Had a shunt in my car today - can I claim?

Sergei Gotsmanov · Feb 7, 2013

So....I was happily driving along the A27 towards Lewes this morning and approached the Kingston roundabout quite pleased to see a green light and a clear lane ahead of me....kept making good progress and slowed down as i reached the junction.....had a quick look to the right to make sure cars had stopped at the lights from that direction....looked back ahead of me to find that a car had pulled out of the lane to my left and stopped at the green light....saw them too late....hit the anchors....but didnt stop in time and hit the back of them.

Their explanation for stopping at the green light was that they didnt think the traffic approaching from the left was going to stop at the lights so they stopped.

Now I know normally if you hit the back of someone you are on a sticky wicket. But in this case I really feel I am not to blame. They pulled out in front me and then stopped. No witnesses....my word against hers. They admitted they pulled out and stopped but I guess they can change their story pretty easily.

I took a few photos and checked they were ok, had no whiplash etc and exchanged details. They said they were fine and didnt want to bother with insurance claims even though they were adamant it was my fault.

What do you think.....have I got a case to claim on their insurance or will I get the blame regardless?

Aseros · Feb 7, 2013

No. You hit them from behind. You have no claim.

HawkTheSeagull · Feb 7, 2013

It will be down as your fault as you hit them, no chance of claiming.

Justice · Feb 7, 2013

Where there's blame there's a CLAIM :lolol:

Sergei Gotsmanov · Feb 7, 2013

That's what I feared.....seems pretty harsh though....to pull out on someone and then stop...at a green light....pretty stupid.

Just glad i'd slowed down....could have been a lot worse if i'd kept my foot down.

seagullsovergrimsby · Feb 7, 2013

Sergei Gotsmanov said:
So....I was happily driving along the A27 towards Lewes this morning and approached the Kingston roundabout quite pleased to see a green light and a clear lane ahead of me....kept making good progress and slowed down as i reached the junction.....had a quick look to the right to make sure cars had stopped at the lights from that direction....looked back ahead of me to find that a car had pulled out of the lane to my left and stopped at the green light....saw them too late....hit the anchors....but didnt stop in time and hit the back of them.

Their explanation for stopping at the green light was that they didnt think the traffic approaching from the left was going to stop at the lights so they stopped.

Now I know normally if you hit the back of someone you are on a sticky wicket. But in this case I really feel I am not to blame. They pulled out in front me and then stopped. No witnesses....my word against hers. They admitted they pulled out and stopped but I guess they can change their story pretty easily.

I took a few photos and checked they were ok, had no whiplash etc and exchanged details. They said they were fine and didnt want to bother with insurance claims even though they were adamant it was my fault.

What do you think.....have I got a case to claim on their insurance or will I get the blame regardless?

Sounds suspicious to me if she doesn't want to bother with an insurance claim after you rammed her from behind. With no witnesses it will be your word against hers. Both of you are at fault with lack of observational skills and driving without due care and attention.

upthealbion1970 · Feb 7, 2013

Aseros said:
No. You hit them from behind. You have no claim.

This

bassking · Feb 7, 2013

That whiplash can come on at a later date if they really wanna go for it, (Comp).

The Brighton Buzz · Feb 7, 2013

Sergei Gotsmanov said:
So....I was happily driving along the A27 towards Lewes this morning and approached the Kingston roundabout quite pleased to see a green light and a clear lane ahead of me....kept making good progress and slowed down as i reached the junction.....had a quick look to the right to make sure cars had stopped at the lights from that direction....looked back ahead of me to find that a car had pulled out of the lane to my left and stopped at the green light....saw them too late....hit the anchors....but didnt stop in time and hit the back of them.

Their explanation for stopping at the green light was that they didnt think the traffic approaching from the left was going to stop at the lights so they stopped.

Now I know normally if you hit the back of someone you are on a sticky wicket. But in this case I really feel I am not to blame. They pulled out in front me and then stopped. No witnesses....my word against hers. They admitted they pulled out and stopped but I guess they can change their story pretty easily.

I took a few photos and checked they were ok, had no whiplash etc and exchanged details. They said they were fine and didnt want to bother with insurance claims even though they were adamant it was my fault.

What do you think.....have I got a case to claim on their insurance or will I get the blame regardless?

They said they were fine and didnt want to bother with insurance claims even though they were adamant it was my fault.
Smacks like they weren't insured and did'nt want to get caught out

edna krabappel · Feb 7, 2013

You can claim all you like, but as a driver, it's your responsibility to be aware of what's going on around you, particularly in front of you. The other driver has slowed- you say- because they wanted to make sure the junction was clear, which is reasonable and recommended. A green light, as per the Highway Code, means you may proceed if the way is clear, which in your case, it obviously wasn't.

There may be degrees of blame to be attributed in this case if you think he pulled out in front of you without checking mirrors, but I think that would only ever mean he would accept SOME of the responsibility rather than none as with a normal rear end shunt. I cannot see his insurer agreeing to pay out in your favour under any circumstances, because it will be your word against his, and they could (I emphasise could, not will) simply say you hit them from behind and deny any lane changing on their part.

I think you just have to swallow this one. By the way, I know it's not remotely tempting to involve the insurers if you don't have to, but technically (in most cases I'm aware of anyway) you are required to notify your insurer of all collisions you're involved in, regardless of whether you mean to make a claim or not. IF he was to make a claim without telling you, the first your insurer would hear about it is from him, not you, which might leave you in an awkward position. Just a bit of friendly advice

Twinkle Toes · Feb 7, 2013

From my understanding of the sitch, it sounds like you've got a right result - by virtue of the driver you bumped not wanting to persue an insurance claim. It sounds like one of those situations where nobody was really doing anything wrong, per-se, but you were (very understandably) assuming that a car would not change lanes & suddenly stop at a green light. Just because it was green & you were fully entitled to proceed didn't mean that you could (!) - which of course you couldn't due to another road users confusion.

I did a not dis-similar thing years ago when I was riding with two other motorcycles & the one directly in front of me suddenly stopped at a junction (when myself & the first rider could see on approach that the road we were joining was totally clear). I went into the back of the div who had stopped dead, but thankfully no real damage was done & we were all absolutely fine. I knew he didn't need to stop, but realised it was my fault for assuming he'd go. :annoyed:

Both your minor prang & my one are just part of the life-long driving/riding school in the end. And it could've been one helluva lot worse... :thumbsup:

Bodian · Feb 7, 2013

I approached a roundabout behind a lady in an Audi. She slowed down, changing down into second - and pulled straight out, and I followed doing roughly the same. I was a safe enough distance away and we accelerated to about 25-30, she changed gear - but instead of going into third, she put it into first - which immediately stopped the car.

It was as if she did an emergency stop without showing any brake lights. So, by the time I realised she was stopping / had stopped it was a bit late - so I hit her at about 20mph.

No-one was hurt at all. My focus was written off as the air bags went off and the front crumpled a bit, and not being worth much wasn't worth repairing. The only damage to her tank of an Audi was that the towbar buckled a bit.

We all got out, and two witnesses stopped. She explained what happened and was quite happy to accept that it was all her fault.

However, when I phoned my insurance company, they weren't even interested. They said 'driver behind is always at fault' - even if the driver in front has accepted fault.

All very odd - but they must have some sympathy for me, as they didn't put my premiums up.

Willy Dangle · Feb 7, 2013

Sergei Gotsmanov said:
So....I was happily driving along the A27 towards Lewes this morning and approached the Kingston roundabout quite pleased to see a green light and a clear lane ahead of me....kept making good progress and slowed down as i reached the junction.....had a quick look to the right to make sure cars had stopped at the lights from that direction....looked back ahead of me to find that a car had pulled out of the lane to my left and stopped at the green light....saw them too late....hit the anchors....but didnt stop in time and hit the back of them.

Their explanation for stopping at the green light was that they didnt think the traffic approaching from the left was going to stop at the lights so they stopped.

Now I know normally if you hit the back of someone you are on a sticky wicket. But in this case I really feel I am not to blame. They pulled out in front me and then stopped. No witnesses....my word against hers. They admitted they pulled out and stopped but I guess they can change their story pretty easily.

I took a few photos and checked they were ok, had no whiplash etc and exchanged details. They said they were fine and didnt want to bother with insurance claims even though they were adamant it was my fault.

What do you think.....have I got a case to claim on their insurance or will I get the blame regardless?

This sounds like one of them scams where they did it deliberately and will now make a claim for everything. My strong advise is to notify you insurance of all the detail and conversation. Tell them that your or they are not claiming but it happened. I don't want to alarm you but before you know it they will be claiming for their injuries and for those of all their passengers that were not there.

edna krabappel · Feb 7, 2013

Bodian said:
However, when I phoned my insurance company, they weren't even interested. They said 'driver behind is always at fault' - even if the driver in front has accepted fault.

All very odd - but they must have some sympathy for me, as they didn't put my premiums up.

It's because they say you should always be driving at a speed (and, ergo, stopping distance) that allows you to stop safely within the distance you can see to be clear. A car stopping suddenly is just another variable- other examples could be a load falling off a truck, a child running out from behind a parked car, a massive hole in the road etc etc.

Their view is that you always adjust your speed and stopping distance according to the circumstances you're in, that you should be anticipating what could potentially happen in any given position you find yourself in. An urban road might be a 30mph limit, but if it has parked cars down the side, you should be considering what hazards could emerge from between those cars and slow down to a more suitable level.

:shrug:

pottert · Feb 7, 2013

You have no chance

Muzzy · Feb 7, 2013

edna krabappel said:
It's because they say you should always be driving at a speed (and, ergo, stopping distance) that allows you to stop safely within the distance you can see to be clear. A car stopping suddenly is just another variable- other examples could be a load falling off a truck, a child running out from behind a parked car, a massive hole in the road etc etc.

Their view is that you always adjust your speed and stopping distance according to the circumstances you're in, that you should be anticipating what could potentially happen in any given position you find yourself in. An urban road might be a 30mph limit, but if it has parked cars down the side, you should be considering what hazards could emerge from between those cars and slow down to a more suitable level.

You're quite correct and this explains why traffic never moves in London!

GingerBeerMan · Feb 7, 2013

edna krabappel said:
It's because they say you should always be driving at a speed (and, ergo, stopping distance) that allows you to stop safely within the distance you can see to be clear. A car stopping suddenly is just another variable- other examples could be a load falling off a truck, a child running out from behind a parked car, a massive hole in the road etc etc.

Their view is that you always adjust your speed and stopping distance according to the circumstances you're in, that you should be anticipating what could potentially happen in any given position you find yourself in. An urban road might be a 30mph limit, but if it has parked cars down the side, you should be considering what hazards could emerge from between those cars and slow down to a more suitable level.

Building on this, even if you can't stop you should be able to swerve around the car to avoid an accident. If you can't swerve around in time you're too close. If you can't swerve around because another car is in the other lane, you need to take that into account and drop back a bit. It sucks, and I'm sure most of us don't do it all the time, but that's how the insurance company see it.

Westdene Seagull · Feb 7, 2013

edna krabappel said:
I think you just have to swallow this one. By the way, I know it's not remotely tempting to involve the insurers if you don't have to, but technically (in most cases I'm aware of anyway) you are required to notify your insurer of all collisions you're involved in, regardless of whether you mean to make a claim or not. IF he was to make a claim without telling you, the first your insurer would hear about it is from him, not you, which might leave you in an awkward position. Just a bit of friendly advice

Not actually the case - you're well within your rights to deal with the third party insurer directly if you wish and not inform your CURRENT insurer. You DO have to admit the accident at your next renewal but of course that's unlikely to be your current insurer if you have any sense !

Box of Frogs · Feb 7, 2013

Westdene Seagull said:
Not actually the case - you're well within your rights to deal with the third party insurer directly if you wish and not inform your CURRENT insurer. You DO have to admit the accident at your next renewal but of course that's unlikely to be your current insurer if you have any sense !

Sorry to disagree, but most insurers have within their T&Cs that you have to inform them of any accident you are involved in, whether or not a claim may or may arise from it. Certainly the Insurer I work for does.

StonehamPark · Feb 7, 2013

El Abd's Head Slap said:
This sounds like one of them scams where they did it deliberately and will now make a claim for everything. My strong advise is to notify you insurance of all the detail and conversation. Tell them that your or they are not claiming but it happened. I don't want to alarm you but before you know it they will be claiming for their injuries and for those of all their passengers that were not there.

I work within Insurance Fraud Investigation and the above is the correct answer.
However it's far from certain that the other party pulled out deliberately, they could just have made a bad move.
Do you know how many (if any) passengers they had and do you have the other drivers/car details?
As you hit them from behind, everything is in their favour, they CAN claim whiplash and there's a fair chance they will. It's far too easy.
Did you take photos at the scene?

Alert your insurance company and let them know the situation.
Can I ask which insurance company you're with?

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