[All] [Generic] Crashed into

[Harry]

with the mr2 being so low ive had a transit van reverse straight into me at morrisons! took the front wing and door out . when the bloke jumped out he told me to get in the van and he willl drive us to the woods and give me his insurance details there he was huge...and obviously had no intention of giving me his details. I wrote down the number on the side of the van and tracked him down through that turned out he was some sort of judo champ. since then i park it as far away from the enterance as possible, less hassel!

Sorry; But I pi$$ed my self laughing! In fact it sounds like an Azz, experience! FPMSL! Yeh,mace him,club him over the head with a crow bar,tie him up with heavy duty tie straps[*quite a few in his case] and also restrain him,and then nail him to a tree in the forest up side down for a few days. Kidding!. Not.

I could be a total psychopath

Judo champ maybe, but he still sounds like a willy who deserves to be in some degree of hassle.

Damn right see the tree example,plus claim for the whiplash, if the case? Just for extra measure! Ha ha ha, Richard you sound like myself! Good result! PMSL! Going to have to buy you a drink or six when we meet!

[andyc1988]

no never went to the police in the end , id never been in that situation when someone flat out refuses to give you any details! I was stood there in confusion as to what to do. The bloke was being really aggresive and we was arguing in the car park as he wouldnt give me any details what so ever, then a car turned up with people he knew he shouted over "you saw this c@nt drive into me?" with no cameras about I was just left shocked as he sped off! phoned hid company on the van and they paid up. He said it was my fault as he couldnt see me .
....thinking back I should have reported it!! just prefered to get my car on the road asap

[RichardK]

Eh, if they paid up. then no big deal. The Police wouldn't have done anything useful, just be glad you didn't "go to the woods".

I wouldn't stand for that crap myself - what most people don't realise is how fragile their existences, their jobs, their support networks, their family and their home really are - so often built on a mountain of debt and promises and trust and "respect" that can be dismantled in days.

He might glance at me and think he has a good chance of hurting me physically, but I can stare right back safe in the knowledge that I could probably destroy his life with a few phone calls and carefully placed words

You did the right thing not falling for his crap, but you should make sure that people around the neighbourhood start to become aware of this sort of behaviour if he's a well known local lad. Bad for business, you know?

Honest accounts travel even further than gossip...

[RichardK]

Oh, and ALWAYS carry a camera in your car. Even a disposable film camera. They're possibly the best "uninsured losses" policy you will ever have, and it is amazing how quickly a defensive, lying driver will change their tune if you remain calm and just snap a few pictures from all angles.

It's also worth making sure you have pictures of the car that hits you to reflect damage. When someone hit my van, they went for knock for knock (failed; I demonstrated that they were speeding and hit the rear 1/4 of my car), then tried to sue me for their losses including vastly inflated value of their car.

I had taken pictures of their 1985 Orion 1600i Ghia showing that the front tyres were illegal, the inner wings had split due to excessive rust, and in fact it shouldn't have even been on the road, let alone have a value remotely like the one they had claimed for.

Words can be debated. Pictures, on the other hand, can be exceptionally useful, and people (overestimate, sometimes) their strength. Plus, insurance companies look favourably upon the person that provides the most actual evidence of a situation - partly because that person is also the one most likely to be an absolute pain to deal with in terms of never settling the claim.

[RichardK]

Damn right see the tree example,plus claim for the whiplash, if the case? Just for extra measure! Ha ha ha, Richard you sound like myself! Good result! PMSL! Going to have to buy you a drink or six when we meet!

Heheh, I'm far more subtle than that. Although if anyone annoys me sufficiently, they may find themselves naked, in winter, on a remote scottish island with nothing but sheep for company and no mobile phone.

I'll take you up on that drink, it'll have to be coke if I'm driving though And I damn well expect to be, no use showing up unless I can feel inadequate with my totally stock MR2...

[Leon.]

Pictures are indeed very important, of the scene as well as the cars involved. This helped me in 2 of my incidents.

[RichardK]

Do you think it might be worth making a sticky (unless there's already one?) or an FAQ post where we can gather up "insurance advice" for people, including maybe breakdown/accident tips?

We probably all think of carrying jumpleads or similar if our cars are ever playing up - but do we have sensible stuff in case they break down somewhere cold? My Delica is full of blankets, hi-vis jackets (they were free with the oil ), torches (those wind-up ones from garages, AA branded - they charge mobile phones too and are pretty good).

And when I remember to replace them after they get used/go out of date, one thing I carried for a long time was a couple of cans of instant heat-up coffee. Came in very useful when attending an accident in February a few years ago, and again when I found a young lad who crashed his 309 very seriously in the middle of a snowstorm - he wasn't hurt apart from cuts/bruises, but he would have frozen - it was 3am, he had no phone, and the road was quite deserted. Even if the coffee is vile (which it really is), they're nice and warm.

[Harry]

Eh, if they paid up. then no big deal. The Police wouldn't have done anything useful, just be glad you didn't "go to the woods".

Damn right; Remember the movie with Burt Reynolds, Deliverance. "Squeal boy, squeal like a piggy, ha ha ha".............

[Harry]

Actually the photos in/with car is invaluable Richard,100% keep your cell phone photo section free to take emergency snaps when required! Actually can any one advise myself how to down load photos off a Vodaphone cell phone to E-mail? LOL! Speak of the very devil itself!