Rear-ended at low speed - is it worth getting the car looked at by a garage?

straighttalker

jrtfan wrote: »

I didn't even know it was possible to go around it that way - it certainly would save some money, thank you! The other driver only knew the name of the broker who arranged the policy though, not the name of the insurers, so I'll have to contact her again for the details. Shouldn't be a problem. Thanks again.

Yep, you can do that. Try the motor insurer's database which will give you details of the third party insurer.

http://m.askmid.com/mt/www.askmid.com/mobile/

Strider590

EddieKidd wrote: »

If that's the case then you're too close to them.

Generic one-liner, because you have no valid argument.

It doesn't matter how far behind a large van or truck you are, your still completely blind to what's in front of them.

buglawton

I was rear ended while pausing to turn at a junction. At about 5mph. No visible damage to either vehicle. On checking inside the boot, nothing apparently wrong. Then I tried to remove the spare wheel. Nope, jammed in, spare wheel well was squashed in by an inch. Car (worth say £1k) was a write off.

However one of the insurance companies sold my phone number on and I still get accident claims fraudsters calling me to this day.

George_Michael

Strider590 wrote: »

Generic one-liner, because you have no valid argument.

It doesn't matter how far behind a large van or truck you are, your still completely blind to what's in front of them.

Of course it makes a difference as to how close you are (unless you are ignoring basic geometry).
If you are very close to something and it is blocking your forward vision, you won't see things such as side roads, signposts, cyclists, pedestrians etc until you are right beside them.

Leaving a reasonable distance between your car and a lorry in front of you allows you to see upcoming things earlier.

matttye

Strider590 wrote: »

If they've got dashcam you could be in trouble. I've had to avoid collisions on two occasions, where the drivers thought that "vermin" (squirrels) were more valuable than human beings.

And

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/12/18/woman-ducks-montreal-highway-sentence_n_6346034.html

Shouldn't you be driving at a safe enough distance to be able to stop if someone slams their brakes on? If you did manage to stop rather than having to swerve, then what's the problem?

I don't see the point in senselessly killing animals. If the driver in front avoided hitting the animal, and you avoided hitting the car in front, that sounds like a good result to me.

shaun_from_Africa

Strider590 wrote: »

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/12/18/woman-ducks-montreal-highway-sentence_n_6346034.html

A few points about that particular case that you forgot to mention.

1/ It happened in Canada, a country that has totally different laws to the UK.

2/ The car was parked up when the accident happened so it's nothing like the case being discussed here.

3/ The motorcycle that hit the parked car was estimated at going between 113 and 129 km/h and the speed limit on the road where the accident happened was 90 km/h (which means that the motorcyclist was speeding at up to 44% above the posted limit).

jrtfan

buglawton wrote: »

I was rear ended while pausing to turn at a junction. At about 5mph. No visible damage to either vehicle. On checking inside the boot, nothing apparently wrong. Then I tried to remove the spare wheel. Nope, jammed in, spare wheel well was squashed in by an inch. Car (worth say £1k) was a write off.

However one of the insurance companies sold my phone number on and I still get accident claims fraudsters calling me to this day.

That's what I'm afraid of, too. My car's quite old (although we've had it from new). It's probably worth £1.5k tops and I really can't afford for it to be a write-off. The fraudsters call me anyway and I haven't been involved in an accident since 1996! Until now, that is.

AliceBanned

jrtfan wrote: »

That's what I'm afraid of, too. My car's quite old (although we've had it from new). It's probably worth £1.5k tops and I really can't afford for it to be a write-off. The fraudsters call me anyway and I haven't been involved in an accident since 1996! Until now, that is.

This happened to me too - other driver doing about 15mph and no visible damage at the scene - when I drove it away I thought there was something wrong but drove home 10 miles no problem.


It was written off due to damage to the bottom of the boot - car was driveable but still a write-off. The slightest structural change can make your car a write-off. It may not be the case with yours but I would definitely get it checked. I went via the third party insurer - it is never your fault if you are rear-ended.


It is obvious that driving is never 100% predictable and distance should be maintained - most people wouldn't want to steam through wildlife just so that the person behind can go at higher speeds. You did the right thing and have no control of anything idiotic going on behind your vehicle.

buglawton

Yes you should always maintain a decent distance between your car and the one behind it

glentoran99

Strider590 wrote: »

Generic one-liner, because you have no valid argument.

It doesn't matter how far behind a large van or truck you are, your still completely blind to what's in front of them.

Yes but your stopping distance will be less than the trucks would be so if you are fair enough back they will slam the brakes on, as do you and you will stop in good time,


Its simple if someone in front of you stop suddenly then you do the same and the distance you have in front should cover your reaction time so you don't hit them.


When someone drove into the back of me my insurer transferred me to the "non fault" department before I gave any details, as soon as I said they went into the back of me




Similarly when I was in the other position and I drove into the back of someone my insurer didn't even attempt to argue that I wasn't at fault, It was simply you hit them it was your fault it was totally irrelevant why they stopped, it wasn't even asked