First Ever Accident - What will happen?

janninew

Hi

This evening I have been in my first ever car accident and I don't know whats going to happen and who is to blame.

I have driven in to the back of another car, I wasn't travelling to fast (about 30 mph), but another car then drove into the back of my car. The car I went into the back of was a 09 Focus, and here's the problem, the brake lights were not working, so I didn't know he was braking.

I am scared to tell my partner as I was in his car at the time and its new!

The man in the Focus said he didn't know his brakelights weren't working, he said he had been having trouble with the electrics though. He wasn't very friendly and said he didn't really want to get insurance companies involved, he said he would be happy with me paying for 50% of the damage? I told him I didn't think I would be doing that as there is also the added complication of the car behind me going in to me!

We have all swapped details and luckily there were a couple of gas engineers who witnessed the crash. I asked them to verify that this man's brake lights were not working, I was worried that he would have them fixed and I would have no prove, I am rather cynical!

Does anybody have any idea what will happen and who will take the blame for this accident?

Thanks.

Janninew

jonathon

you must go through your insurance first car will claim off you you claim off the car who hit you.
and yes it was your fault, even without the brakelights you should not have been so close and if you was doing 30 i would think there would be a fair amount of damage.

janninew

jonathon wrote: »

you must go through your insurance first car will claim off you you claim off the car who hit you.
and yes it was your fault, even without the brakelights you should not have been so close and if you was doing 30 i would think there would be a fair amount of damage.

I wasn't too close in my opinion, it happened at 4.00pm so was getting dark, I had full lights on, he had no lights on, weather was very poor, heavy rain etc. If its my fault then obviously my insurance will have to pay, but surely his car isn't road legal with his brakelights not working?

Premier_2

janninew wrote: »

... He wasn't very friendly and said he didn't really want to get insurance companies involved, he said he would be happy with me paying for 50% of the damage? ...

It's a that point I would have called the police, assuming I hadn't already done so.

An almost new car with dodgy lights, an unfriendly approach, a driver who doesn't want his insurance involved, someone who was suggesting you just pay half the damage you had caused ... now I may be cynical too, but personal experiences have made me like that.

Things going through my immediate mind are:
(a) is the driver insured at all?
(b) was this a set up?

janninew

Premier wrote: »

It's a that point I would have called the police, assuming I hadn't already done so.

An almost new car with dodgy lights, an unfriendly approach, a driver who doesn't want his insurance involved, someone who was suggesting you just pay half the damage you had caused ... now I may be cynical too, but personal experiences have made me like that.

Things going through my immediate mind are:
(a) is the driver insured at all?
(b) was this a set up?

The guy was middle aged and looked respectable, he has given me the name of his insurance company and I have taken his reg. He told me he had been having trouble with the electrics since buying the car, but was under the impression that they had been fixed.
I am also very cynical (after reading stories on here!) which was why I asked the gas engineers to have a look at his car. I have taken their telephone numbers and the name of the company they work for.

janninew

Forgot to add I did contact the police, the lady from the station told me it wasn't policy for the police to attend an accident like this!

McKneff

Stop worrying about it. The accident was your fault, accept that now.
You will feel better for it.
You pay your insurance to do the worrying, let them deal with it.
so just relax and i hope thats the worst accident you have in your life.
Its only metal after all and no one was hurt, be thankfull for that.
good luck and just go with the flow.

Premier_2

janninew wrote: »

Forgot to add I did contact the police, the lady from the station told me it wasn't policy for the police to attend an accident like this!

Yeah they usually say that first ... and many people accept it.

Explaining the strong possibility that a crime has possibly occured should get them to attend anyway.

What exactly do the police do, if not to attend possible crime scenes?

You sometimes need to encourage them though.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

The brake lights have nothing to do with the accident. Pedestrians don't have brake lights. Cyclists and horses don't have brake lights.

It's your fault.

janninew

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

The brake lights have nothing to do with the accident. Pedestrians don't have brake lights. Cyclists and horses don't have brake lights.

It's your fault.

I have no problem accepting if I am at fault, does that mean the man who went into the back of me will have to pay to have the rear of my car fixed then?

janninew

Premier wrote: »

Yeah they usually say that first ... and many people accept it.

Explaining the strong possibility that a crime has possibly occured should get them to attend anyway.

What exactly do the police do, if not to attend possible crime scenes?

You sometimes need to encourage them though.

Maybe I should have tried harder, but it was my first time in this kind of situation! What would have happened if the police attended though? Would he have gotten in trouble for driving his car without brake lights?