Just had a car accident

robnye

i think i already know the answer to this

just had an accident on a wet country road, i was travelling down hill, reached the bottom at approx 30mph, saw a car approx 200 yards away, coming the other way, noticed 2 passing points on their side of the road,

i started braking, i was just going past the second passing point, i then saw that they had continued past the first passing point, so I braked harder and went into a skid, steered the car up a small bank, as my car rolled back down the bank, the other car was still slowing down, i hit the front drivers wing at approx 5/8 mph and due to the other car still moving, my front wing scraped down past the drivers door.

i moved my car back off the road (ie up the bank), whilst they moved theirs into the passing point.

I got out of my car and approached the white car, to hear the words ‘no he has just got out’ from the driver, I can only assume that they where in the middle of making a telephone call from a mobile via a hands free kit, whilst driving, as i could not see any other person in the car.

the other driver then got out and said 'We where both lucky' after looking at the minor scratches on both cars, to which i said, yes, they then said 'You where driving too fast' to which i didnt reply.

as i said, i think i know the answers, but just wanted others views
Who is to blame? or the blame be shared
Should the police have been contacted - due to other driver on mobile phone?

i currently have full no claims bonus with added protection, as i use my car to travel to work, so could do without any price hike in insurance.

Quentin

No need to contact police if no offence committed, and details exchanged.

Let your insurance company sort out liability - it does look from what you say it cannot be completely the other party's fault (if at all), so expect to end up with a claim against you.

robnye

thats what i thought,
with regards to my part of the claim, would it make any difference to the claim if dont want to get my car repaired..... ie the scratches are superficial, and the dent i can live with, would this reduce my side of the claim
or is it worth just letting it go through and get the damage fixed!

Quentin

If you don't claim for your repairs you won't have any excess to pay.

Find out how much it will cost to repair (tell the garage you want an estimate and you won't be going through insurance) before making a decision.

robnye

if thats the case then, am i right in thinking i still need to notify my insurance company of the accident, but state i dont want to claim at first

i just realised i have the other persons name and address and policy number, but no car details- can i contact her insurer to get details?

Quentin

Yes - you inform them "for information only".

If you get any correspondence from the third party or their insurers just pass it on unanswered to your insurer.

robnye

so what happens if i dont claim, does the other side get a reduced payout, or me not claiming not have any effect on their side of the claim?

if its resolved to a split decision, ie both at fault, do i still have a claim makr against my record?

Quentin

If it is a shared liability, then you have it as a fault claim on your record.

You not claiming doesn't affect the liability decision.

PasturesNew

Photos would help. Get back there and take some photos.
Better than diagrams.
And/or google maps it.

robnye

done...... got google map reference and took some photos on my phone, but they arent that good

I assume these will be good regarding making the blame be shared or passed over to them

lisyloo

If you have no independent witness then it is very likely the blame will be shared.

It would cost tens of thousands to go to court and insurance companies simply aren't going to do that without any witnesses.
It's quite normal for blame to be shared in cases like this.

The fact that you don't want to claim doesn't make any difference to the claim status (apart from the excess) because your insurer will still have to pay a share of his claim.