Daughter's first car accident conundrum
Discussion
Daughter passed her driving test 2 months ago. She has her own car insured in her own name to build up NCB.
So, last week while driving to college, she was approaching a line of traffic in a 30 mph zone which was nearing a roundabout. As she deviated from her usual route to pick up a mate, she was not sure what direction to take at the roundabout so was trying to read the sign. However, the car in front suddenly braked and her emergency brake manoeuvre was not sufficient so she made contact.
The car in front was a small van with a tow bar. The tow bar broke the corner of her number plate and pushed the grill into the front bumper by an inch or so. There was no paint damage whatsover. No bags went off etc and contact was very minor. However there was some damage to the rear bumper of the van as per the pictures.
So, the middle aged driver appeared to take pity on daughter and told her not to worry. He didn't want to put it through insurance but instead would get a couple of quotes and contact me later. He did and later that same evening, confirmed he received two quotes. One for £650 and the other for £600. Then there was the potential cost of two days' work as he is self employed! He was quite accommodating and was willing to have the repairs done wherever I wanted to. I asked him why he had stopped in the middle of the road and he said he was letting someone out into the road. Daughter did not see this.
So, I arranged for a panel beater mate to come with me to visit the gent at his home. His van had just been valeted so there was no way of seeing any evidence of any actual contact between the vehicles. He said that he wanted a new bumper £180 and when I explained that I could not reconcile the damage done to my daughter's car with the damage done to his, he made no comment. My mate suggested that it was possible the contact may have dislodged some old filler but there was no way of knowing for sure. He did not explain how the original damage happened or when but instead suggested it was lucky there was no damage to his boot door and that my daughter was also lucky to have gotten away with just a broken number plate.
I offered to have his bumper repaired by my guy and we offered to collect his van and leave him with an estate car to carry his work gear. But he then said he needed a tow bar to tow a trailer on site. Note the plastic cover on the tow bar and the fact that there was no trailer on his drive.
The conversation waned so I cut to the chase and asked him if he wanted us to repair the damage or would he prefer a cash payment instead? He was leaning towards the latter and when I asked what figure he had in mind, he suggest £450 would probably do it. I then asked my guy how much he would charge to do the repairs and he said £240. I then offered the guy this sum in cash to settle the matter and he accepted. I shook his hand to seal the deal and thanked him for his "understanding" with my daughter at the time of the shunt.
So, I am happy that the matter is settled but I am frustrated about being cornered in such a way in order preserve her NCB. I could not see any way around this. I have just purchased an e-prance dash cam to fit to her car for future reference as I already have one in mine which hopefully will offer some protection or clarity in the future.
What would you have done in these circumstances?
So, last week while driving to college, she was approaching a line of traffic in a 30 mph zone which was nearing a roundabout. As she deviated from her usual route to pick up a mate, she was not sure what direction to take at the roundabout so was trying to read the sign. However, the car in front suddenly braked and her emergency brake manoeuvre was not sufficient so she made contact.
The car in front was a small van with a tow bar. The tow bar broke the corner of her number plate and pushed the grill into the front bumper by an inch or so. There was no paint damage whatsover. No bags went off etc and contact was very minor. However there was some damage to the rear bumper of the van as per the pictures.
So, the middle aged driver appeared to take pity on daughter and told her not to worry. He didn't want to put it through insurance but instead would get a couple of quotes and contact me later. He did and later that same evening, confirmed he received two quotes. One for £650 and the other for £600. Then there was the potential cost of two days' work as he is self employed! He was quite accommodating and was willing to have the repairs done wherever I wanted to. I asked him why he had stopped in the middle of the road and he said he was letting someone out into the road. Daughter did not see this.
So, I arranged for a panel beater mate to come with me to visit the gent at his home. His van had just been valeted so there was no way of seeing any evidence of any actual contact between the vehicles. He said that he wanted a new bumper £180 and when I explained that I could not reconcile the damage done to my daughter's car with the damage done to his, he made no comment. My mate suggested that it was possible the contact may have dislodged some old filler but there was no way of knowing for sure. He did not explain how the original damage happened or when but instead suggested it was lucky there was no damage to his boot door and that my daughter was also lucky to have gotten away with just a broken number plate.
I offered to have his bumper repaired by my guy and we offered to collect his van and leave him with an estate car to carry his work gear. But he then said he needed a tow bar to tow a trailer on site. Note the plastic cover on the tow bar and the fact that there was no trailer on his drive.
The conversation waned so I cut to the chase and asked him if he wanted us to repair the damage or would he prefer a cash payment instead? He was leaning towards the latter and when I asked what figure he had in mind, he suggest £450 would probably do it. I then asked my guy how much he would charge to do the repairs and he said £240. I then offered the guy this sum in cash to settle the matter and he accepted. I shook his hand to seal the deal and thanked him for his "understanding" with my daughter at the time of the shunt.
So, I am happy that the matter is settled but I am frustrated about being cornered in such a way in order preserve her NCB. I could not see any way around this. I have just purchased an e-prance dash cam to fit to her car for future reference as I already have one in mine which hopefully will offer some protection or clarity in the future.
What would you have done in these circumstances?
Edited by jfbrin on Monday 5th May 19:13
The up shot is your daughter should take more care, you weren't cornered, insurance is there for a reason however you took the choice to settle outside of insurance which I totally understand.
But lets not forget his vehicle has been devalued through no fault of his own, he could of gone the insurance route main dealer ie huge cost, he got 2 quotes then you got a mates rate quote, all in all chalk it down to experience, your daughter made a mistake not the bloke he might of made a little bit now but come resale he will lose, swings and roundabouts.
But lets not forget his vehicle has been devalued through no fault of his own, he could of gone the insurance route main dealer ie huge cost, he got 2 quotes then you got a mates rate quote, all in all chalk it down to experience, your daughter made a mistake not the bloke he might of made a little bit now but come resale he will lose, swings and roundabouts.
I think your frustration is rather misguided. The impression you give is that in some way it is the van drivers fault but with all due respect it is your daughters fault.
I do not mean that in a bad way - It is just part of a young drivers learning of what it is like to be out driving in the real world on your own. I myself had something similar when I was out on the road within 3 months of passing my test; when I look back on it, it was 100% my fault and I felt the same at the time, I just didn't like the fact that it happened.
As a driver you should always act on the side of caution, I double triple check my mirror, always anticipate some idiot swerving infront of my and analyze the road ahead as much as possible.
I would pass such teaching onto your daughter as part of her learning, as for the money, it really is a small amount on how bad things could have got; it could easily have been a child or person who had walked onto the road and it would be a different story.
I do not mean that in a bad way - It is just part of a young drivers learning of what it is like to be out driving in the real world on your own. I myself had something similar when I was out on the road within 3 months of passing my test; when I look back on it, it was 100% my fault and I felt the same at the time, I just didn't like the fact that it happened.
As a driver you should always act on the side of caution, I double triple check my mirror, always anticipate some idiot swerving infront of my and analyze the road ahead as much as possible.
I would pass such teaching onto your daughter as part of her learning, as for the money, it really is a small amount on how bad things could have got; it could easily have been a child or person who had walked onto the road and it would be a different story.
Oh dude, you're looking a gift horse in the mouth. I'd chalk that one up as a win for getting away with it for only £240. It could have been far worse if he wanted to be difficult and push for the whip lash aspect of things. She was 100% at fault, he was hit by her... walk away relieved it wasn't worse!
jfbrin said:
So, I am happy that the matter is settled but I am frustrated about being cornered in such a way in order preserve her NCB. I could not see any way around this. I have just purchased an e-prance dash cam to fit to her car for future reference as I already have one in mine which hopefully will offer some protection or clarity in the future.
Wait until this chap starts struggling with his sore neck. 
I take your points and yes, it could have been much worse and yes, it has been a sobering lesson for an over confident young driver. However, I really believe she did not cause that specific damage to his bumper. She tips his tow bar because he brakes hard in the middle of the road supposedly to let someone out. Does it not look even a little bit fishy?
jfbrin said:
I take your points and yes, it could have been much worse and yes, it has been a sobering lesson for an over confident young driver. However, I really believe she did not cause that specific damage to his bumper. She tips his tow bar because he brakes hard in the middle of the road supposedly to let someone out. Does it not look even a little bit fishy?
It does yes but it could have been a whole heap worse - somethings you have to chalk up to lifejfbrin said:
But he then said he needed a tow bar to tow a trailer on site. Note the plastic cover on the tow bar and the fact that there was no trailer on his drive.
The trailer may very well be stored securely elsewhere - and that "plastic cover" is actually rubber and removes/refits in about one second flat. They're damn near essential if you're less than fond of round black greasy marks on your trouser legs.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff