motorway accident advice please

[scooters]

Hi all. Had an incident on m4 this morning where I hit a lorry tire which was in the middle of the road. Visible damage to car (a4) is bumper inserts which equate to around 150. Is it likely that lorry will be at fault and I can claim on insurance?
Only potential sticking point is that at the time of the incident the car had no Mot as it booked in for later that day. It passed. Will this be a potential issue and better to forgoe the outlay?. Also, car feels ok to drive but should it be looked at anyway ?. Thanks for any advice

[The Nur]

If you weren't specifically on your way to the mot station then I imagine you wouldn't have a hope, what with the legality issues.

If, however, you actually were on your way to the tester you may be alright.

[Great Pretender]

scooters said:

Hi all. Had an incident on m4 this morning where I hit a lorry tire which was in the middle of the road. Visible damage to car (a4) is bumper inserts which equate to around 150. Is it likely that lorry will be at fault and I can claim on insurance?
Only potential sticking point is that at the time of the incident the car had no Mot as it booked in for later that day. It passed. Will this be a potential issue and better to forgoe the outlay?. Also, car feels ok to drive but should it be looked at anyway ?. Thanks for any advice

Suck it up.

Your insurance will stipulate that the car must have a valid MOT. As it did not, it's most likely that they will reject the claim at best or cancel your insurance at worst.

[Stuey145]

re the tYre. Can you prove which lorry it came from or was it 'just there' and no broken down lorry to be seen?

re the MOT, can't remember if they have a time of passing on the cert, if not (and i don't think they do) it's valid on that date. Quite happy to be corrected if that's not the case.

Plod COULD get arsey about it though.........

[Disco You]

The Nur said:

If you weren't specifically on your way to the mot station then I imagine you wouldn't have a hope, what with the legality issues.

If, however, you actually were on your way to the tester you may be alright.

I think you'd be pretty unlucky if you weren't able to argue that you were on your way to the test centre...

[gareth.e]

heading in direction of the mot station? also I doubt it would be worth it for hassle + adding claim to policy

[The Nur]

Disco You said:

The Nur said:

If you weren't specifically on your way to the mot station then I imagine you wouldn't have a hope, what with the legality issues.

If, however, you actually were on your way to the tester you may be alright.

I think you'd be pretty unlucky if you weren't able to argue that you were on your way to the test centre...

From the OP it sounds as though the test was booked for later that day, possibly indicating that the vehicle wasn't heading directly there.

[Heathwood]

Disco You said:

I think you'd be pretty unlucky if you weren't able to argue that you were on your way to the test centre...

Oh I dunno, was it previously laid up / SORN. Surely most people ensure a new MOT is acquired before the current expires?

[shakotan]

Great Pretender said:

Suck it up.

Your insurance will stipulate that the car must have a valid MOT.

Varies from Policy to Policy. Some just say the vehicle must be "roadworthy condition", and a valid MOT certificate does not guarantee that.

[kambites]

shakotan said:

Varies from Policy to Policy. Some just say the vehicle must be "roadworthy condition", and a valid MOT certificate does not guarantee that.

No, but not having an MOT certificate does guarantee that the car is technically not road worthy, I believe. Regardless of the physical condition of the vehicle.

[Stuey145]

one of those delightfully grey areas of road traffic law

[MJK 24]

It's the responsibility of the Highways Agency to ensure the motorway is safe and free from debris.

[scooters]

Thanks for all the info. I was planning to drop off tge car whilst at work. Mot has time stamp on it and have got contact details of lorry company as he was waiting for highways to clear debris

[Stuey145]

MJK 24 said:

It's the responsibility of the Highways Agency to ensure the motorway is safe and free from debris.

but if it has just happened surely the responsibilty is for a driver to 'drive to sight'? (Not implying that it's the OPs fault as I don't know the full circumstances)

The Wombles can't be everywhere on every mile of motorway/trunk road!!! Thankfully, or the whole road network would come to a grinding halt.

[Busa_Rush]

scooters said:

Thanks for all the info. I was planning to drop off tge car whilst at work. Mot has time stamp on it and have got contact details of lorry company as he was waiting for highways to clear debris

Don't worry about it, irrelevant. Make the claim and it'll get paid.

[XDA]

You'll not get far with getting a truck driver to admit fault. My car sustained £6500 worth of damage from a massive tyre coming off a truck trailer and the truck driver never stopped, or was ever traced.

[Disco You]

The Nur said:

From the OP it sounds as though the test was booked for later that day, possibly indicating that the vehicle wasn't heading directly there.

Only he knows that though, I doubt that the rule states that you are allowed to go directly to the test centre and arrive exactly on time and not at all early

[The Nur]

Disco You said:

Only he knows that though, I doubt that the rule states that you are allowed to go directly to the test centre and arrive exactly on time and not at all early

Fair point

[Stuey145]

Disco You said:

Only he knows that though, I doubt that the rule states that you are allowed to go directly to the test centre and arrive exactly on time and not at all early

presactly

[Pommygranite]

It's £150. Your excess will make any claim pointless.