I've had an interesting few months!
Discussion
Haven't been on here for ages but what a 2010 it's been!
Back in march I was driving through a small Cornish town, parked cars on my side of the road, going up a hill to a brow where it then drops steeply down into the town centre. I was the middle of three cars and the car behind me was pretty close, so I'd dropped back from the car in front, so that I could see well in advance anything coming the other way and so not have to brake harshly.
There was a short gap between parked cars and then a group of 6-7 of them right to the brow of the hill so I let the one in front pretty much clear them before committing to pull out. All of a sudden the car at the brow of the hill swerves violently and so I immediately think uhoh, and stop dead. Then I see a blue roof just cresting the brow, and he's shifting! I look in the mirror and numpty behind me is right there, I cannot back out of this one. Hand brake on, foot brake on, brace for impact. Lad in the Saxo coming the other way skids all the way the length of the parked cars, smoke pouring off his tires and still hits me doing about 20-30mph. Thankfully he'd spun to the offside as he'd skidded and let off the brakes just before impact, so it was a glancing blow to my 607. Just front driver's side corner damage. His car disintegrated. Quite impressive really. The police turned up (not traffic, just a local bib) who then claimed that there was no evidence to suggest he was speeding and that it would go 50-50. Cue me voicing my disapproval, to be told basically to shut up by the bib! Thankfully a pedestrian who'd been there the whole time agreed to give a statement to the insurers. Numpty behind had buggered off long before the police showed up, in fact, I think he gapped it pretty much immediately.
I've had to fight tooth and nail to get my insurance company to see this one through as they were from day one going for a 50-50 claim "as there were only parked cars on my side of the road!" The witness gave her statement on paper, which was not good enough for the other side and they even went so far as to send "investigators" to see her in person at her work place. The other side tried to claim I knew her. I do not. It's been a mess. The other side finally admitted liability a month ago and I still haven't had my excess returned to me. My insurance company are now suing the other insurer because although they've accepted liability, they refuse to pay out. They're a certain Irish insurance company specialising in insuring young drivers in higher powered cars. This lad was 17 and driving a Saxo VTR! An accident waiting to happen.
Part II of the saga: I got my car back at the latter end of April, over a month to be repaired for some reason and I have it for a month before some guy in a Transit pulls out of a side road, straight through a give way, and does this:
It got delivered back to the same repair shop and they were presented with the same corner of the same car needing repair. Sadly the Transit driver did a "proper job" of it this time (engineer's words) and the car has gone to the breakers now. What a shame.
I've been doing 30,000 miles a year for 5 years now without so much as a scratch and then 2 accidents in the space of 2 months and both of them completely the other driver's fault. Sadly I still get to lose out financially though, I'd just had the thing serviced a week before the Transit complete with new pads and discs all round and does insurance cover the costs of that? No. I'm still pretty
Back in march I was driving through a small Cornish town, parked cars on my side of the road, going up a hill to a brow where it then drops steeply down into the town centre. I was the middle of three cars and the car behind me was pretty close, so I'd dropped back from the car in front, so that I could see well in advance anything coming the other way and so not have to brake harshly.
There was a short gap between parked cars and then a group of 6-7 of them right to the brow of the hill so I let the one in front pretty much clear them before committing to pull out. All of a sudden the car at the brow of the hill swerves violently and so I immediately think uhoh, and stop dead. Then I see a blue roof just cresting the brow, and he's shifting! I look in the mirror and numpty behind me is right there, I cannot back out of this one. Hand brake on, foot brake on, brace for impact. Lad in the Saxo coming the other way skids all the way the length of the parked cars, smoke pouring off his tires and still hits me doing about 20-30mph. Thankfully he'd spun to the offside as he'd skidded and let off the brakes just before impact, so it was a glancing blow to my 607. Just front driver's side corner damage. His car disintegrated. Quite impressive really. The police turned up (not traffic, just a local bib) who then claimed that there was no evidence to suggest he was speeding and that it would go 50-50. Cue me voicing my disapproval, to be told basically to shut up by the bib! Thankfully a pedestrian who'd been there the whole time agreed to give a statement to the insurers. Numpty behind had buggered off long before the police showed up, in fact, I think he gapped it pretty much immediately.
I've had to fight tooth and nail to get my insurance company to see this one through as they were from day one going for a 50-50 claim "as there were only parked cars on my side of the road!" The witness gave her statement on paper, which was not good enough for the other side and they even went so far as to send "investigators" to see her in person at her work place. The other side tried to claim I knew her. I do not. It's been a mess. The other side finally admitted liability a month ago and I still haven't had my excess returned to me. My insurance company are now suing the other insurer because although they've accepted liability, they refuse to pay out. They're a certain Irish insurance company specialising in insuring young drivers in higher powered cars. This lad was 17 and driving a Saxo VTR! An accident waiting to happen.
Part II of the saga: I got my car back at the latter end of April, over a month to be repaired for some reason and I have it for a month before some guy in a Transit pulls out of a side road, straight through a give way, and does this:
It got delivered back to the same repair shop and they were presented with the same corner of the same car needing repair. Sadly the Transit driver did a "proper job" of it this time (engineer's words) and the car has gone to the breakers now. What a shame.
I've been doing 30,000 miles a year for 5 years now without so much as a scratch and then 2 accidents in the space of 2 months and both of them completely the other driver's fault. Sadly I still get to lose out financially though, I'd just had the thing serviced a week before the Transit complete with new pads and discs all round and does insurance cover the costs of that? No. I'm still pretty
Pannywagon said:
... Lad in the Saxo coming the other way skids all the way the length of the parked cars, smoke pouring off his tires and still hits me doing about 20-30mph. Thankfully he'd spun to the offside as he'd skidded and let off the brakes just before impact, so it was a glancing blow to my 607 ...
The police turned up (not traffic, just a local bib) who then claimed that there was no evidence to suggest he was speeding and that it would go 50-50.
Surely all the skid marks would have proved he was driving like a tThe police turned up (not traffic, just a local bib) who then claimed that there was no evidence to suggest he was speeding and that it would go 50-50.
t? 
Nae luck anyway
Somnophore said:
Skid marks aren't proof of anything, people skid for different reasons (no abs vs abs) but mainly it's not good evidence as it cannot be proven that those skid marks are from that accident.
The length of skid marks can be used to measure the speed when the driver commences braking. It should be pretty elementary for collision investigation officers. They even have vehicles that draw chalk lines on the road to show how long skid marks can be at the correct speed.Your local bobby on the beat sounds like a moron to me.
"The length of skid marks can be used to measure the speed when the driver commences braking."
Perfectly true, but try proving said skid marks were caused by the accident vehicle "beyond reasonable doubt" in court...
Row of parked cars, brow of a hill, this must be a regular occurrence your honour.....
Perfectly true, but try proving said skid marks were caused by the accident vehicle "beyond reasonable doubt" in court...
Row of parked cars, brow of a hill, this must be a regular occurrence your honour.....
mrloudly said:
"The length of skid marks can be used to measure the speed when the driver commences braking."
Perfectly true, but try proving said skid marks were caused by the accident vehicle "beyond reasonable doubt" in court...
Row of parked cars, brow of a hill, this must be a regular occurrence your honour.....
Possibly the car leaving the skid marks still being impaled on the car with no skid marks might be a bit of a clue?Perfectly true, but try proving said skid marks were caused by the accident vehicle "beyond reasonable doubt" in court...
Row of parked cars, brow of a hill, this must be a regular occurrence your honour.....
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