Head-on Collision with Drunk Driver

Dazza1979

Hi there.

My situation is.. a few weeks back, i had a collision with another vehicle.

This is what happened on a Friday midnight..
I came onto a roundabout to do a right turn, as i got half way around, there was another car coming in the opposite direction on the roundabout!
all I could see was an Audi sign and lights coming towards me - I just couldn't believe my eyes - I was stunned! seconds later we collided.

I got out the car right-away and looked over at the other car ( getting a good look at the driver at this point - but not much is registering as I'm in shock) I helplessly watch them flee the scene ( driver and 4 passengers ).

Coincidentally an ambulance was passing by.. on came the blue lights !
gave me a checkover - no serious injurys.. they alerted the police, minutes later a traffic car is on the scene - I give details etc, about 15 minutes later someone is reported to have been running from that area by local residents, he is picked up by police.

Anyway I am told by the officer the guy is regd to the vehicle and has found his license on him and that hes drunk - at the time I couldn't remember what the driver looked like, but the morning after received a call from police for identifying the driver which i did they said i might need to make a statement - but never got back to me.

I have informed my broker/insurer, which they have appointed a solictor to deal with my claim (thanks to legal cover), they have traced the driver via VRM. and sent there letters of claim to the 3rd party and their insurer.

I have the assessors report on my car which states beyond economical repair.

Something that has got me bothered is how i could have avoided it.
At the time I was pretty tired after a hard working week.
I keep thinking back to how I could of braked or swirved.

Could the other driver use this to defend his case and to make me 50% to blame, which really wouldn't be fair, as the driver was at fault from the outset.

thanks for reading
a bit long i know

chuckles1066

Dazza1979 wrote: »

Hi there.

My situation is.. a few weeks back, i had a collision with another vehicle.

This is what happened on a Friday midnight..
I came onto a roundabout to do a right turn, as i got half way around, there was another car coming in the opposite direction on the roundabout!

This is the point at which any feelings of guilt/remorse/doubt you may have should stop.

Think of it as an involuntary public service; you've manage to remove one smackhead from the roads for three years :T :T

You have no reason to doubt your actions.

rizla01

And consider buying the 'Wreck' back from the insurance co and getting it repaired unless it is absolutely totalled.

A lot of people (myself included) make a lot of money from repairing cat c&d write-offs.

when your insurance company make an offer of payment for your vehicle ask how much they would be preared to pay if you keep the wreck and be prepared for a shock. The difference will be very little.

Morty_007

I don't think there was anything you could have done. The guy was drunk...going the wrong way around a roundabout!!! Don't torture yourself about this. Thank goodness you are OK.

Good luck with getting the insurance sorted out.

Chin up

chuckles1066

rizla01 wrote: »

And consider buying the 'Wreck' back from the insurance co and getting it repaired unless it is absolutely totalled.

A lot of people (myself included) make a lot of money from repairing cat c&d write-offs.

when your insurance company make an offer of payment for your vehicle ask how much they would be preared to pay if you keep the wreck and be prepared for a shock. The difference will be very little.

Funny you say that.

We sold our 2 year old car to my brother-in-law in 1993.............within 6 months, he'd managed to write it off by bouncing it on it's roof.

(Bear in mind this was an Orion 1.8 diesel - a great, hefty vehicle and not the easiest to flip I'd imagine).

Using the DVLA's website recently to check for untaxed vehicles (I was bored), I was astounded to see that the vehicle was taxed as recently as 2002.

I had no idea that write-offs could re-emerge ready to fight another day?

Dazza1979

thanks for the reassurance guys, most

my car was recovered by police to a storage garage which was incurring daily charges which i could not meet. couple of weeks on, i went to get a few things like stereo etc but they said they have scrapped it! so thats gone

(more like stripped it then scrapped it) or even repairing it

the estimated salvage was only £50 but there was definitly more that that.
CAT 1 alarm for example.

chuckles1066

Dazza1979 wrote: »

thanks for the reassurance guys, most

my car was recovered by police to a storage garage which was incurring daily charges which i could not meet. couple of weeks on, i went to get a few things like stereo etc but they said they have scrapped it! so thats gone

(more like stripped it then scrapped it) or even repairing it

the estimated salvage was only £50 but there was definitly more that that.
CAT 1 alarm for example.

You should certainly ask them on whose written authority they relied upon to give them the necessary credentials to destroy your property.

Did you sign any paperwork?

Dazza1979

chuckles1066 wrote: »

You should certainly ask them on whose written authority they relied upon to give them the necessary credentials to destroy your property.

Did you sign any paperwork?

Didn't sign any paperwork

I may be partly to blame,
they sent me a disposal notice ( recorded delivery)
which i responded to.. i phone the garage to say that it was in the hands of the insurance,they said ok thats fine. ( but i am only TPFT so is bit limiting ) solictor did strongly advise that i moved the car to a free place of storage, as its hard to claim back storage charges in access, which i couldn't due to financials.

cheers

lapat

chuckles1066 wrote: »

Using the DVLA's website recently to check for untaxed vehicles (I was bored), I was astounded to see that the vehicle was taxed as recently as 2002.

i know this is slightly of subject but what is the dvla website address

and on your accident point i was hit by an unisured driver a few years ago they went to court pleaded guilty and got six points i had to pay a £500 excess to repair the car however it went down as a non fault claim so my no claims didnt get affected.
however they did try to put my insurance up the year after(directline) so it got moved

Anon

lapat wrote: »

i know this is slightly of subject but what is the dvla website address

http://www.vehiclelicence.gov.uk

Click on Vehicle Enquiry and you can search by registration (note it is not completely up to date - at least a couple of weeks or so out of date - not sure why as surely computers could work off a live or near live database?).

Anon

poppy_the_saving_cat

Hi there dazza xxx I was involved in a head on accident with a drunk driver just over 2 years ago on christmas eve night, my ex was driving the car and i was the front seat passenger. we came over the brow of a hill and there was a car on the same side of the road, the glare of the headlights dazzling us and i really dont think many people would have been able to avoid the car.

But as you do it always creeps into your head the feeling that maybe you could have, it did for my ex, but i look at it this way - if you had swerved you could have hit another driver or even a pedestrian and the consequences could have been so much worse!! The accident wasnt in any way your fault so dont feel that way xxxx

I was off work for 3 months and my ex for 2 months, we couldnt look after our young son for the first two weeks and my mom had to do it because we were both in so much pain.

We both recieved compensation but the greatest satisfaction for me was knowing the drunk driver was banned for 5 years, recived a fine and had to do x amount of community service hours, plus if he decides to get back behind a wheel his insurance premium wii be through the roof!!!!!