Where do I stand? (Accident)

Simonb256

Whilest pulling away from a set of traffic lights (in a queue) the car infront of me (indicating left) suddenly stopped, I hit the brakes and hit a patch of what I can only think of was Ice.

The back wheel slid out. Whilst trying to keep the bike up I rear ended the car infront and took out her brake light.

Theres no damage to my bike and I just have some road burn on my left arm.

She currently contacting her insurance company and I've never ever had a driver do that before (usually as I come off worse, and the run off). Any idea of what to expect her insurance company to say? or what will happen next?

niblue

If you rear end another vehicle it's usually going to be classed as your fault.

Not sure what the insurance company will do though as it isn't clear you'd have an insurance to claim against. They'd possibly have to take you to the small claims court to get cash (if you decided not to pay for the damage you caused) and I'm not sure that'd be worth their while.

Simonb256

niblue wrote:

If you rear end another vehicle it's usually going to be classed as your fault.

Not sure what the insurance company will do though as it isn't clear you'd have an insurance to claim against. They'd possibly have to take you to the small claims court to get cash (if you decided not to pay for the damage you caused) and I'm not sure that'd be worth their while.

Im not insured on this particular bike, and Looking up the damage it'll be around the £100 makr Im guessing. It was a ford KA, though thats not really relevant IMO.

She was mumbling something aboyut excess when she tried to phone and got hold of my SO, but shes apparently phoning me today,

graeme_s-2

You should pay for the damage you caused imo. This is one of the main reasons I keep my CTC membership, as it gives me 3rd party insurance.

niblue

Simonb256 wrote:

She was mumbling something aboyut excess when she tried to phone and got hold of my SO, but shes apparently phoning me today,

£100 probably means she will have to pay to fix it herself as it will almost certainly be less than the excess on her insurance.

If it were me then I'd pay to fix the damage myself and not get insurance involved.

Simonb256

Graeme_S wrote:

You should pay for the damage you caused imo. This is one of the main reasons I keep my CTC membership, as it gives me 3rd party insurance.

I dont't want to get into who's fault it was, yes it was I who went into the back of her, though I there were a number of factors that lead to this occuring that were out of my control.

Like why did she stop in the middle of a junction where she wanted to turn left and I wanted to go straight forward? There was roadworks about 100yards ahead but they were not in the direction she wanted to go.

Like the fact that there was something on the road which caused me to loose control of my vehicle. I seriously doubt that I could of slid so well otherwise when I was doing only about 10mph. There was a good car length at least when I started braking.

I'm not saying that its definatly not my fault, Im just saying that there isnt really a fault IMO, it was just a ccident that happened.

Simonb256

niblue wrote:

Simonb256 wrote:

She was mumbling something aboyut excess when she tried to phone and got hold of my SO, but shes apparently phoning me today,

£100 probably means she will have to pay to fix it herself as it will almost certainly be less than the excess on her insurance.

If it were me then I'd pay to fix the damage myself and not get insurance involved.

Thats what I would of thought, and I was surprised when sha said she wanted to go downt he insurance route, Im not saying Im not happy to pay the damages, but rather I just dont know what to expect with her going this route and I feel that no-one was really to blame.

RufusA

Simonb256 wrote:

She was mumbling something aboyut excess when she tried to phone and got hold of my SO, but shes apparently phoning me today,

As others have said, if you caused the damage, then sadly you are liable are you will probably have to pay the bill for the repair. I'm suprised you were able to break a rear light, but not sustain any damage to your own bike, particularly at just pullin away speeds - wheels of iron!

Glad you are not seriously hurt though, and hope the road burn heals speedily.

If the repairs are looking expensive, and you have household insurance, then check the wording of your policy. Many will cover you for third party damage to other property excluding when you are using a motor vehicle.

If you do have to pay out of your own pocket, then make sure she gets two quotes, and offer to pay direct rather than via the insurers as IMHO they will just add unecessary hassle and costs.

HTH - Rufus.

Simonb256

RufusA wrote:

As others have said, if you caused the damage, then sadly you are liable are you will probably have to pay the bill for the repair. I'm suprised you were able to break a rear light, but not sustain any damage to your own bike, particularly at just pullin away speeds - wheels of iron!

Glad you are not seriously hurt though, and hope the road burn heals speedily.

If the repairs are looking expensive, and you have household insurance, then check the wording of your policy. Many will cover you for third party damage to other property excluding when you are using a motor vehicle.

If you do have to pay out of your own pocket, then make sure she gets two quotes, and offer to pay direct rather than via the insurers as IMHO they will just add unecessary hassle and costs.

HTH - Rufus.

The brake light was taken out by my right knee I think, and I'm amazed it happened also.
I'll have to check that insurance when i get home...

Thank you for the sound advice.

graeme_s-2

Simonb256 wrote:

I dont't want to get into who's fault it was, yes it was I who went into the back of her, though I there were a number of factors that lead to this occuring that were out of my control.

Like why did she stop in the middle of a junction where she wanted to turn left and I wanted to go straight forward? There was roadworks about 100yards ahead but they were not in the direction she wanted to go.

Like the fact that there was something on the road which caused me to loose control of my vehicle. I seriously doubt that I could of slid so well otherwise when I was doing only about 10mph. There was a good car length at least when I started braking.

I'm not saying that its definatly not my fault, Im just saying that there isnt really a fault IMO, it was just a ccident that happened.

Sorry - I came across a bit more judgmental than I meant to. I've come within millimeters of rear ending drivers in similar situations before, and something slippy in the wrong place would have caused me to go straight into the back of them.

The rule of the road is that you have to leave sufficient distance between you and the vehicle in front, allowing for the speed you're travelling and the current conditions. This means if the vehicle in front does an emergency stop for no apparent reason you should be able to stop without hitting them. As I said, we've all either done it, or had very near misses, but when it does happen, it's still technically your fault.

Simonb256

Graeme_S wrote:

The rule of the road is that you have to leave sufficient distance between you and the vehicle in front, allowing for the speed you're travelling and the current conditions. This means if the vehicle in front does an emergency stop for no apparent reason you should be able to stop without hitting them. As I said, we've all either done it, or had very near misses, but when it does happen, it's still technically your fault.

Fair enough, and I accept that but I still hold that that particular section of road was worse than any other that day, though I thought that one car length minimum was acceptable at such speeds.

Im just leaving it at that really.

Gambatte

Simonb256 wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

you have to leave sufficient distance between you and the vehicle in front, allowing for ...........the current conditions.

that particular section of road was worse than any other that day,

Sorry Simon. I'd agree with Graeme as well.

Simonb256

Gambatte wrote:

Simonb256 wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

you have to leave sufficient distance between you and the vehicle in front, allowing for ...........the current conditions.

that particular section of road was worse than any other that day,

Sorry Simon. I'd agree with Graeme as well.

Im not saying I disagree, Im just saying that, this one section was hard to judge the conditions as you visibly could not see ice etc and i fail to see how I need to have such a large gap when doing a tiny speed.

I am not saying its not my fault and Im not saying anyone is wrong, I just want to get accross that its easy to point fingers when they don#t know what happened. To be honest Im not sure 100% what happened.

Random Vince

i've slid through a set of traffic lights on ice and rear ended a vehicle that had done the same and landed on the pavement opposite - i believe it came off my dad's insurance.

a new tail light cluster for a KA shouldn't cost more than £50 from a breakers yard and is not too hard to fit

claim you have a contact in the auto industry, aquire light and meet somewhere to fit it for her!

its probable that the person you hit hasn't had an accident before and so the instant thing to do is contact the insurance company.