Someone just reversed into my Transit whilst I was parked.

Sambostar

Absolutely no damage whatsoever, they reversed into the corner fairing of the tipper tray and pretty much totalled their quarter panel.

Have witnesses, lady that did it is admitting liability.  Private estate.  I was safely parked up, where I always park up, she had two cars widths of room and just went straight back without using the mirrors.

What is the deal with insurance? What do I do?  I don't want to claim or have a million whiplash lawyers call me either. She is insured with Directline.  Not so much worried about her, but her insurer trying it on.

My insurance is up for renewal in a few weeks and have to insure another vehicle and don't want any hassles as it's expensive enough as it is.  Do I even have to give her my insurance details if it was 100% her fault and I don't want to claim?

Any advice much appreciated.

Seriously, only a scrape of paint on my truck.

ThorpyFX

id speak to her. If she reversed into you, regardless of if its your fault or not your premium will go up. the reasoning is that statistically you are now more likely to have an accident. This happened to my fiancee, she didn't claim but did tell the insurance company somebody had hit her. when it came around to renewing, she had to pay more for her insurance. What i would suggest is speak to the lady who crashed into you, if she can avoid including you in the claim then she should.

Moe_Zambeek

I'd probably notify my insurers with all of the details - notification, not a claim - just in case the lady gets a case of the 'must be someone else's fault's and tries it on with a claim. Your insurance may well go up (similar incident here added about 20 quid to our premium but we did have damage from the reverser and claimed for repairs successfully) but best to have it squared away in these days of declining personal responsibility.

Sambostar

thorpy6 said:

id speak to her. If she reversed into you, regardless of if its your fault or not your premium will go up. the reasoning is that statistically you are now more likely to have an accident. This happened to my fiancee, she didn't claim but did tell the insurance company somebody had hit her. when it came around to renewing, she had to pay more for her insurance. What i would suggest is speak to the lady who crashed into you, if she can avoid including you in the claim then she should.

Are you fooking kidding me?  Oh FFS.  I only have about three insurers that will insure me, as it's a grey import tipper.  I wasn't even in it or anywhere near the driveway when she reversed straight back into me.

ThorpyFX

Sambostar said:

thorpy6 said:

id speak to her. If she reversed into you, regardless of if its your fault or not your premium will go up. the reasoning is that statistically you are now more likely to have an accident. This happened to my fiancee, she didn't claim but did tell the insurance company somebody had hit her. when it came around to renewing, she had to pay more for her insurance. What i would suggest is speak to the lady who crashed into you, if she can avoid including you in the claim then she should.

Are you fooking kidding me?  Oh FFS.  I only have about three insurers that will insure me, as it's a grey import tipper.  I wasn't even in it or anywhere near the driveway when she reversed straight back into me.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, it may turn out to be nothing, different insurers run different risk algorithms hence why some will allocate you a higher risk category, other may not.  If its any conciliation i was overtaking someone and they decided to overtake someone in front of them they did £5000 damage to my 2 week old car, they new they were in the wrong but took me to court anyway. Anywho, karma wins, my insurance company sent a barrister who shat all over the other peoples case. The Judge was furious for having his time wasted, awarded me 100% costs plus £1500 damages for the inconvenience etc  and made the other guy cry for driving like a prick. best day ever!!! 

Sambostar

Called my insurer, he says no rise in premium will be due and nothing will be affected...apparently.  I've also got a message from Directline offering me a courtesy car and offering to pay for any damage due.  Hopefully it is nice and simple as it was all amicable and she admitted full liability.

I do feel bad for her, her whole quarter panel and light cluster is absolutely totalled.  There is only a faint smear of paint on the corner of my steel tipper tray, washed off already really.

Sambostar

Thanks, I never get enough speed up to overtake anyone and am usually too wide to fit through the gap.  if my premium does go up, I'II remember to take the shovel, pickaxe and spade with me next time.  Much simpler.

ThorpyFX

Sambostar said:

Called my insurer, he says no rise in premium will be due and nothing will be affected...apparently.  I've also got a message from Directline offering me a courtesy car and offering to pay for any damage due.  Hopefully it is nice and simple as it was all amicable and she admitted full liability.

I do feel bad for her, her whole quarter panel and light cluster is absolutely totalled.  There is only a faint smear of paint on the corner of my steel tipper tray, washed off already really.

Im pleased for you, thats great news

ICBM

If she reversed into a stationary building would you feel sorry for her? No difference really except that your truck has wheels and *can* move.

At least it should be an open-and-shut case, unlike when some old bugger reversed into the side of my car - which was also stationary, although I was in it and the engine was running - and admitted liability initially... then claimed I had driven into him, once he'd spoken to his insurance company. That did affect my no-claims even though there was no claim for damage to my car, I fixed it myself.

Sambostar

That be a pickaxe, shovel and spade job. I hear a lot of it, hence  my concern I guess and I know what insurers are like about admitting liability and the fit ups they try.

Funny, only this morning, on the way to work, I was having this fantasy of the rozzers giving me grief for no reason.  Stuck in traffic, in my dream, I out manoeuvred them both, handcuffed them with their own cuffs and forced them towards the big ash tree in the middle of the green I was to mow at Tazer point.  Then I lashed some rope around their handcuffs and continued to get on with my daily business of mowing the lawn, as they stood their, helpless, metres away from their radios and lashed to the tree.  One of them was a woman PC and was quite fit, so I have her the nod, everytime I passed by with the lawnmower as all the neighbours looked on like I was the loony.

I was just amazed at how her car just disintegrated, whilst my Transit didn't even wobble.  If she had hit the front of it, her car would have been fine and my transit would be no more, but luckily she hit the corner of the tray which is 3mm steel square section.  She hadn't had the car long apparently and she had red hair.  Hence why I feel sorry for her.

mart

Sambostar said:

...I do feel bad for her, ...

Don't be. What I always think in these cases is: what if it had been a child. If she can reverse into your transit without looking, she could have just as easily killed a child. Someone capable of that should not be driving, or at least needs a jolly good slap.

Sambostar

True.  Her bumper sensors didn't activate as the tipper tray was too high.

At least now I know that of I slam on my brakes I will decapitate everyone on board the car tailgating me and I won't probably even notice, providing it's a modern car doing the tailgating, which is reassuring to know.

TTony

Sambostar said:

I was having this fantasy of the rozzers giving me grief 

Speakers Corner alert !!!!

Sambostar said:

handcuffed them with their own cuffs and forced them towards the big ash tree

Yup .... Definite SC content ...

Any modern car isn't really built to withstand any sort of impact.  

The CO2 targets mean that any weight possible is stripped from the car.  Although the structural integrity is maintained, the other bits (like panels) will be as light and thin as possibly possible.  Hence plastic replacing steel.  

Then the pedestrian impact legislation means that car body parts are intended to deform on impact so that they cause less damage to human body parts.  That works well if it's a person being hit, but less well if it's a Transit Tipper!

ICBM

Sambostar said:

Her bumper sensors didn't activate as the tipper tray was too high.

Did her brain sensors activate? The ones normally called eyes.

And what mart said...

randomhandclaps

I feel most sorry for the person in a parallel universe who was actually standing where the corner of your mahoosive tipper that she failed to see was.

Sambostar

Give her a break, she was chatting at the time.

Sambostar

My mum ran over my foot when I was a kiddie, so I keep an open mind.

randomhandclaps

Sambostar said:

Give her a break, she was chatting at the time.

You saying women can't multi-task?

http://rs1img.memecdn.com/dont-be-sexist_o_442488.jpg

richardhomer

The sensors thing is a real concern. Ford now do cars which sense your blind spot and brake if you are going to rear-end the car in front. The 'Incapable of Driving' pack is about £700.

How about forgetting all the technology and taking responsibility for your own driving?

Stevepage

Transits are built like tanks. Me and a guy I work with were on our way to a job up a country lane in a Transit Tipper. Young guy in a Seat Leon comes tearing down the road, sees us and slams his brakes on. We've come to already but he's just slid all the way down and hits us head on.

The result is he completely totaled his car, engine hanging out the floor etc and we got away with a little dent in the quarter panel and the radiator was leaking. Still managed to drive it back to our office after that.

Sambostar