Warning about accidents and insurance

[K93George]

That is BS. I was on the other end of an accident, AAMI asked who was at fault. I said "I failed to see the other vehicle and got hit." They asked what side the car was on, how fast it might have been going, what makes me think I was at fault and so forth. I wasn't going to pull the "Yeah, that bastard was doing 180 in a parking lot without his lights on 3 in the morning, I sounded my horn but he was too busy on the phone". I just saved up money for the excess right after the accident.

[Yellow_Festiva]

The insurance company is just doing its best to not pay the claim.

You didn't claim first, they see that as an admission of guilt and try their best to blame the other party.

Wonder how many times that single letter actually works?? even 1 in 100 means they have the possibility to save tens of tousands!

[XR Martin]

If she is deaf, she isnt supposed to be on the road...

[Scott142]

Had something similar happen to me when I was on my P plates a few years ago. Lady ran a stop sign in her Uninsured 2007 model Tarago directly in front of me and caused a stack. Luckily I also had a witness to say in no way was it my fault. After my insurance company sent her the bill for damages I got a letter in the mail to say to appear in court as a witness for NSW police. Turned out she wanted to take the police to court saying "they made the wrong decision about who was at fault", and I assume was wanting to play the whole "He had P Plates on so he MUST have been doing something wrong" card.

Just amazes me how some people can be so ignorant in situations like this when it is clearly at least partly their fault and say "Well I am me....and I'm never wrong, so it couldn't be my fault"

[Stefan]

Why did you not just let her in? Sound to me by your description you had plenty of time to do so? Why was she changing lanes? If her lane was ending you would be at fault as you are behind.

[xisled]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Why did you not just let her in? Sound to me by your description you had plenty of time to do so? Why was she changing lanes? If her lane was ending you would be at fault as you are behind.

That is incorrect, it is only a zip merge, that a car is in front has the right of way. (zip merge is 2 lanes that merge into 1 with no line markings).

All freeway entrances have broken lines and if your entering a lane on broken lines you must give way to all cars already traveling in that lane.

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by xisled

That is incorrect, it is only a zip merge, that a car is in front has the right of way. (zip merge is 2 lanes that merge into 1 with no line markings).

All freeway entrances have broken lines and if your entering a lane on broken lines you must give way to all cars already traveling in that lane.

Cool thanks for the correction....still, could have just slowed and let her in, probably the easier and in this case much cheaper option.

I see countless people actually speed up and close the gap as soon as you put on a blinker to change lanes.

I'm certainly not saying this is the case here...

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

If she is deaf, she isnt supposed to be on the road...

Oh? By what expertise do you make that statement?
My son is deaf and has a licence ... passed the test on the first attempt with flying colours as well.

When a person is deaf, other senses are working at a higher level to compensate. As a result, they often see better, or, take more observations of where they are and what is going on. Some thing of which a lot of able bodied "experts" fail to do.

In fact, the way some drive their cars with the music so loud the doors bulge with the bass boom and the tail lights pop out, they would be driving with outh being able to hear the outside environment. Believeme, I see this all too often .. responding down the road with lights and siren on, and the vehicle ahead doesn't know I there simply because they couldn't hear it over the Chisel.

My hearing is now failing due to loud music, industry, age etc ... so I gues by your expert analysis I should not be driving neither.

I was nearly going to take the OP to task for suggesting that being deaf, she is likely retarded as well, but I thought it not worth it at the time .... BUT bugger it!! Deaf people are NOT necessarily retarded .. some are very intelligent indeed.

[stalker]

from what i knew if the person is indicating to change lanes (on the same road not coming onto the road from a merge lane) you are meant to give the person room, IE if i was sitting in the left lane saw something coming up in the same lane so i indicate to move over to miss the object say a slower moving truck, if i indicate for 5 seconds then you should have made room for me to pull over if my vehicle is infront of yours and we are moving at the same speed (being the speed limit)

as far as i knew you would be in the wrong with what i read in the OP but i may have read it wrong..

[stalker]

also even if i am incorect with the above i have NO idea why you didnt just apply your brakes and allow room? it may not be the law, but seriously if a car starts moving towards me i slow down and make damn sure they dont hit me. even if i do need to apply the horn in the process.

[atec77]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

If she is deaf, she isnt supposed to be on the road...

Errr many deaf drivers had a legal permit to do so , it seems she did

[Spammy]

Originally Posted by V8XTasy

hi,

she kept on coming and hit the left side of my front bumper with the right side of her rear bumper.

Technically, you are in the wrong as you hit her car behind the middle line i.e to the rear of the drivers door. There are mitigating factors which shift responsibility somewhat.

As for admiting fault - everyone knows to not admit fault as it can make your insurance policy invalid. Best to lodge a claim and let the insurance companies sort it out.

[b0son]

OP,

You should have filed a police report, then filed a claim through your insurer. You pay your insurer to take care of this crap.

[Feathers]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

If she is deaf, she isn't supposed to be on the road...

Rubbish. One of my old workmates was profoundly deaf, and she still holds a licence. She is more observant to compensate for not being able to hear.
I've been in a car with her, and never felt unsafe.
They do the same tests as everyone else to get their licences, and have no extra restrictions due to deafness.

My mum has also been going deaf for years, still drives, and the only two (very minor parking) accidents she's ever had were immediately following the deaths of her parents, because she was upset and not thinking straight.

[[Buckets]]

I had something similar happen to me when I was in my early 20s. I was driving down the freeway in the right hand lane and someone in the lane next to me lost control and hit my rear left quarter panel. Both cars spun out at 100k which scared the crap out of me, I was lucky not to hit anything.

Police showed up eventually and I gave my version of events and thought it was all good. Got their insurance details etc and processed my claim. Strangely enough the police fined ME with changing lanes when unsafe and on the infringement notice they had written details of where the impact was...and got it completely **** about. I sent them a letter arguing the fine etc and they basically ignored me and said take it to court if you can be bothered.

The other driver apparently lied to his insurance company and to the police, but strangely my insurance mob actually looked at the evidence and I didn't pay a cent. So many dodgy people out there, and they get away with it constantly.

[V8XTasy]

thanks for all your comments. My company is sorting it and as the other insurer has made a fuss, they're going to counter claim against them and use the witness. I'm sure they'll be no issues with my company winning, but I was just amazed that AMII and the other driver made such claims whilst acknowledging what they were saying was wrong (ie. no right turns and not damaged at the rear). Like I say, I have 2 cameras in both mine and my wife's private cars for exactly this reason.

I guess you can't stop deaf people from driving, although I thought there was a law that you are not meant to have your stereo on so loud that you can't hear the emergency services sirens or car horns, so I don't know how that works when you can't hear anything. It must surely increase the risk, as it did in my incident, but then, so do a lot of things.

[V8XTasy]

Originally Posted by Spammy

Technically, you are in the wrong as you hit her car behind the middle line i.e to the rear of the drivers door. There are mitigating factors which shift responsibility somewhat.

As for admiting fault - everyone knows to not admit fault as it can make your insurance policy invalid. Best to lodge a claim and let the insurance companies sort it out.

So if I'm driving a long and a car is just less that half way past me in the next lane and I swerve into them, it's technically their fault? Excellent, I'll be doing that when I next need a new car! LOL

Not admitting fault and falsifying a claim with lies are 2 completely different things though.

[V8XTasy]

Originally Posted by b0son

OP,

You should have filed a police report, then filed a claim through your insurer. You pay your insurer to take care of this crap.

I drive the company car so they sort out this crap LOL!

[V8XTasy]

Seriously, this is not a big issue for me as it wasn't my car and it will get sorted. It was just a warning about what can happen in a seemingly clear situation and how screwed you could be if it was your own car.

[V8XTasy]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

The insurance company is just doing its best to not pay the claim.

You didn't claim first, they see that as an admission of guilt and try their best to blame the other party.

Wonder how many times that single letter actually works?? even 1 in 100 means they have the possibility to save tens of tousands!

Exactly, it's always worth a punt for them.

[V8XTasy]

Originally Posted by K93George

That is BS. I was on the other end of an accident, AAMI asked who was at fault. I said "I failed to see the other vehicle and got hit." They asked what side the car was on, how fast it might have been going, what makes me think I was at fault and so forth. I wasn't going to pull the "Yeah, that bastard was doing 180 in a parking lot without his lights on 3 in the morning, I sounded my horn but he was too busy on the phone". I just saved up money for the excess right after the accident.

Sounds like they were trying to get you to say it was the other driver's fault, so they didn't have to pay out. Seems like common practice for them.

[aussiblue]

Send the other driver a 14 day invoice and if the don't pay within 14 days a letter of demand. It always works for me.

[gtfpv]

that sucks big time V8XTasy . it is shocking . what is bad to is if your read your own insurance policy , it says do not admit liability . so the insurance companies create dishonesty and preach it to thier own customers .
we do live in a sad world .
the agenda behind this thinking is often , both parties do not admit liability , insurance companies turn around and say there is nothing we can do . so both cars owners get stung with liability and claim on thier own car , halving each insurance companies costs , and both drivers get increased premiums the following year . see a little benifit for insurance companies with thier own interests at play here ?IMAGINE THE BENIFITS HERE IF BOTH VEHICLES ARE INSURED BY THE SAME COMPANY ??? unless of course one car hapens to be a lambo and the other on old vw , then they will go to court over the matter for you !!!! /OR EVEN SEPERATE COMPANIES , insurance companies win over all .

[pauljh74]

Originally Posted by V8XTasy

This could actually be standard practise for all insurance companies, or just limited to AAMI.

I dealt with Allianz 7 years ago after a driver hit another car up the back and pushed them into me. I told my story, the guy behind me did the same, I got a claim number from Allianz who weren't my insurer, got my car assessed and repaired. Then a month later I got a call from Allianz with the customer service rep stating on the file it says I was at fault. I made it very clear what the story was and the fact I'd had my car repaired at their expense already. They left me alone after that.

[LTDHO]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

that sucks big time V8XTasy . it is shocking . what is bad to is if your read your own insurance policy , it says do not admit liability . so the insurance companies create dishonesty and preach it to thier own customers .
we do live in a sad world .
the agenda behind this thinking is often , both parties do not admit liability , insurance companies turn around and say there is nothing we can do . so both cars owners get stung with liability and claim on thier own car , halving each insurance companies costs , and both drivers get increased premiums the following year . see a little benifit for insurance companies with thier own interests at play here ?IMAGINE THE BENIFITS HERE IF BOTH VEHICLES ARE INSURED BY THE SAME COMPANY ??? unless of course one car hapens to be a lambo and the other on old vw , then they will go to court over the matter for you !!!! /OR EVEN SEPERATE COMPANIES , insurance companies win over all .

What a load of croc!
You clearly have no idea how insurers work. It's within their interest to find a liable party, more so that the insured. Whilst the insured is stuck paying their excess, the insurer is stuck with the bill!! Even if both party's are with the same insurer, they still determine liability.

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by LTDHO

What a load of croc!
You clearly have no idea how insurers work. It's within their interest to find a liable party, more so that the insured. Whilst the insured is stuck paying their excess, the insurer is stuck with the bill!! Even if both party's are with the same insurer, they still determine liability.

hah !!! a load of croc heh !!! try getting the front of your car hit by a truck when your sitting at the traffic lights , and the truck does a runner , when you catch up to the truck and he laughs at you saying good luck with your claim , and you take pics of the damage , make a claim , and the truck driver simply does not answer his phone and hangs up on the insurance company . and the insurance company says theres nothing we can do if he doesnt admit liability , and the police dsay its not thier problem your insurance company will sort it out , and we'll see who the insurance company then chases fpor liability to get your car fixed - YOU !!!
TRY having an accident as i did , and both of us did not admit fault , made police reports , contacted our insurance companies , and gave evidence of damage with photos , the cops saying the insurance campanies can sort it . they did sort it , we both made claims for our own cars .
try reading your insurance policy . well mine states " you must not admit fault after any incident . but leave it up to the law and the insurers.

[Miss_XR6]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

hah !!! a load of croc heh !!! try getting the front of your car hit by a truck when your sitting at the traffic lights , and the truck does a runner , when you catch up to the truck and he laughs at you saying good luck with your claim , and you take pics of the damage , make a claim , and the truck driver simply does not answer his phone and hangs up on the insurance company . and the insurance company says theres nothing we can do if he doesnt admit liability , and the police dsay its not thier problem your insurance company will sort it out , and we'll see who the insurance company then chases fpor liability to get your car fixed - YOU !!!
TRY having an accident as i did , and both of us did not admit fault , made police reports , contacted our insurance companies , and gave evidence of damage with photos , the cops saying the insurance campanies can sort it . they did sort it , we both made claims for our own cars .
try reading your insurance policy . well mine states " you must not admit fault after any incident . but leave it up to the law and the insurers.

Ive had similar
Was driving along and a man run up the back at me while he was doing 160km
I lodge the claim whilst he was loosing his license ect whilst I was in the ambulance
My insurance company tried contacting him by phone and mail but had nothing my car was fixed and they were about to get there lawyers involved to take him to court

[BadMax]

Couple things spring to mind;

It seems from your description that only the bumpers made contact. this being the case, I think you'll be found to be at fault. If your bumper had been further up the side, so 'B' pillar forward, she would probably be at fault. It sounds as though you didn't make a great deal of effort to avoid the collision, maybe try braking and swerving a bit more rather than only having limited control whilst using the horn.

Pretty normal for AAMI, to give people the run around even their own customers.

Miss_Xr6, if you were hit a 160kph, you wouldn't be here typing away.

[LTDHO]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

hah !!! a load of croc heh !!! try getting the front of your car hit by a truck when your sitting at the traffic lights , and the truck does a runner , when you catch up to the truck and he laughs at you saying good luck with your claim , and you take pics of the damage , make a claim , and the truck driver simply does not answer his phone and hangs up on the insurance company . and the insurance company says theres nothing we can do if he doesnt admit liability , and the police dsay its not thier problem your insurance company will sort it out , and we'll see who the insurance company then chases fpor liability to get your car fixed - YOU !!!
TRY having an accident as i did , and both of us did not admit fault , made police reports , contacted our insurance companies , and gave evidence of damage with photos , the cops saying the insurance campanies can sort it . they did sort it , we both made claims for our own cars .
try reading your insurance policy . well mine states " you must not admit fault after any incident . but leave it up to the law and the insurers.

So where exactly do you have two insurers both accepting?

[EFN40L]

I just recently had an accident and sent a claim into my insurer Real Insurance. They asked me what happened and i truthfully answered everything. Mum forgot to mention that i had a suspended licence once already and they have now knocked my claim back saying Due to not telling them about my licence they wont pay my claim. So im slapped with both mine and the other cars repairs and had to go to the bank to get a loan to repair them

Why the hell do they have insurance if they wont repair your car if you accidentally forgot to say "Oh Ethan had a suspended licence"