No brake lights - crash

melvismelvis

My friend was driving when the car in front stopped suddenly. The car in front had no brake lights, but luckily my friend just stopped in time. Unfortunately the car behind him didn't and he has rear end damage to his car. My friend is insured fully comp and the person that hit him from behind is insured so all ok there, but obviously it's all the hassle of the insurance claims/garage repairs etc that he's fuming about. He's really mad about the driver in front with no brake lights - he stopped and spoke to him and said he didn't realise they weren't working.

Should he accept his word for it and move on, ask the police to folow it up to make sure they don't cause another crash or do something different?

Grateful for your thoughts...

Quentin

Your friend should be cross with the guy behind him!

The brake light issue doesn't excuse that guy driving in the manner he did, and he probably couldn't even see the brake lights of the car 2 in front of him!

McKneff

You mean your friend cant tell when a car is slowing down or stopping unless the brake lights come on.:eek:

He has to take some of the blame. Not legally mind but in fairness he must have been too close or driving too fast, or not looking to have to brake to stop in such a hurry.

melvismelvis

McKneff - think you need to read the original post again. My friend stopped in time - it was the car behind that didn't.

Quentin - good point!

McKneff

melvismelvis wrote: »

McKneff - think you need to read the original post again. My friend stopped in time - it was the car behind that didn't.

Quentin - good point!

I did read the post, yes he did stop in time, in a hurry, which should not have happened. So what i say in my post i still mean, please read that one again.

davidlizard

I would report what happened to the police. The vehicle was in an unroadworthy condition and consequently a danger to other road users. If something as obvious as both (not one) brake lights are not working it implies that very little attention is paid to the roadworthyness, and there could be other serious defects (tyres, steering, brakes etc). Vehicles in this condition need to be off the road for everyones safety - the police cannot be everywhere.

Its also a typical ploy of insurance fraudsters to deactivate the brake lights then slam the brakes on so they get rear ended so they can claim pots for whiplash etc.

OK the chap behind was probably too close for his speed/attention span, but thats a separate issue.

johnnyroper

McKneff wrote: »

I did read the post, yes he did stop in time, in a hurry, which should not have happened. So what i say in my post i still mean, please read that one again.

the fact op's friend stopped in a hurry is irrelevant he stopped without crashing so obviously had enough of a gap despite the quick stop.the same cannot be said for car behind they were travelling too close simple as that.

in the eyes of insurance if you go up the !!!! of a car then it is your fault unless someone pulls out in front of you which is not the case here.

RuthnJasper

Hi Melvis,

Sorry to hear about the prang - hope your friend isn't all shook up :cool:.

If the lack of brake lights was a factor in the accident then - yes. I would report it. If it was pitch dark on a country lane (as it often is, where I live) and both brake lights weren't working it could lead to an EXTREMELY nasty accident. The Police take this sort of thing very seriously (around here they do, anyway) - I got pulled over once when one of my brake-light bulbs had gone and was given a b*ll*cking from the Rozzer; quite rightly too.

I once had an extremely near-miss on a rainy black night with a dimwit driver who had stopped in the lane with car lights on - but had NOT put the hazard indicators going, to alert others that they were stationary. :mad:

I find it a bit difficult to believe that the guy in front of your friend didn't know that BOTH his brake lights were out. One of them is conceivable - but two...? Hmmm, dodgy.

I think it's important to report all the facts. If the driver who rear-ended your friend mentions about the other chap's non-working brake-lights on his insurance form and your friend doesn't on his, then your friend will look a bit of a prat and the claims people might wonder why he left that detail out (and therefore what else might he have failed to mention...?).

The other guy had a responsibility to check that his car was working properly before he went out. He didn't. I'm glad that no-one was hurt - but, as I mentioned above - in a different setting, no brake-lights could be deadly. The driver needs to learn his lesson.

Hope all gets itself sorted out OK.
x

johnnyroper

davidlizard wrote: »

I would report what happened to the police. The vehicle was in an unroadworthy condition and consequently a danger to other road users. If something as obvious as both (not one) brake lights are not working it implies that very little attention is paid to the roadworthyness, and there could be other serious defects (tyres, steering, brakes etc). Vehicles in this condition need to be off the road for everyones safety - the police cannot be everywhere.

Its also a typical ploy of insurance fraudsters to deactivate the brake lights then slam the brakes on so they get rear ended so they can claim pots for whiplash etc.

OK the chap behind was probably too close for his speed/attention span, but thats a separate issue.

that may well be the case however it is also very possible the brake light switch could have just packed up that day,and if someone does not tell them they might not be aware straight away,despite no brake lights as a driver you should be able to judge speeds etc and be able to tell when a car is slowing down,like when on the motorway and someone just backs off without braking to bring speed down if you can see slower traffic in distance.this seems to be the case with op's friend all be it a bit late that resulted in emergency stop.
still no excuse for someone to go up the !!!! of your car.

anewman

Lets face it, brake lights, and their correct functioning of ALL bulbs, are a legal requirement for a reason. Insurance scamsters are known for disconnecting the brake lights and slamming on the anchors. If they could get away with the scam with the brake lights connected then they'd be connected wouldn't they?!

[Deleted User]

I was behind an old Land Rover earlier this year that had all brake lights out when it came to a stop at a roundabout on a down hill slope. I purposely took a different way off the roundabout to avoid being behind it any longer. I was guessing at the time that it was probably a scammer.