Accidents - Insurance / Police Interest.
Discussion
The missus had a car accident a couple of weeks ago. She was stationary behind a car waiting to turn right into a car park. After about 10 seconds a car ran into the back of her. Other driver stormed out and she started verbally abusing my wife saying she stopped suddenly and it was all her fault etc., etc.
My wife called the Police because she began to feel very threatened. They said they could do nothing about it and to call back if things got worse. My wife was very traumatised by the whole thing.
Despite all the abuse and accusations, the woman apparently took full responsibility for the accident when she reported it to her insurance. So my wife is completely blameless, yet will still see her premium (and mine as she’s a named driver) increase even though my wife didn’t claim anything; it’s an old car and has been deemed safe to drive, but would be written off due to the rear bumper being damaged in the event of a claim.
In this scenario - where a driver has admitted driving into a stationary car, surely that’s careless driving or driving without due care? She was wearing croc flip-flops, and one theory I have is that her foot simply slipped off the brake. So why aren’t the Police notified, and the other driver charged? If dash cam footage was sent to Op Snap, wouldn’t they be charged as such?
Seems like motorists will be pursued to the ends of the Earth for speeding, but for things like this…no interest whatsoever.
What’s the score?
My wife called the Police because she began to feel very threatened. They said they could do nothing about it and to call back if things got worse. My wife was very traumatised by the whole thing.
Despite all the abuse and accusations, the woman apparently took full responsibility for the accident when she reported it to her insurance. So my wife is completely blameless, yet will still see her premium (and mine as she’s a named driver) increase even though my wife didn’t claim anything; it’s an old car and has been deemed safe to drive, but would be written off due to the rear bumper being damaged in the event of a claim.
In this scenario - where a driver has admitted driving into a stationary car, surely that’s careless driving or driving without due care? She was wearing croc flip-flops, and one theory I have is that her foot simply slipped off the brake. So why aren’t the Police notified, and the other driver charged? If dash cam footage was sent to Op Snap, wouldn’t they be charged as such?
Seems like motorists will be pursued to the ends of the Earth for speeding, but for things like this…no interest whatsoever.
What’s the score?
No injury, not a police matter, or not one they will pursue. If it was, in fact, a momentary lapse of concentration it's not worth the officer time and cost to the public purse. Even if the other driver was prosecuted and convicted I doubt it would make any difference to the effect on your wife's insurance premiums.
CHLEMCBC said:
No injury, not a police matter, or not one they will pursue. If it was, in fact, a momentary lapse of concentration it's not worth the officer time and cost to the public purse. Even if the other driver was prosecuted and convicted I doubt it would make any difference to the effect on your wife's insurance premiums.
I wasn’t thinking that a prosecution would have an effect on premiums.It was more that surely they’d be prosecuted on submission of dashcam evidence, yet when they admit fault to insurance there’s no action despite them admitting an offence.
It makes no sense to me.
dr_gn said:
PorkInsider said:
There won't be many cases where 2 vehicles collide without one of the drivers being careless.
So if one of them admits it, why aren t they prosecuted?You can't expect insurance companies to deal with reporting driving offences. And you certainly couldn't expect them to be contacting the police about their own policy holders.
The score is exactly as you said - The motorist will be pursued to the ends of the Earth for speeding, but for things like this…no interest whatsoever.
To be fair, I’m sure if the woman had been friendly and apologetic to your wife, the thought of prosecution wouldn’t have even crossed your mind.
My daughter had to change lanes in very slow traffic, and just caught the corner of the bumper of the car in front. There was minor damage. I had the pannier of a large motorcycle nudge my cars rear bumper as he made his way through the stationary queue. Nice guy, he parked up, came back, examined the non-existent damage and gave me his details ‘just in case’. In either case, do they deserve to be prosecuted? No.
To be fair, I’m sure if the woman had been friendly and apologetic to your wife, the thought of prosecution wouldn’t have even crossed your mind.
My daughter had to change lanes in very slow traffic, and just caught the corner of the bumper of the car in front. There was minor damage. I had the pannier of a large motorcycle nudge my cars rear bumper as he made his way through the stationary queue. Nice guy, he parked up, came back, examined the non-existent damage and gave me his details ‘just in case’. In either case, do they deserve to be prosecuted? No.
Mike Legerwood said:
There have been many posts on here saying that notifying a non fault / no claim accident to your insurer does not increase your premium.
Fingers crossed !
My wife has had 2 fairly hefty no fault claims and neither increased the cost of her insurance. Fingers crossed !
A bus wrote off my car a couple of years ago, and similar, no increase in premiums.
dr_gn said:
PorkInsider said:
There won't be many cases where 2 vehicles collide without one of the drivers being careless.
So if one of them admits it, why aren t they prosecuted?Driver admits blame to insurance co.
Are you then expecting the ins. co to contact the police to get their client charged?
Ultimately it is the word of one against another, never going to happen, on top of that insurance companies don't have the power of prosecution.
JQ said:
Mike Legerwood said:
There have been many posts on here saying that notifying a non fault / no claim accident to your insurer does not increase your premium.
Fingers crossed !
My wife has had 2 fairly hefty no fault claims and neither increased the cost of her insurance. Fingers crossed !
A bus wrote off my car a couple of years ago, and similar, no increase in premiums.
Wife's car was swiped by a bus. The bus company's claims firm handled it. Told her insurer (LV) at renewal and they added £50 (about 15%) to the premium.
dr_gn said:
....even though my wife didn t claim anything; it s an old car and has been deemed safe to drive, but would be written off due to the rear bumper being damaged in the event of a claim.
How damaged was the other car? Did insurers need to be involved at all?Given that they now are, your wife could claim and even if the car is written off she could buy it back - effectively accepting a cash settlement. That does mean the car would have a write off marker.
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On the (lack of) police action I'd have hoped for more interest on the woman's threatening and abusive behaviour.
Sheepshanks said:
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On the (lack of) police action I'd have hoped for more interest on the woman's threatening and abusive behaviour.
I'd say that depends quite heavily on how the incident was described on the call and what resources were available at the time - and if any threats were actually made. I doubt the OP's wife can recall what the call handler said to her verbatim, so we won't know how it was handled at the time. If she has an incident number and wants to follow it up as far as prosecuting the woman under the public order act she can have a go but that's likely to go nowhere either as it'll be her word against the other woman's. It might sound harsh but the OP's missus was standing right by her lockable, mobile refuge if she was genuinely scared of the other woman and not just conflict averse.On the (lack of) police action I'd have hoped for more interest on the woman's threatening and abusive behaviour.
Despite all the abuse and accusations, the woman apparently took full responsibility for the accident when she reported it to her insurance. So my wife is completely blameless, yet will still see her premium (and mine as she’s a named driver) increase..
Might see an increase but not definite.It might stay the same or reduce.Even if it did increase you wont be able to tell whether that is a direct result of the incident or indeed just part of rate increases generally.
What might be more of a pain is having to declare the incident on any renewals for probably the next 5 years.
Might see an increase but not definite.It might stay the same or reduce.Even if it did increase you wont be able to tell whether that is a direct result of the incident or indeed just part of rate increases generally.
What might be more of a pain is having to declare the incident on any renewals for probably the next 5 years.
Sheepshanks said:
dr_gn said:
....even though my wife didn t claim anything; it s an old car and has been deemed safe to drive, but would be written off due to the rear bumper being damaged in the event of a claim.
How damaged was the other car? Did insurers need to be involved at all?Given that they now are, your wife could claim and even if the car is written off she could buy it back - effectively accepting a cash settlement. That does mean the car would have a write off marker.
.
On the (lack of) police action I'd have hoped for more interest on the woman's threatening and abusive behaviour.
Coincidentally, both parties are with the same insurer. There is a bit more to the story because in the confusion my wife mistakenly called an insurance claims management company (result of a hasty Google search). That was interesting.
alscar said:
Despite all the abuse and accusations, the woman apparently took full responsibility for the accident when she reported it to her insurance. So my wife is completely blameless, yet will still see her premium (and mine as she s a named driver) increase..
Might see an increase but not definite.It might stay the same or reduce.Even if it did increase you wont be able to tell whether that is a direct result of the incident or indeed just part of rate increases generally.
What might be more of a pain is having to declare the incident on any renewals for probably the next 5 years.
I’ve updated my insurance as a result of the accident because my wife is a named driver. There was no increase in premium at all, but I expect it will increase as a result next year.Might see an increase but not definite.It might stay the same or reduce.Even if it did increase you wont be able to tell whether that is a direct result of the incident or indeed just part of rate increases generally.
What might be more of a pain is having to declare the incident on any renewals for probably the next 5 years.
Strange thing is it says you must report any accident regardless of a claim or not, but there was no option to state it wasn’t a claim on the online form.
TBH It could be that if I don’t auto-renew (I know, but sometimes it seems the least stress option) I might be able to get a lower price next time.
Don't forget adrenaline can have a real impact in such situations and it's great to see the other party calmed down, realised their mistake and has taken responsibility.
I'll never forget going over the bonnet of a car whilst cycling. 100% the other persons fault, but she came out of the car fighting, accusing me of all sorts. I'd done a fair bit of damage to her car, wing and bonnet, and she clearly panicked. Despite me being the one injured it took me about 15 minutes to calm her down and once she realised what she'd done she broke down in tears and was full of remorse.
I'll never forget going over the bonnet of a car whilst cycling. 100% the other persons fault, but she came out of the car fighting, accusing me of all sorts. I'd done a fair bit of damage to her car, wing and bonnet, and she clearly panicked. Despite me being the one injured it took me about 15 minutes to calm her down and once she realised what she'd done she broke down in tears and was full of remorse.
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