) and eventually my claim will be settled.

No wonder we all pay such high insurance costs and no wonder so many drivers just don't bother. That was an expensive lesson learn't.

I'll get off my soapbox

Post by **Peetee** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 4:48 pm

My people mover was hit in an airport car park. I informed my insurer. it took a while but they established the car park company was at fault and suggested the best course of action was for me to pay the excess, have the repair done and produce a reciept to persue the guilty party. I made it clear that I was not responsible, was not prepared to pay an excess and was not making a claim against my insurer. That seemed to kick them into action (they wanted some money for the work they had already put in) and within a short space of time they had the whole thing repaired and resolved by the other party. The next year my insurance premium went down.

I'm totally convinced there are too many occasions where insurers utilise the 'Gentleman's Agreement'. Regardless of the blame they will split the cost and call it 'knock for knock'. your excess pays for the initial calls and paperwork only. With thousands of customers on their books it all evens out eventually and it hugely reduces the number of open claims. It's recorded as a claim and your premium is affected. It's only if you refuse to pay the excess they do the right thing and, with a bit of luck, things become fairer.

Post by **d_harris** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 4:58 pm

And when you weren't even there, they really couldn't give a monkeys

Post by **RogerRust** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 8:55 am

I like to keep calm on these occasions. It always amazes me that perfectly normal people get aggressive and act in a violent manner. Actually it was an accident, I doubt it was done on purpose.

First of all you must report the accident to your insurance company otherwise they will throw out any claim you try to make.

Reporting the accident is not the same as making a claim.

If you have legal cover with your insurance you could ask them to contact him and take it from there.

The only worry in the absence of witnesses is that the other party might blame it on you, then as others have said you will loose your no claims.

It doesn't look like too big a dent and probably will cost less than your excess to fix.

I presume you gave the other driver your details, this makes it even more important to tell your insurance company in case he makes a claim against you. Don't do anything in a hurry just report it and see what happens, you could call your company in a week or two and check that he hasn't made a claim. Meanwhile get a quote or two for the repairs.

good luck, Roger

Post by **andrew.searston** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 9:26 am

i had some one drive in to the rear valance of mine, i stoped him but he drove off but later called round and said he was sorry and paid up the same day in cash.
i was lucky on this one as i didnt have his reg

Post by **autolycus** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 2:48 pm

Was the other car damaged? If not, just keep quiet and get your car fixed. If you once tell your insurers, you'll have to declare it for anything up to 5 years every time you try to get an insurance quote. It might not affect your ncd, but it might affect the basic premium, especially if you have even one more claim.

I doubt any insurer, or, for that matter, judge in a civil court, is going to believe your version - it just doesn't figure, even without the offside/nearside confusion. A decelerating car, joining a roundabout, managing to hit a car on its outside? Not as likely as an inexperienced driver cutting back across to the left, I fear. No-one will know the exact sequence of events.

Sorry, but one to put down to experience, I think. Getting angry with the other driver rarely helps, and may just make it more likely he'll claim against you.

Kevin

Post by **rsawatson** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 1:40 pm

The line I am persuing is via his insurance company, so if anything comes of it there will be no direct cost to myself. I would be perfectly happy to accept an insurance company-free settlement but he is refusing to admit liabilty and I am reluctant to pay to replace the wing. I am legally obliged to inform my insurance company anyway if I am involved in a collision, which is what I have done. On their advice the claim is being put via the other party's insurers and remains completely independant of mine. I will not make a claim on my own insurance policy and I have been assured by Footman James that if the matter proceeds in this way it will incur no undue costs unto me in the future.

I am slightly confused by the implication of the post above ^^, perhaps you misunderstood what I meant. We were both on the roundabout at the same time, I was in the right hand lane indicating right, he was in the left-hand lane and not indicating. He then proceeded to drift (not following the shape of the roundabout) into my lane and into my car. I do not see what is so confusing/unbelievable about that. The dent clearly shows that he came into me and it was not vice versa.

I accept the point that it is going to be difficult for me because I did not have any witnesses. The only evidence lies in our respective accounts of the event and the marks themselves (which are conclusive in my view). I can only wait and see.

Post by **Peetee** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 2:27 pm

You respective addresses and destinations at the time may be enough to prove your relative positions on the roundabout. A former colleague of mine won a case in just this way.

Post by **autolycus** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 2:34 pm

Legally and indeed morally you are right to have informed your insurance company. Practically, it will be an albatross round your neck for years, as you'll have to tell anyone whose car you want to drive, and they'll have to tell their insurer. Most insurers will probably ignore one claim or accident, but add in, say, a windscreen claim, and a genuinely no-fault claim... It's OK for Footman James to say what they have, but it's not them trying to insure another car.

I understood what you're saying happened, though the relevance of the other driver's deceleration isn't clear without knowing your acceleration or deceleration. But when two drivers on a roundabout each claim the other drifted out of position, and there are no witnesses, you'll need a very expensive expert to prove who hit whom - if indeed that's a meaningful concept at all. You were both moving, and your trajectories crossed. You may well be completely innocent, but unless the other driver has a sudden pang of conscience, why should he do anything other than claim that the mirror image of your scenario actually occurred? That he was pootling round the roundabout, when a car on his off side accelerated and crossed into his path?

Watch out for claims of betterment, too, and a corresponding request to contribute to the repair. If the wing's too rusty to knock out a relatively shallow dent, the insurer may try that one on.

Kevin