Hit by uninsured (private) electric scooter
Discussion
qwerty360 said:
BOH said:
He hit around the near side front wheel area; the wing, front bumper, front part of the under tray & wheel arch liner need replacing. Additionally the front edge of the passenger door has been dinged.
Note - simply riding illegally isn't negligence on its own so doesn't make the scooter rider liable. (See drivers found not liable despite driving without ever having a licence! Replace a private scooter with a rented one and it becomes legal without changing any facts about how the accident happened so isn't relevent to fault...)Near side front wheel/door could easily be you turning across them or pulling out, which would, per HW code, be at least partially your liability (filtering down the inside of a vehicle is questionable, but HW code requires drivers allow for it and give way...)
Of course it could also be them failing to give way at a side road and going into the side of your car. Until you explain what happened, we can't say who is at fault
Even more so if they were on a cycle path etc (whether they are legally allowed to use it, at 15mph they are no quicker or harder to see than a bicycle that you need to give way to)
It is relatively easy to find examples where witnesses will blaim cyclists (or scooters, being very similar) and happily proclaim they are at fault, only to get told by the insurer/courts that the statement they have given is effectively two parts; What happened and opinion on fault; The court cares about what happened and will point out that there opinion on fault is wrong...
edit: Even admission at scene will have limited value - scooter rider could argue stress/injury.
And this is all combined with the likelihood that any case will have injury to scooter rider being claimed and plausibly that the scooter rider has limited assets to persue for damage.
Edited by qwerty360 on Wednesday 3rd April 13:42
Clearly using a vehicle illegally on the road doesn’t absolve other road user’s duty of care toward them, especially with the recent Highway Code changes.
My query really was what can I do when my vehicle is damaged by someone uninsured and unable to pay. The answer appears to be not much.
Edited by BOH on Wednesday 3rd April 15:28
The answer is - "that's why you have comprehensive insurance".
The whole thing gets messed up because of no claims bonuses.
But if you have taken the bonus protection option (you may well have done) then make a claim.
As to the insurers wanting to write your car off - it's a negotiation and you need to argue about what it will cost you to replace the car.
The whole thing gets messed up because of no claims bonuses.
But if you have taken the bonus protection option (you may well have done) then make a claim.
As to the insurers wanting to write your car off - it's a negotiation and you need to argue about what it will cost you to replace the car.
Aretnap said:
Parents are not generally liable for the actions of their children any more than you're liable for your cousin's bad driving. The basics rule in tort law (with a handful of exceptions) is that you're liable for your own actions, not those if other people.
Is liability created by the parents buying their rugrat an unregistered, uninsured and untaxed motorcycle for which they don't have a licence to ride? I'd want that tested in court if the parents have a pot to piss in.hidetheelephants said:
Is liability created by the parents buying their rugrat an unregistered, uninsured and untaxed motorcycle for which they don't have a licence to ride? I'd want that tested in court if the parents have a pot to piss in.
Seems while major retailers sell these things as toys kids will treat them as such.If the rider is uninsured and I believe the DFT scheme ones require a minimum of age 16 and provisional licence, would that not extend to privately owned ones.
I assume fully comp insurance and maybe the MIB Uninsured drivers agreement would cut in, I thought this formed part of the insurance charge to cover such eventuality.
Responder.First said:
hidetheelephants said:
Is liability created by the parents buying their rugrat an unregistered, uninsured and untaxed motorcycle for which they don't have a licence to ride? I'd want that tested in court if the parents have a pot to piss in.
Seems while major retailers sell these things as toys kids will treat them as such.If the rider is uninsured and I believe the DFT scheme ones require a minimum of age 16 and provisional licence, would that not extend to privately owned ones.
I assume fully comp insurance and maybe the MIB Uninsured drivers agreement would cut in, I thought this formed part of the insurance charge to cover such eventuality.
QBee said:
The answer is - "that's why you have comprehensive insurance".
The whole thing gets messed up because of no claims bonuses.
But if you have taken the bonus protection option (you may well have done) then make a claim.
As to the insurers wanting to write your car off - it's a negotiation and you need to argue about what it will cost you to replace the car.
FWIW, I’ve been made a better than expected offer from my insurer. I protected the NCB but that doesn’t stop insurers from jacking up the base premium, especially when it seems likely to be a ‘fault’ accident against me. And I’ll have to pay the excess.The whole thing gets messed up because of no claims bonuses.
But if you have taken the bonus protection option (you may well have done) then make a claim.
As to the insurers wanting to write your car off - it's a negotiation and you need to argue about what it will cost you to replace the car.
I’ll probably buy the salvage back and get it fixed with secondhand eBay parts.
Overall I’ll be up on the deal, but offset against future higher insurance premiums.
Edited by BOH on Wednesday 3rd April 16:25
BOH said:
QBee said:
The answer is - "that's why you have comprehensive insurance".
The whole thing gets messed up because of no claims bonuses.
But if you have taken the bonus protection option (you may well have done) then make a claim.
As to the insurers wanting to write your car off - it's a negotiation and you need to argue about what it will cost you to replace the car.
FWIW, I’ve been made a better than expected offer from my insurer. I protected the NCB but that doesn’t stop insurers from jacking up the base premium, especially when it seems likely to be a ‘fault’ accident against me. And I’ll have to pay the excess.The whole thing gets messed up because of no claims bonuses.
But if you have taken the bonus protection option (you may well have done) then make a claim.
As to the insurers wanting to write your car off - it's a negotiation and you need to argue about what it will cost you to replace the car.
I’ll probably buy the salvage back and get it fixed with secondhand eBay parts.
A really rubbish experience from start to finish and one in which you cannot come out feeling like you are winning.
Stuart70 said:
Cancel the claim, get second hand parts, you will be better off over a 3 year view, I suspect and although you will hate the world you will have learned an important lesson. Although I am buggered if I know what the lesson would be.
A really rubbish experience from start to finish and one in which you cannot come out feeling like you are winning.
This sounds like a better bet than going through a claim & then buying the car back. A really rubbish experience from start to finish and one in which you cannot come out feeling like you are winning.
Stuart70 said:
Cancel the claim, get second hand parts, you will be better off over a 3 year view, I suspect and although you will hate the world you will have learned an important lesson. Although I am buggered if I know what the lesson would be.
A really rubbish experience from start to finish and one in which you cannot come out feeling like you are winning.
You can't 'cancel' the incident though.A really rubbish experience from start to finish and one in which you cannot come out feeling like you are winning.
You still have the joy of declaring it every time you ask for a quote for the next 5 years.
Both for car and bike in my case.
Also as named driver on the Boss's car.
It put me right off changing vehicles too often!
The car may also already be on the way to bein on the cat list.
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