First accident, Success!

[random_monkey]

I was just in a shunt this morning, it was pretty funny

Was listening to my music, singing along, and noticed the car infront had stopped rather abruptly. So I did too.
The lady behing me /tried/ to, but locked the breaks and slammed into my rear. I'd seen her coming and had creeped forward slightly to give her a bit more room, but in doing so, got shunted into the car infront.

Now, the old Vauxhall Corsa (eugh) infront, had got a few scratches, little dent etc, on his once shiney back bumper

Behind me, a newish Clio (Which I have some sympathy for, plus the woman was kinda hot), had got quiiiite a bit of damage to it. A fair few scratches and dents...

My 480? - Hah, not even a flick of their paint.

I knew Volvos had a reputation for being sturdy, but I guess I'd never truely believed it.

[dragon]

Bang goes your no claims bonus though...

[catgroom]

Damned Righteous And Going On Naughty>>>D.R.A.G.O.N.

[dragon]

lol!

Why you delete me from your MSN, groomus? And Holmes has too! :/

[2127]

Bang goes your no claims bonus though...

Is that actually so? He wasn't driving into the Corsa, he was slammed into it!

[dragon]

Bang goes your no claims bonus though...

Is that actually so? He wasn't driving into the Corsa, he was slammed into it!

Yes, which means his vehicle was stopped in a position which wasn't safe.

You may be able to make it a no blame situation for yourself if:

a) the person that hit you admits total liability
b) the person whom you hit's insurance company takes pity on you and accepts that a) is true and therefore chases the person who hit you for the money.

[2127]

Well, if they just agreed that the Clio ran into the Corsa...
If not and if it's bye-bye to the no claims bonus, I would start searching for hidden damage... there's always some!

[JohnTurbo]

Shouldn't be a problem....my mother was shunted into somebody and wasn't held liable, but insurance companies are right bastards. I lost THREE years of no claims because someone else crashed my car.

[ebdl]

Yes, which means his vehicle was stopped in a position which wasn't safe.

Rubbish. If traffic has stopped then you are perfectly within your rights to be fairly close to the car in front - when you are taught to drive the correct distance is such that you can see the wheels of the car in front. You are not under any obligation to leave sufficient space such that, should a car piledrive into the back of you at considerable speed, you won't be knocked into the car in front by someone rear-ending you. This sounds like it was entirely the Clio driver's fault and as such she should be the only person to lose any no-claims. Court is your only option if this isn't what happens straight away. Don't let anyone penalise you for an accident that's not your fault.

[martinholmesuk]

lol!

Why you delete me from your MSN, groomus? And Holmes has too! :/

Because we don't talk anymore.

be it my fault or yours but that's how it's been for ages. I'll add you back right now and chat when I see you back online.

[Macaroon]

My 480? - Hah, not even a flick of their paint.

I knew Volvos had a reputation for being sturdy, but I guess I'd never truely believed it.

Don't be fooled by the impresssively clean-looking bumper plastic - you need to look underneath to see what really happened.

The bumper is designed to deform to absorb small impacts and that means metal bending and foam squishing. The plastic you see is just the exterior skin - and like your skin it can appear undamaged whilst concealing broken bones.

If your bumper trim still lies flush with the bodywork at the arches you should be okay but to be on the safe side you should stick your head under the car (preferably with the rest of your body still attached) and shine a torch up to the rear member to see if it has been bent. Only then will you know if there really has been no damage.

I don't want to cast a shadow onto your happy day but if there is unseen damage then you need to claim off her insurance for the repair.

Good luck

Rich

[dragon]

Yes, which means his vehicle was stopped in a position which wasn't safe.

Rubbish. If traffic has stopped then you are perfectly within your rights to be fairly close to the car in front - when you are taught to drive the correct distance is such that you can see the wheels of the car in front. You are not under any obligation to leave sufficient space such that, should a car piledrive into the back of you at considerable speed, you won't be knocked into the car in front by someone rear-ending you. This sounds like it was entirely the Clio driver's fault and as such she should be the only person to lose any no-claims. Court is your only option if this isn't what happens straight away. Don't let anyone penalise you for an accident that's not your fault.

Sorry? If you've positioned your vehicle in such away that your vehicle can be moved into someone elses in a low speed collision, then that is entirely your fault. That's what I was taught when I learnt to drive, but I guess it might be different in today's nanny-state where anyone can get a license from a cornflakes box.

In any case, as someone already said, insurance companies ARE bastards, so if they could hold you accountable because it's less paperwork than chasing someone else, especially if they don't admit total liability, then they will try and do just that. That's just life.

[dragon]

lol!

Why you delete me from your MSN, groomus? And Holmes has too! :/

Because we don't talk anymore.

be it my fault or yours but that's how it's been for ages. I'll add you back right now and chat when I see you back online.

Ah. I wouldn't bother then, to be honest. Didn't realise there was a "speak constantly or be nuked policy"

MSN isn't about that for me; it's a way of getting in touch with people when I need to, rather than a system to be engaged randomly chatting about not a lot - the size of myu MSN list would mean nothing else would happen in my life if I had to chat to everyone on it regularly

So thats why I don't chat to you for long periods. You obviously use it in a different way to me, and thats cool with me, just means we're incompatible I guess.

If friends really need to talk to me they tend to phone still...

[martinholmesuk]

fair enough dude. Yeah I used MSN to talk with a few of the forum members for a long time each day.

[random_monkey]

I was close to the car infront, and probably wouldn't have hit it if I'd not seen the clio coming up behind me. I'd edged forward slightly to try and keep it in, but it didn't work

And as for claiming - when the car's been bought for £75, they'd probably declare a cracked numberplate a write-off

[2127]

And as for claiming - when the car's been bought for £75, they'd probably declare a cracked numberplate a write-off

You're joking, I hope?
Insurances should cover the actual value of the car, and not the purchase price, no? What if you get a car for free then? Or get a car and some money on top to collect it? Not that this ever happens...

[MGB_GT]

Spot on the insurer has to cover the replacment price. As for blame, it is quite correct that a claim by the driver in front of you could result in your insurers paying for the damage to the car you hit, even though it was not your fault. Best bet is to get something in writing from the insurers of the Clio to confirm that they accept the liability is fully with thier insured party (Alternatley if you have her details she could give you this also).

Be wary, the way insurance companies work, anything that goes through them, even a phone call asking advice in case you needed to claim, can affect your NCB. It's stupid and unfair, but that's how it is.

[random_monkey]

even a phone call asking advice in case you needed to claim, can affect your NCB. It's stupid and unfair, but that's how it is.

Aye, my mum said I should ring 'em up and tell them I've been in the shunt
I laughed at her.

I'm just laying low and if anything comes of it then I'll deal with it, but I don't think anyone will make a fuss 'bout it