El Saxo
24-02-07, 11:14 AM
As I was driving home from work last night in the car (yeah i know, bloody fairweather bikers! ;)) I had an accident on the East Lancs heading out of Manchester :(
For those that know the road, it was at the traffic lights at the junction with Moorside Road in Swinton, just before the M61 turn-off.
I approached the lights in lane 3, and the lights had just changed to green ahead, but there was some stationary cars in lanes 1 & 2 at the lights. Some pr*ck at the back of the queue in lane 2 suddenly decides to jump out into the 3rd lane, forcing the taxi in front of me to do an emergency stop. I saw this happen so straightaway I braked hard, but my wheels locked & I slid right into the a*se end of the taxi, probably doing about 15 mph (couldn't have been more cos the airbags didn't go off). Thankfully everyone was ok, the taxi had a fare with him at the time & she was ok too. I've got some pain in my back but I'm not sure how serious it is, probably just whiplash.
I've just phoned the insurance company & they don't seem to want to know - it's as if they've made up their mind it's my fault without even speaking to the driver or passenger in the taxi. I got the contact details of the taxi's passenger & the incsurance co. said there wasn't any point contacting her cos the car that jumped into the 3rd lane & caused the accident wasn't hit by the taxi & drove away, no-one got a reg number for it so they can't claim liability from anyone but me, which seems ludicrous to me. I know it's a case of what they can prove in court but surely they should represent the facts as I gave them?
Basically in return for my honesty I'm going to be saddled with the excess for the claim, lose my NCB, and they told that even if the condition of my back worsens and turns out to be something serious & I end up off work or anything, I can't claim for any losses cos the accident will be deemed my fault.
To make matters worse, the police officer that attended the accident said my car seemed perfectly driveable (even though I had seen fluid p*ssing out from underneath the engine and offer to call the RAC to recover my car) and advised me to just 'take it easy' on the motorway & take it to a garage in the morning. I made it as far my usual junction on the motorway and the car died, so I had to call the RAC anyway!
On which note - hats off to the RAC, they were brilliant & i'd recommend them to anyone - the mechanic that turned up was a biker too & was a really top bloke. He even mentioned that his mate had just passed his test & bought an SV so I told him about the site & may have recruited a new member! :lol:
Sorry about the long rambling post but I'm pee'd off and in pain this morning & I was hoping one of the helpful .Org'ers might know if there's anything I can do about the insurance company & the attitude they've taken towards the incident?
Also, I've got the standard 7-day producer from the police, but i can't find my counterpart licence anywhere (i keep the photocard in my wallet), has anyone else had this happen? Can i get a replacement sent out by the DVLA in time to produce my docs at the police station?
Any advice appreciated guys, thanks in advance
:smt100
For those that know the road, it was at the traffic lights at the junction with Moorside Road in Swinton, just before the M61 turn-off.
I approached the lights in lane 3, and the lights had just changed to green ahead, but there was some stationary cars in lanes 1 & 2 at the lights. Some pr*ck at the back of the queue in lane 2 suddenly decides to jump out into the 3rd lane, forcing the taxi in front of me to do an emergency stop. I saw this happen so straightaway I braked hard, but my wheels locked & I slid right into the a*se end of the taxi, probably doing about 15 mph (couldn't have been more cos the airbags didn't go off). Thankfully everyone was ok, the taxi had a fare with him at the time & she was ok too. I've got some pain in my back but I'm not sure how serious it is, probably just whiplash.
I've just phoned the insurance company & they don't seem to want to know - it's as if they've made up their mind it's my fault without even speaking to the driver or passenger in the taxi. I got the contact details of the taxi's passenger & the incsurance co. said there wasn't any point contacting her cos the car that jumped into the 3rd lane & caused the accident wasn't hit by the taxi & drove away, no-one got a reg number for it so they can't claim liability from anyone but me, which seems ludicrous to me. I know it's a case of what they can prove in court but surely they should represent the facts as I gave them?
Basically in return for my honesty I'm going to be saddled with the excess for the claim, lose my NCB, and they told that even if the condition of my back worsens and turns out to be something serious & I end up off work or anything, I can't claim for any losses cos the accident will be deemed my fault.
To make matters worse, the police officer that attended the accident said my car seemed perfectly driveable (even though I had seen fluid p*ssing out from underneath the engine and offer to call the RAC to recover my car) and advised me to just 'take it easy' on the motorway & take it to a garage in the morning. I made it as far my usual junction on the motorway and the car died, so I had to call the RAC anyway!
On which note - hats off to the RAC, they were brilliant & i'd recommend them to anyone - the mechanic that turned up was a biker too & was a really top bloke. He even mentioned that his mate had just passed his test & bought an SV so I told him about the site & may have recruited a new member! :lol:
Sorry about the long rambling post but I'm pee'd off and in pain this morning & I was hoping one of the helpful .Org'ers might know if there's anything I can do about the insurance company & the attitude they've taken towards the incident?
Also, I've got the standard 7-day producer from the police, but i can't find my counterpart licence anywhere (i keep the photocard in my wallet), has anyone else had this happen? Can i get a replacement sent out by the DVLA in time to produce my docs at the police station?
Any advice appreciated guys, thanks in advance
:smt100