Hi All,

I was just in a car accident where the other driver went straight into the back of me - I jumped on the brakes and he went into the back of me as the lights changed.

He seems like a nice person but when I called the police they basically said to exchange details and call the insurance -

Now what happens if he changes his mind and claims I reversed into him? Or he was not there in the first place?

Some damage was done to the buumped and the bumper might need to be replaced at the back - Any rough idea how much this would cost?

What is advice for when being in an accident? Always look for a witness?

Glad your Ok,

I guess, even if he says you reversed into him, the insurance would not beleive him.

Police wont get involved unless there is an injury, or one of the parties is aggressive or similar.

I wouldnt worry about the costs, he will be paying for them. Just tell the insurance what happened and let them sort it.

His insurance may contact you and offer to fix your car for you, this saves any admin charges your insurance pass onto them. No reason not to take them up on their offer but make sure you get a like for like courtesy car.

Steve

Glad your ok too.

I ran into the back of someone in my wifes Yaris. Obviously my fault so I appologised and admitted liability on the phone to my insurers. I felt worse because he was just about to finish the paperwork on buying it.

I made sure I took pictures at the scene, and fortunately only bodywork and some radiator clips were needed. Ended up seeing the bill....£1000 just to fix wife's Yaris, thank the Lord for the excess. Don't worry though, if it's not your fault you won't be paying anything.

I would recommend anyone who is unfortunate to be in this situation to take photos at the scene, of the cars damage and the actual scene of the incidence. Make sure you get the reg number of the other vehicle(s) and description of the car, and get the other drivers details. Then get onto insurance asap. Also I would recommend writing down for yourself an account of what happened. Include in this what the weather and road conditions were like, as well as your actions, such as when you braked and how far the car was behind you etc.. Note time and date as well. Just incase the other driver argues it wasn't his fault.

Hope this helps.

Glad your Ok,

I guess, even if he says you reversed into him, the insurance would not beleive him.

Police wont get involved unless there is an injury, or one of the parties is aggressive or similar.

I wouldnt worry about the costs, he will be paying for them. Just tell the insurance what happened and let them sort it.

His insurance may contact you and offer to fix your car for you, this saves any admin charges your insurance pass onto them. No reason not to take them up on their offer but make sure you get a like for like courtesy car.

Steve

Thanks buddy

Surely he can say he was not even there at the time?

I feel so ashamed of myself for not getting a witness - I did look around but no one stopped / was prepared to help.. :(

Really upset at this - The guy contacted me and said he does not mind doing this outside of insurance - Is this a good idea?

How much would a bumper cost with fitting?

I wouldn't be too keen on doing it outside of the insurance. Just incase anything else has happened to the car, damage wise. It should cost him less to go through insurance anyway, ie only his excess. Has he something to hide? Also in case you have suffered injury, you will get more/better assistance if the insurance already know.

I wouldn't be too keen on doing it outside of the insurance. Just incase anything else has happened to the car, damage wise. It should cost him less to go through insurance anyway, ie only his excess. Has he something to hide? Also in case you have suffered injury, you will get more/better assistance if the insurance already know.

Thanks very much for the info - Nice one!

Any idea what it would cost to replace a back bumper silver color? Is it 100 quid or more like 500?

It was really only the back bumper that got damaged

Thanks

Don't think the actual bumper will be too expensive, unless it has parking sensors. It will be the painting and fitting which will be the bulk of the cost.

If anyone knows what number the replacing of a bumper is then that would be most appreciated.

The guy contacted me and said he does not mind doing this outside of insurance - Is this a good idea?

No , absolutely not.

It's very common for people to offer to do it outside of insurance and then when they get the true cost of the repairs they change their mind , or reckon they know someone who'll do the work for you...... and that's when problems start.

Get his details and make a claim ASAP

Keep an eye on your neck and back in the next 24 hours. If you wake up in the morning with any stiffness, take yourself to hospital and get checked out. It is not uncommon for people to get whiplash from rear end collisions at speeds as low as 5MPH. I have now been suffering from my back since my relatively low speed collision back in June, and I still struggle to play golf (which is one of my favourite pastimes). The £1900 compensation I got helped me to buy my Fabia though, so I guess all's well that ends well.

Have a look at the scene of any accident as there may well be CCTV running at that point!!! and has been said before always take photos (phone camera should be fine) and get any witness details.

Simon

Yes as Imperator has said see how you feel in the morning. My brother was rear ended by someone at nearer 40 mph. He felt ok at the time, then a couple of hours later was in total agony. So be careful and please go through the insurance.

I actually had someone reverse into me, so it's not that unusual. He admitted fault at the scene, then after we'd exchanged details, changed his tune, and said I'd crashed into him.

Unfortunately for him, I a) had lived on the road for nigh on 30 years, overlooking the corner where the incident occurred, so know how dangerous it is, and hence wouldn't have come around it on the wrong side like he claimed, and a witness came forward who had watched in disbelief at the bloke's **** driving from his front room window.

He also claimed to have had a witness, but after several months, the mystery person failed to materialise.

Just meant that it took about 8 months to sort out, and I only found out I'd "won" when the renewal came through with the details on that, and that my no claims were still intact.

As for costs, the impact was minimal; less that 10mph and I had to have a new front wing (or they bent it back), bumper, spot lamp and fitting, and that all came to around £1200, which was surprising!

I just hope I don't meet up with the chap who hit me, or I might be tempted to hit him, square in the face, with a brick.

It should cost him less to go through insurance anyway, ie only his excess.

It is safer to go through the insurance and I wouldn't advocate doing anything else. The reason the other guy is suggesting NOT going through the insurance is that it might well save him money. If a person makes a claim they will probably end up paying higher premiums for as long as five years, especially if they lose their no claims discount. Been there, done that.

Just been to the police station to report this, waited ages for my turn and they want me to fill in a whole report on this before they can give me a reference number :(

And to add to that my MOT expired about 6 months ago an I completely forgot to renew it - Insurance was renewed as they sent a reminder -

I m beginning to think this guy is going to get away with this scott line and sinker

I don't think he can say he wasn't even there.

If you can swap details, get witness details, photos etc.....

Glad you're ok and dont panic about stuff.

You called the po po in the first instance so a log will have been created. I'm a bobby myself and know from experience how much of a pain an RTC report is - they will usually only be done if the collision is serious, there is an injury to one or more drivers or there were any offences disclosed (such as one of the drivers leaving the scene without passing insurance/contact details). I wouldn't worry too much about the other driver claiming he wasn't there - he's already given you his details and stuff - your insurance will take it from here - that's why you pay them your hard-earned money. Just let the insurance sort it out. If he drove into the back of you, regardless of whether you jumped on the brakes or not, it's still his fault as he should have been a distance away from you that would have allowed him to stop safely in any circumstance such as the one you described. For replacing and spraying a bumper to match your car you'd be talking £300-500 quid easy depending on your car.

make sure you got all his details and so on, and did the police come out? people have a tendancy to give fake names and addresses and so on nowadays! and why the hell would you reverse at a light? anyways hope your ok and good luck!

Thanks all - I am going to go through the insurance

One last question : My MOT expired about five months ago although the car is definitely roadworthy - Will this affect my claim/should I reconsider whether to report it?

I just completely forgot about MOT as there was no letter sent through reminding you

Thanks all - I am going to go through the insurance

One last question : My MOT expired about five months ago although the car is definitely roadworthy - Will this affect my claim/should I reconsider whether to report it?

I just completely forgot about MOT as there was no letter sent through reminding you

A friend of mine recently got paid out from his insurance even though his MOT was expired, so I wouldn't worry. The only way this would have been likely to cause more problems is if the police had attended the scene.

MOT expired 5 months ago?

5 months is a long time to only just notice your MOT has expired.

always try and take photos of the cars, the scene, try and get his tax disc and any people in his car so no huge claims can be made(like the 6 imaginary people in the back of his car with whiplash). dont admit to anything just swap insurance details and LET THE INSURERS SORT IT OUT. Dont accept anything offered by his insurers, just pass on the details of yours and tell them politely they need to deal with them. This will stop them from cornering you into something you dont want or that could make matters worse for you.

Dont forget to put on your claim that you were stopped at the time of the vehicle hitting you and you feel he was driving without due care and attention as if he was driving with car and a safe distance behind you that the accident wouldnt have happened.