Debris in road, damage caused

[Robmarriott]

So, last night on the way home from work Mrs M was on the A14 and was plodding along at 70mph pulled out to overtake a lorry and there was a breezeblock in the road, she didn't see it til it was too late so the car and the breezeblock had a little interaction.

Difficult to judge the damage in the dark but the bumper is damaged, obviously, the undertray is ruined, intercooler seems to be dented but holds pressure, there's no leaks, no warning lights and nothing missing (bar bits of the undertray)

The problem is, the wonderful aluminium front subframe BMW decided to build the car with seems to be slightly bent.

I'm pretty sure it'll write the car off if the subframe is bent as it's a £6000 car with 137000 miles on it and the subframe is £650, so before taking into account the other stuff, it's a big bill already.

I'm expecting to have to foot the bill myself, however, I'm just wondering if there is anyone we can claim from without it affecting our insurance?

[The Moose]

Isn't that why we pay insurance?!

[kambites]

Not unless you can somehow work out who put the breeze block there.

[TallPaul]

You can claim from whoever left the block in the road. They would probably want to go through their insurance but some smaller companies might just settle direct.
Finding who dropped the block could be a challenge though...

[TooMany2cvs]

Robmarriott said:

I'm just wondering if there is anyone we can claim from without it affecting our insurance?

Yes, you can claim from the person who negligently left the breezeblock in the road. But you would still need to declare it to your insurance for the next five years.

If you can't prove that the person who left it there did so negligently, rather than simply accidentally, then you won't get anywhere with their insurer. If you can prove it was them in the first place.

[illmonkey]

The problem is, it sounds like she pulled out from close behind the lorry without being able to see what is in the lane she was changing to.

What if it was a car broken down?

Anyway, I've got a case coming up represeting the brieved family of a breeze block, tragically taken away from us due to reckless driving.

[Robmarriott]

illmonkey said:

The problem is, it sounds like she pulled out from close behind the lorry without being able to see what is in the lane she was changing to.

What if it was a car broken down?

Anyway, I've got a case coming up represeting the brieved family of a breeze block, tragically taken away from us due to reckless driving.

5/10, spelling error lets it down.

It's not particularly easy to see a breezeblock, in the dark, on an unlit dual carriageway, I'm talking about one of the heavy, dark coloured blocks, not one of the lightweight light grey ones.

[Robmarriott]

The Moose said:

Isn't that why we pay insurance?!

Well yes but I was trying to avoid affecting our insurance premium from a non fault incident (which we all know it will...)

[kambites]

It'll effect your insurance premium even if you don't claim, assuming you tell them (which you are probably contractually obliged to do).

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Robmarriott said:

Well yes but I was trying to avoid affecting our insurance premium from a non fault incident (which we all know it will...)

With no one to claim off, that's classed as a fault accident.

[TooMany2cvs]

Robmarriott said:

It's not particularly easy to see a breezeblock, in the dark, on an unlit dual carriageway, I'm talking about one of the heavy, dark coloured blocks

Has she tried turning her headlights on?

[The Wookie]

OP it wasn't under a bridge was it? There was a spate of crashes a little while back involving chavs dropping breeze blocks onto the A14 and A12, some of which were pretty serious.

If there's any chance it was dropped rather than falling off the back of something then it might be worth reporting it

[Robmarriott]

TooMany2cvs said:

Robmarriott said:

It's not particularly easy to see a breezeblock, in the dark, on an unlit dual carriageway, I'm talking about one of the heavy, dark coloured blocks

Has she tried turning her headlights on?

It's a BMW, might just as well not bother, they're like candles.

[LeoSayer]

Robmarriott said:

Well yes but I was trying to avoid affecting our insurance premium from a non fault incident (which we all know it will...)

How is crashing into a stationary object not your fault?

I do sympathise, I may well have done the same thing myself, but that's what insurance is for.

[Robmarriott]

The Wookie said:

OP it wasn't under a bridge was it? There was a spate of crashes a little while back involving chavs dropping breeze blocks onto the A14 and A12, some of which were pretty serious.

If there's any chance it was dropped rather than falling off the back of something then it might be worth reporting it

Good shout, pretty sure it wasn't but I will double check!

[Robmarriott]

LeoSayer said:

How is crashing into a stationary object not your fault?

I do sympathise, I may well have done the same thing myself, but that's what insurance is for.

While I do see where you're coming from, normally a stationary object would be something like a parked car, in which case, I agree.

Something in the carriageway of a road... that's a bit different no?

[SteveSteveson]

LeoSayer said:

Robmarriott said:

Well yes but I was trying to avoid affecting our insurance premium from a non fault incident (which we all know it will...)

How is crashing into a stationary object not your fault?

I do sympathise, I may well have done the same thing myself, but that's what insurance is for.

Something not very visible in the road is not really the drivers fault, but an accident. For an insurance claim, they probably would class it as at fault, but in reality it is an accident. Someone dropped a black block on a black road at night. It is really the fault of the person who dropped it, but the problem is finding that person and proving it.

Also, this is what insurance is for, and despite the gnashing of teeth and claims of huge hikes in insurance one claim will make little difference to the cost, especially compared to the cost of the damage. Unless your a new driver, under 25 or have multiple claims then it's probably going to be a small increase.

[LeoSayer]

Robmarriott said:

While I do see where you're coming from, normally a stationary object would be something like a parked car, in which case, I agree.

Something in the carriageway of a road... that's a bit different no?

Of course it's much harder to see than a car especially in the dark but if you don't want the risk of hitting such things then drive slower.

It's still your wife's fault for driving into it, even if there was next to no chance of seeing it in time.

Very unlucky but sometimes st happens.

[DrDeAtH]

!

Robmarriott said:

It's a BMW, might just as well not bother, they're like candles.

Are you hinting that it would be best if he lit his car like a candle?

Splendid idea to rid oneself of a BMW....

[996TT02]

TooMany2cvs said:

If you can't prove that the person who left it there did so negligently, rather than simply accidentally, then you won't get anywhere with their insurer.

I think this bit is the easy bit, since accidents rarely happen without negligence. Legally at least.

I.e. if it "accidentally" fell off the back of a lorry, then that was simply because of negligence in securing the load.

And if say a low lying storm damaged tree branch knocked it off the lorry, then it's negligence on the part of the council / as appropriate in properly maintaining the highway by way of pruning the trees that line it. Or the landowner where it stands. Etc etc.

Ultimately "accidents" are only those that can not reasonably be foreseen and prevented from happening, or pure acts of god.

But unless the breezeblock had been there for a long time (negligence in removing danger by the authorities) then assuming the culprit is unknown, there is no claim against anyone. Except insurance. Sux.