Half an hour ago, I was near home following an 11 plate metallic grey Polo when suddenly the car in front of the Polo did a really stupid last second fast braking and right turn/skid out of nowhere, forcing the Polo to brake hard and forcing me to brake hard. But I ended up making contact with the Polo. Amazingly no damage to mine, but light scratches along parts of his bumper. Swapped details. Where do I stand on this? Is it an absolutely clear cut case that I should never have gone into the back of him? Could I argue that he was driving too fast (I don't know what it was, he reckoned 30mph) causing him to brake harder than needed? What I would like to try and do is get it so that it looks like a mutual accident and his insurance pays for his damage, and mine pays for mine, even though there's nothing to fix that I can see. The driver was some russian sounding guy, around 25 years old, and passengers were a middle aged indian looking woman who is actually the car owner, and some indian guy.
Minor accident
- Thread starter Merlin5
- Start date
Afraid if you go into the back of someone you are basically liable. You are deemed to have been too close.
People should always drive far enough away from the vehicle in front such that if it brakes as hard as it can, you can stop before hitting them.
People should always drive far enough away from the vehicle in front such that if it brakes as hard as it can, you can stop before hitting them.
It's your fault, end of.
Your best case scenario is that the Russian bloke driving isn't actually insured, or there is something dodgy up with him/the car and so he doesn't do anything and you never hear from them again.
The worst case scenario is that the reason the car in front of the Polo did some stupid stop/skid is because it was all a scam to make you hit the Polo. Car does a quick stop, Polo does a quick stop, you hit Polo, everyone claims for whiplash.
What will probably happen is that you'll get a phone call from your insurer in a day or so asking your side of the events, the Russian will claim on your insurance and it will go as a fault claim against you.
Your best case scenario is that the Russian bloke driving isn't actually insured, or there is something dodgy up with him/the car and so he doesn't do anything and you never hear from them again.
The worst case scenario is that the reason the car in front of the Polo did some stupid stop/skid is because it was all a scam to make you hit the Polo. Car does a quick stop, Polo does a quick stop, you hit Polo, everyone claims for whiplash.
What will probably happen is that you'll get a phone call from your insurer in a day or so asking your side of the events, the Russian will claim on your insurance and it will go as a fault claim against you.
Soldato
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Sounds like you have been the victim of an insurance scam.
Well I dunno, it might be scam, but I doubt it.
Anyway, should I call my insurance tomorrow or wait for them to call me? How will it affect me? I've already agreed a renewal price where my insurance renews on the 24th or 26th of this month. Will that now change? I do have protected no claims though.
As far as them claiming personal injury, well, there's no damage to my car and only some grazes on theirs, no dents I could see. Surely a valid claim for personal injury like whiplash would mean the car contact would have made more damage? I mean it would be obvious to an insurance inspector that the hit was quite light?
Anyway, should I call my insurance tomorrow or wait for them to call me? How will it affect me? I've already agreed a renewal price where my insurance renews on the 24th or 26th of this month. Will that now change? I do have protected no claims though.
As far as them claiming personal injury, well, there's no damage to my car and only some grazes on theirs, no dents I could see. Surely a valid claim for personal injury like whiplash would mean the car contact would have made more damage? I mean it would be obvious to an insurance inspector that the hit was quite light?
Associate
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- Oxford
I remember reading a story where someone got scammed when there wasn't even an accident, just some idiot sharply braking right in front of them - then suddenly there's some personal claim against them for whiplash.
You report it to your insurance company ASAP.
Your policy will contain a clause similar to this:
Been too busy today to find time to speak to them, I'll have to ring them in the morning.
Got a dashboard warning earlier that my passenger airbag has been disabled. Is that reasonably easy and cheap to get a garage to fix?
Got a dashboard warning earlier that my passenger airbag has been disabled. Is that reasonably easy and cheap to get a garage to fix?
Does the car have sensors in the seats? Your little extreme stop may just have managed to unplug/ expose some crap wiring thats the first thing id check (normally if you roll the seat back /undo the rail bolts and tilt the seat back then you'll see the sensor plug) You'll need the full code for anything else really
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Could be that I suppose. It's a peugeot 307, does that have seat sensors? I was reading about this error message on a car forum and it may be that sensors need to be recalbrated unless it's plugs that have come undone like you said.
Before the message came up on the radio display screen, all my various icons (STOP, engine management icon, etc, all the usual stuff that comes on when you first start the car) lit up and stayed on when I turned the engine off and took the key out. Then the airbag message appeared. Came back to the car half an hour later, no more lights or warning messages since.
You're right about wiring under the passenger seat according to the last two replies here.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080930113255AAtezVB
lol . indians and russians probably outnumber the english in london
its your fault plain and simple OP , even if you did manage a 50/50 it doesnt work as your own insurance paying for your own damage (none) , you end up paying for each others damage afaik
Fair enough. Looks like my insurance company will have to fork out. Few questions:
My insurance schedule says Code 5 Protected No Claims Discount : 9 years protected. Does that mean my premium won't get penalised? I've already got my renewal certificate starting 24th September, so is the new yearly amount/monthly installments that I accepted last month with them likely to stay the same?
Policy Excess for accidental damage: Voluntary excess £250, Compulsory Excess £100. I presume that's only for claiming damage on my own car and not the car I hit?
What do you think the insurance company would end up paying for a 2011 VW Golf metallic grey for a few light grazes/scratches along the bumper? That's the problem with today's cars, bumpers aren't bumpers anymore, they're expensive painted bodywork like the rest of the car. Do you think they'll have to respray the whole bumper section and it'll cost like £1000 or something?