Car accident - was I even involved?!

getwinrej

Hi there, wondering if anyone may be able to help advise in this situation.
- my wife ‘involved’ in car accident last night
- other car (behind my wife) span out and crashed on the motorway
- my wife called police after seeing car crash in rear view mirror and clearly concerned for welfare of occupants
- police attend as well as ambulance
- my wife remained in the car due to it being late, dark, alone and the driver behind driving very erratically beforehand (speeding up, slowing down, overtaking, passing on inside, flashing full beam headlights)
- police led my wife to other driver (sat in ambulance to be checked over at the time) and told both parties to exchange details. Also told my wife she should inform insurance next day.
- my wife does not consider herself ‘involved’ in the accident other than as a witness. We don!t know what the other driver may have said.
- other car (from registration number) seems to be taxed but doesn’t have valid mot, so his insurance would not be valid even if present at all.
- anonymously called insurer and they advised that they don’t need to know “unless my wife’s car was physically involved in the accident”. Not sure I agree, here.
- police have other witnesses and an accident reference number

So they key question... Was my wife involved in an accident? She considers herself to be purely a witness but we don’t know what the other driver may have seen or said (or whether he would potentially make a claim against my wife at all, albeit fraudulently). Out of interest, his car was worth no more than £1500 (which may impact him attempting to make a claim for his car). Can my wife give her insurance company a heads-up without admitting she was involved in an accident whatsoever? Many thanks!

molerat

getwinrej wrote: »

but doesn’t have valid mot, so his insurance would not be valid even if present at all.

Incorrect assumption, no MOT does not invalidate insurance. Check for insurance on Askmid https://ownvehicle.askmid.com/#

getwinrej

Hi molerat, thanks for the response. AskID shows there is insurance in place and it may well be that it was done very recently and not yet update online but does this change the situation as to whether my wife was involved? Maybe we just don’t know in which case it seems like a pure guess as to whether we should report anything to insurers at all.
Thanks

Sea_Shell

If you've been asked to exchange details by the police then I'd report it to insurers to cover your back.

Explain to them, adamantly, that you were purely a witness to the incident and for information only.

However, don't be surprised if the TP comes up with an alternative story, along the lines of you cut them up, or braked sharply or somehow 'caused' the accident without physically colliding.

Penelopa.Pitstop

So moral of the story is: don't stop, just drive and report on the phone.

TonyMMM

There doesn't have to have been contact for your wife's vehicle to have been involved in the accident - as mentioned already it is possible the other driver may be alleging that there was an incident that she was involved in.

getwinrej wrote: »

the driver behind driving very erratically beforehand (speeding up, slowing down, overtaking, passing on inside, flashing full beam headlights)

That suggests that your wife was aware of the other driver and their vehicle for some time - not just a completely unrelated accident she happened to see in her rear view mirror.

Sea_Shell

Wonder if the OP's coming back? Did she report it?

If I'd have been on the motorway with some ejit behind me playing silly b!!!!!!s I'd have slowed down, tucked my self behind a lorry etc. and hoped they just carried on past.

Unless I could safely pull away from them, I'd rather be behind them than in front.

It would also depend on how busy the road was at the time. If quiet and at night, I'd have felt intimidated. There are always lorries 24/7 so I'd try and position myself in front on one, at a steady speed/distance, as cover.

garth549

Unless your wife's actions directly contributed to the accident, or her car physically hit the other car (her fault or not) then she doesn't need to inform her insurance. It's nothing to do with her! Stopping because you're concerned for someone's welfare doesn't make you 'involved'. Simply deny any involvement.

If I stop at an accident on a country lane that happened 5 minutes ago that doesn't make me 'involved' in it!