Council mower hit my car - on dash cam - what to do next?
Discussion
I don't understand why you have contacted the council. Why not just contact your insurance company with all the details and evidence.....?
Edit: having now watched the video, I think it proves he didn't hit your car rather than he did. The noise IMHO is heard before he passes your car and I would have expected to see some vibration on the camera at the time the car was hit......?
Edit: having now watched the video, I think it proves he didn't hit your car rather than he did. The noise IMHO is heard before he passes your car and I would have expected to see some vibration on the camera at the time the car was hit......?
Edited by JumboBeef on Saturday 4th June 08:00
I don't think he hit your car. The bang sound is before your door, probably the sound of the drain cover. Plus car doesn't jolt. Plus nothing looks to be high enough on that mower to create the dent just below the window line. Plus driver doesn't look at your car as he mows - normally a guilty party can't help glancing at the thing they've just damaged, especially if he didn't know he was being recorded.
If you pause the video at about 1.07 you can get a good look at the mower , there doesn't look to be any part of it sticking out at just below car-window height that could have hit your car without the mower wheels, blade cover and plastic trim scraping all down the door and sills.
It does look more like someone opened another car door into yours rather than the mower hitting it, despite the coincidental clunk noise on the video.
I think you'd also see the camera shake if the car was hit hard enough to depress the metal, but it remains completely static.
It does look more like someone opened another car door into yours rather than the mower hitting it, despite the coincidental clunk noise on the video.
I think you'd also see the camera shake if the car was hit hard enough to depress the metal, but it remains completely static.
Strange that the dent is in the middle of the scratches, and there doesn't seem to be anything at that height on the mower to do that.
No movement of the car, the guy doesn't even glance round, I wouldn't want to rely on that video in court, it doesn't seem to indicate anything other than it wasn't him.
You might get lucky, the council might just accept it was their man and pay up.
Probably a Sunday church goer pee'd off by your parking.
No movement of the car, the guy doesn't even glance round, I wouldn't want to rely on that video in court, it doesn't seem to indicate anything other than it wasn't him.
You might get lucky, the council might just accept it was their man and pay up.
Probably a Sunday church goer pee'd off by your parking.
Edited by Monkeylegend on Saturday 4th June 09:04
Edited by Monkeylegend on Saturday 4th June 09:04
Monkeylegend said:
Strange that the dent is in the middle of the scratches, and there doesn't seem to be anything at that height on the mower to do that
I don't think there are any scratches - those lines are the reflection of another car with chrome detailsCould the mower have flicked up something that hit the car as it approached it
Defcon5 said:
Monkeylegend said:
Strange that the dent is in the middle of the scratches, and there doesn't seem to be anything at that height on the mower to do that
I don't think there are any scratches - those lines are the reflection of another car with chrome detailsYou would think a dent would have at least shook the car and camera a little bit.
For once I have to be a doubting Thomas here.
If you look at the position of your parked car it is clearly parked on the other side of the gravel path.
If you watch him mowing he never touches the gravel path never mind crosses it to the other side where your car is. I paused the video at the 1.08 mark which is the point has has moved the closest too your car and about to swing back in. Even at this point he has not crossed the gravel.
Sadly I think that has occurred some other way and not by the mower chap. Also the marks would be horizontal along the length of the car and not downwards at an angle. That is an impact dent from something being hit against or thrown at the car.
If you look at the position of your parked car it is clearly parked on the other side of the gravel path.
If you watch him mowing he never touches the gravel path never mind crosses it to the other side where your car is. I paused the video at the 1.08 mark which is the point has has moved the closest too your car and about to swing back in. Even at this point he has not crossed the gravel.
Sadly I think that has occurred some other way and not by the mower chap. Also the marks would be horizontal along the length of the car and not downwards at an angle. That is an impact dent from something being hit against or thrown at the car.
Monkeylegend said:
You might get lucky, the council might just accept it was their man and pay up.
We've all pretty much agreed the lawn mower didn't cause the damage. If the OP continues with his claim and the council do admit liability then that man, innocent and just doing his job, would almost certainly face an internal disciplinary action which could affect his career.Nice.
Beeby said:
I appreciate all of your opinions on this. I had been out to the car an hour before and certainly had not seen any damage then. I will have to wait and see what the council say regarding the matter.
I know all too well the feeling of coming back to a damaged car, Sadly the video actually proves the opposite though. If you watch the line he follows, he never gets close enough nor has any protrusions on his mower at that height. More likely some vindictive so and so thrown something at the car for parking there ? Hand the evidence to the council and see what happens, if they payout you onto a winner, if not a decent paintless dent removal chap should sort that quite easily for around £60. Ive had worse pulled by a specialist and couldn't even tell where the dent was once done. Good Luck
Have to agree. That video demonstrates that the mower driver DIDNT hit your car.
But whatever did should have been captured by your cameras. Can you look back at the earlier footage, look for people walking past to the church, someone on a bicycle, overnight the night before, or think back to the last time it was parked in a car park.....
But whatever did should have been captured by your cameras. Can you look back at the earlier footage, look for people walking past to the church, someone on a bicycle, overnight the night before, or think back to the last time it was parked in a car park.....
Beeby said:
I had been out to the car an hour before and certainly had not seen any damage then.
Doesn't mean it wasn't there at that time though, just you hadn't seen it.I would go further back through your videos and see if something else happened at an earlier time or different place.
I'd have to echo the above comments, even considering the fish eye effect of the dash cam making things appear further away than they really were it's pretty clear that the sounds came from the mower crossing the valve cover and not from any impact with your car - sorry...
Also, the dent on your car looks like an impact perpendicular to the surface, the mower would only have given a glancing blow at best and would have almost certainly left scratches accompanying the dent
Side note: Not sure about other brands but my Blackvue camera has 3-axis sensors that would pick up the vibration an impact that could cause that kind of damage
Also, the dent on your car looks like an impact perpendicular to the surface, the mower would only have given a glancing blow at best and would have almost certainly left scratches accompanying the dent
Side note: Not sure about other brands but my Blackvue camera has 3-axis sensors that would pick up the vibration an impact that could cause that kind of damage
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