Discussion
The scenario
A newly qualified teenager is driving their grandparents. They come to a village with a long line of parked cars on the left hand stand. There is nothing coming the teenager pulls out to pass them and is doing so when traffic comes the other way. The first 2 cars pass the teenager without incident. However a third car passes and wing mirrors hit. The wing mirror on the teenagers car is not damaged. The back cover on the wing mirror on the car going the other way is broken.
The driver going the other way admits there was no gap for the teenager to pull in to.
Who should pay for the wing mirror?
A newly qualified teenager is driving their grandparents. They come to a village with a long line of parked cars on the left hand stand. There is nothing coming the teenager pulls out to pass them and is doing so when traffic comes the other way. The first 2 cars pass the teenager without incident. However a third car passes and wing mirrors hit. The wing mirror on the teenagers car is not damaged. The back cover on the wing mirror on the car going the other way is broken.
The driver going the other way admits there was no gap for the teenager to pull in to.
Who should pay for the wing mirror?
Edited by Chrisgr31 on Wednesday 11th May 17:06
The wing mirror is certainly less than the teenagers excess! 
I wasn't there but do understand the other driver was travelling at a greater speed than the teenager and indeed teenager may have actually stopped as they realised the other car was closer than the previous ones. Any cost that falls on teenager is going to be paid by grandparents - even though they think the other driver is at fault. Indeed the other driver admitted he has lost a wing mirror in exactly the same place before.
The other driver at the time showed grandfather a quote for a new wing mirror on ebay of £45. That has now increased to £160 from a local body shop.
My plan is to offer 50% on receipt of VAT receipt, if no receipt I'll offer £45.
Also buying a dashcam!
I wasn't there but do understand the other driver was travelling at a greater speed than the teenager and indeed teenager may have actually stopped as they realised the other car was closer than the previous ones. Any cost that falls on teenager is going to be paid by grandparents - even though they think the other driver is at fault. Indeed the other driver admitted he has lost a wing mirror in exactly the same place before.
The other driver at the time showed grandfather a quote for a new wing mirror on ebay of £45. That has now increased to £160 from a local body shop.
My plan is to offer 50% on receipt of VAT receipt, if no receipt I'll offer £45.
Also buying a dashcam!
V8covin said:
So how are you supposed to pass parked vehicles on a narrow road without crossing into the other side of the road ?
The road was clear when they pulled out,tell the other driver to get stuffed,they should have waited
Must admit I am tempted to tell them to get stuffed. I do think they could have given way, and waited for her to finish passing if they thought there wasnt space.The road was clear when they pulled out,tell the other driver to get stuffed,they should have waited
Driver101 said:
If you do it and you collide with a car in their lane you're not often going to win the fight.
How clear was the road when they had numerous cars come the other way and it sounds as if they were on the wrong side of the road?
We are using the OP's secondhand account of what happened. I'm sure the driver with damage has a differing opinion.
The location where the event occurred frequently has many cars parked over a long distance. Its an A road but the houses on it within a village have no off street parking. Frequently the road is clear when you start to pass parked cars but others approach formHow clear was the road when they had numerous cars come the other way and it sounds as if they were on the wrong side of the road?
We are using the OP's secondhand account of what happened. I'm sure the driver with damage has a differing opinion.
The other drivers version of events was that it was the teenagers fault as they were over the white line although the other driver admitted they had no option than to be over the white line due to the parked cars and there was nowhere they could have pulled in to allow him to pass.
heebeegeetee said:
OP, was the situation similar to this?
https://youtu.be/9Y_E4dbGD24
How stupid are some people! I think it was similar although there was in theory from for each to pass each other.https://youtu.be/9Y_E4dbGD24
Anyway the other driver has managed to find a witness who was in the car behind them. This is a bit odd as after the incident my child continued a few car lengths and stopped in the previously mentioned gap. In the meantime the guy going the other way carried on turned round and parked behind them. No one else stopped so how he got the witness details is a mystery!
The other driver wants to report the incident to police and insurance company. Presumably has forgotten it will have an impact on his own premium as well!
No prizes for guessing my thoughts
Driver101 said:
It's not worth it for that cost. A no fault claim can still have an affect of the premium.
If it goes against the teenager, or 50:50, it could have a significant impact.
Teenagers insurance company said it was unlikely to have a significant impact on the insurance premium even if it went wholly against them because the sum of money involved is so small.If it goes against the teenager, or 50:50, it could have a significant impact.
The car has a black box so they can rely on driving style more. Teenager has received no adverse reports from the back box so far, and it did not pick up the incident.
I do wonder though how hard the insurance company will contest the claim when they are talking about such a small sum of money which they aren't paying anyway. However I console myself with the thought that the other driver may end up with a 50/50 claim on their insurance record which will probably cost them more than the £70 saved by rejecting my 50/50 offer.
In an update the other driver raised a claim with their insurance.
Our insurer is saying that in light of the different versions of the event they are seeking 50/50. They also say if that is agreed they will raise payment for 50% of their losses. They go on to say that we will not need to issue any payment in respect of the other vehicle.
They do say that they have already raised payment in respect of the 3rd party hire claim.
So does that mean that a claim for the back of a wing mirrors has resulted in a car hire claim more than twice our excess, and therefore 10 times the cost of damage to the other car?
Our insurer is saying that in light of the different versions of the event they are seeking 50/50. They also say if that is agreed they will raise payment for 50% of their losses. They go on to say that we will not need to issue any payment in respect of the other vehicle.
They do say that they have already raised payment in respect of the 3rd party hire claim.
So does that mean that a claim for the back of a wing mirrors has resulted in a car hire claim more than twice our excess, and therefore 10 times the cost of damage to the other car?
The other party had the hire car. Yes its going 50/50 liability which means our insurer pays 50% of the other parties costs. However it appears we dont need to pay any excess as we had no costs.
So our loss is the fact we wont have any no claims bonus at renewal. The other party will have to pay their excess, plus have a fault claim so have an increased premium.
I can only assume they have claimed for a lot more damage or something. No idea why you need a hire car when the only thing damaged is the back of the mirror which you have a quote for less than £150 to fix!
So our loss is the fact we wont have any no claims bonus at renewal. The other party will have to pay their excess, plus have a fault claim so have an increased premium.
I can only assume they have claimed for a lot more damage or something. No idea why you need a hire car when the only thing damaged is the back of the mirror which you have a quote for less than £150 to fix!
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