Owing to my advancing years and male gender it is deemed by some that I know a thing or two about cars, insurance and the like. I have been asked to assist a young lady in the correct / best way to proceed following a minor damage incident.
In summary, whilst turning right out of a minor road into a main road, her car (Nissan Micra) was hit on and around the rear offside wheel by a car approaching from her right. There were no witnesses and position of the damage to the rear of her car suggests she was well advanced into her turn when hit by the chap coming from the right. There are small scrapes/dents to the wheel arch and the wheel trim is wrecked. It is possible that the wheel took the full brunt of the impact. All details were exchanged and it seems the other driver was properly insured. The front of his car was damaged (full extent unknown) but I know his number plate broke and fell off.
Her own car is about 7 years old and assuming no wheel / suspension damage - the body damage is minor and matches the other body dents quite well and she wouldn't want it repaired if it cost anything to her. The tyre is fine and on the face of it, a bit of T-Cut and a wheel trim from eBay will 90% sort it out.
My initial advice to the young lady was to tell her insurers that she had been involved in an accident but say that she wasn't making a claim at this stage. Insurers pressed her hard to make a claim, but she stood her ground and they eventually just noted her information.
My advice to her was to then:
(1)
Write to the other driver (recorded delivery), politely blame him for the accident, tell him she wasn't yet making an insurance claim but reserving her position. She would then say she is getting an estimate or two and forwarding them to this other driver in due course and expecting his / his insurer's payment
(2)
Get the tracking / suspension checked to ensure that it's not damaged as this could cost a lot of money to fix and might then lead her to making a claim (fully comp insurance).
Questions:
Am I right so far?
Where do I go for a proper suspension / tracking check?
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I'm struggling to imagine how the accident could possibly NOT be 100% her fault?
The proceedure she's followed seems fine. but, based on the description as written, then the next thing that will happen is the other driver will make a claim against her.
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I'm struggling to imagine how the accident could possibly NOT be 100% her fault? >>
It's very easy to visualise, as described.
We all do it all the time - see a potential obstruction ahead, but make assumptions about how quickly someone else will move before we get there. If a young aggressive driver, for example, hammered on regardless then it could very easy be 100% his fault instead of the other way round. In most cases it will be somewhere in between, but impossible to establish with no witnesses, and very subjective anyway.
It seems to me she is going to get some if not all the blame anyway, so might as well just hand it over to the insurers to sort out. Be thankful no police involved so not on a charge of careless driving.
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but impossible to establish with no witnesses and very subjective anyway.
Yes - I should have said "be seen" to NOT be 100% her fault.
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So she was pulled out in front of another car, was hit and blames the other driver?Unless there is something you're not telling us, I can't believe this is something that anyone with any sense of natural justice would advise.
Edited by Steve Pearce on 01/09/2008 at 23:37
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I am being relatively independent here - not my car, not my claim etc.
As it was described to me the other car accelerated off a roundabout into the main road leading off it and the driver misjudged the actions of the inexperienced Micra driver who unfortunately unexpectedly hesitated before completing her turn and clearing the carriageway for the fast approaching car. In summary, the car that hit her was expecting a clear space by the time he got there and not a stationary Micra. I took a look at the junction this afternoon and saw several near misses in my short time there.
Anyway - what will be will be.
If what you guys suggest is the case, then presumably she might as well make a claim anyway as she is going to take a hit on the premium / NCB in any event.
Any answers as to where to get the suspension looked at please?
Edited by Dulwich Estate on 02/09/2008 at 00:04
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Prang? I haven't heard that word since the last time I was talking to WWII fighter pilot! ;-)
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Assuming she had not totally crossed onto her side of the carriageway then it is without doubt her fault. As the other party is going to make a claim via insurance then she should leave this to her insurance company and get her car fixed as well as a claim is a claim no matter which party. Regards Peter
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At the very least she will a: loose her NCB and b: have an accident noted against her for future risk
Based on this she might as well gte the micra fixed on insurance, and let her own company deal with all the process and hastle. At least she will get something out of this that way.
Remind her its minor, no-one died or was hurt. stuff happens
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Its 100% her fault, she emerged from the junction and placed herself in that situation, its irrelevnt whether the other driver was poodling along or a nutter.
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I'd be inclined to ask the nearest Nissan dealer to provide a written estimate.
Their assessment should include wheel/tracking damage, if any.
A Mini clouted the front offside wheel of my Cortina years ago.
Little apparent damage, apart from the bent steering rack and various other suspension components.
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Dulwich, I would think she needs to ask her usual garage where they use for bodyshop type repairs, unless they do it themselves. If there is damage, then ring around to find costs - for example - original repair shop quoted over £1000 for a steering rack for a micra - Nissan quoted £800 for part fitted.
Does she have legal cover on her fully comp. policy?
By the bye, I can see where this accident could be down to lack of care on the part of the other driver - if the rear end of a car is in the carriageway I would expect to, at the least, steer round it!
Why has this lack of tolerance and failure to answer valid questions crept into this forum?
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>>Haven't heard prang since... WWII fighter pilot.
67 instances of it in this forum in the last twelve months, from at wide selecction of posters.
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The only wriggle room she'd have would be if, for example, the other driver was driving without lights on after dark, perhaps. Other than that it's 100% her fault.
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>>Haven't heard prang since... WWII fighter pilot. 67 instances of it in this forum in the last twelve months from at wide selecction of posters.
67 people still clinging to the "Wizard prang, old boy" lingo. ;-)
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67 people still clinging to the "Wizard prang, old boy" lingo. ;-)
"prang" is shown as current English in the 2008 edition of concise OED.
I am surprised L'escargot did not pick up on "loose" and "hastle" as used by someone further up this thread.
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Any answers as to where to get the suspension looked at please?
ATS.
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Well..............thank you for your views. I was only trying to do my best for Miss Micra, but I bow to the considered opinions of the Brains' Trust and am beginning to accept that I can't rival Mr Loophole or other barristers in the business of defending clients.
Writing to AN Other and accusing him of fault will probably not be advisable and may inflame the situation. So it looks like I propose either (1) the full claims route or (2) see what the other driver does next.
In her panic, Miss Micra only gave the other driver her address and not her insurance details so perhaps she should wait a while to see what happens next (noting that she has already done the right thing to advise her own insurers). In the meantime a suggestion she takes a trip to a Nissan dealer is a sound approach.
Pity really, she was 3 weeks away from getting her first year's accident free insurance record.
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If the wheel took the force of the impact, even if it wasn't bent or damaged, the bearing may have suffered damage. My Dyane, when new, was graunched on its o/s rear by a car dealer or salesman in an Aston Martin while parked. The wing was slightly scraped and there was no other visible damage. I didn't think it was worth doing a repair. However, some months later that wheel bearing started to make a noise and had to be changed. I am sure the wheel got a bang and that started the bearing damage.
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