Debris on road - insurance co. will not help

famie66

Hi, can anyone help? My 17yr old son was driving my daughter to school on Monday and slowed down to go round a blind bend to be confronted with a washing machine which has just fallen off a scrapper travelling the other way. He had no choice but to serve to avoid hitting it full on but damaged his car on the passenger side. No one was hurt thank god. He chased after scrapper (who did not stop) and caught up with him who said he would collect machine and come back. I think you can all guess what happened! My son rang the police and reported the accident and gave the reg number of scrapper. Police said they would come round tonight to take a statement. Well they did not turn up so we telephone and was told the reg number is not traceable therefore uninsured. Was not very helpful at all. As the police had spoken to my son I call back to complain to the officer but still waiting for a call back. Surely the scrapper has to hold a valid waste permit so can be traced. The car has been taken back to dealer and I have a quote for £2,800. Insurance company saying they will be pay as it is debris on the road. I want to take this matter further and perhaps make a claim via the MIB, but firstly I need a police report. Thinking of ringing my local council to see if they can trace the reg number through the waste permit but would appreciate any help. I own the car even through my son is insurance to drive it fully comp and it is only 3 months old so really upset over this whole thing. How can I get car fixed and not be out of pocket?

forgotmyname

If the vehicle is not insured i seriously doubt they have a waste licence.

Have you tried the DVLA website and ASKMID websites? See if the reg number shows up.

At the end of the day your probably going to be out of pocket. Increased premiums for declaring this incident at the very least.

Scouring the area to try and trace the truck. If local they will tend to cover the same area on a set pattern. Although the plates maybe different.
If you do spot it then report it and hope the police come before they vanish again.

famie66

Now spoken to local council who give permits to individual not vehicle. Have spoken to several scrap yards who all take vehicle reg but no luck so far. As far as DVLA and ASKMID - plate does not exists. Looks like I am going to be out of pocket.

Quentin

Your title says your insurance company will not help??

If you only have third party cover then they cannot help, but if you have comprehensive cover why are they not dealing with your claim?

sithemadmonkey

Quentin wrote: »

Your title says your insurance company will not help??

If you only have third party cover then they cannot help, but if you have comprehensive cover why are they not dealing with your claim?

Insurance company saying they will be pay as it is debris on the road.

I think OP is saying they won't help with recovering any outlay, rather than refusing to pay a claim.

forgotmyname

Sure he got th ereg number right? Not misplaced a letter or number?

Having a drive around the area when your free and keep a lookout. Although you may end up spending as much in fuel as the repair will cost.

Aretnap

May be worth popping similar reg numbers into the DVLA website and seeing if any of them match the scrapper.

The MIB will only pay for property damage if the offending vehicle can be identified. They also won't pay solely because the other driver was untraced/uninsured - they'll only pay to the extent that you can prove that the accident was his fault. You don't describe the circumstances in detail, but if the washing machine had already fallen of and was stationary when he hit it your son will get a fair chunk of the blame himself. In that scenario even if you could find the scrapper the best possible outcome would be split liability - meaning that you'd still have to pay a portion of the excess, and it would be recorded as a fault claim for the purposes of no claims bonus and future premiums.

lisyloo

Yes - technically according to the highway code you should be driving so that you can stop safely within the distance you can see to be clear.
So if you come round the blind bend and there's a cow, cyclist, child or washing maching in the road you are meant to be able to stop.

I'm not being judgmental - just telling you what the highway code says and how it might be judged.

Rule 126: Drive at a speed that will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear.

Of course if the road was clear and then the washing maching fell onto the road that's a different thing, but as in post #1 if you are confronted by something round a blind bend then you are meant to be able to stop.

forgotmyname

Something just twigged. Is it the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

Maybe something else happened instead? Done something silly and didnt want to own up?

chanz4

what damage for that amount, think the dealer has inflated the cost a lot so shop around

keith1950

slowed down to go round a blind bend to be confronted with a washing machine which has just fallen off a scrapper travelling the other way. He had no choice but to serve to avoid hitting it full on but damaged his car on the passenger side

Yes - technically according to the highway code you should be driving so that you can stop safely within the distance you can see to be clear.
So if you come round the blind bend and there's a cow, cyclist, child or washing maching in the road you are meant to be able to stop.

I'm not being judgmental - just telling you what the highway code says and how it might be judged.

This is something that regularly crops up, he was most likely going too fast for the "blind corner", a more experienced driver would probably have not had the same outcome. He is more than likely going to have to fight to claim it on his own insurance, he has virtually no hope of anyone else paying.

Something just twigged. Is it the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

Maybe something else happened instead? Done something silly and didnt want to own up?

That's the first thing that came into my mind.