Car accident 3 months after passing test … my fault 😞

[Hughsey09]

Hi all,

At nearly 40 I passed my driving test 3 months ago after putting it off for many years due to bad accident as a passenger at 16. I didn’t want to learn but I have two young children one of whom is a wheelchair user and a hubby that works full time so I decided it was time.

I’ve been driving round here and there and have felt ok as long as I felt comfortable where I was going to and from.

This morning I decided I needed to start pushing myself out of my comfort zone and attempted a really busy round about, the lane I was on merged into the left lane and even though I checked my mirrors I ended up merging into the side of a huge HGV 😭. Completely my fault, feel the absolute apitomy of stupid and not to mention scared.
This happened 2 hours ago and I’m still shook up. I pulled over and the driver shouted at me and asked “what the f do you think you’re playing at”, I totally get he’d be mad and wondering what the hell I was doing but it was genuinely a bad judgment and lack of experience. I didn’t know what to do so I just locked myself in my car in floods of tears and rang my husband, luckily the traffic police drove past and helped me. My husband arrived and gave me a huge hug and couldn’t of been more supportive.
No damage to the HGV, the side of my car is scraped in a few places with only a small dent.

I am absolutely horrified I’ve done this, I feel so stupid and that I probably shouldn’t drive anymore. Just thankful that it wasn’t any worse and that my young children were not in the car.

please no horrible comments. Has anyone experienced similar when new to driving and carried on ?

You’ve had P plates on for 2 years? Do you still feel that you’re not confident on the roads?

This is nonsense.
If you get your car repaired you need never mention it to them
The person in this article should have not told them. I work for one of the UKs biggest insurer and we'd never void a policy for this. They just would just not repair the previous damage.

@howhardisittogettyres

In think your post is extremely irresponsible for the following 3 reasons.

1. you are a random on the internet, so the fact you claim to work for a big insurance company should be taken with big pinch of salt (and yes I am a random too, but I’m posting a third party link - and here’s one from confused.com saying the same thing [https://www.confused.com/car-insurance/guides/when-should-you-report-a-car-accident]
2. you cannot possibly you what the small print of the OPs policy is - and as you should know - the devil is in the detail.
3. if you are wrong, the consequences for the OP could be extremely serious, in a life changing way. If I am wrong the worst that could happen (I think) is that her premiums go up (but if she was at fault then that’s only reasonable)

OP, I stand by what I say. But please read your insurance contract and check the fine print. Do t risk driving potentially uninsured.

She won't be uninsured trust me.
I deal with claims where people literally never report accidents to us. We write, ring, email send agents out. Nothing.

We still deal with the third party claim with no consequences.

you got a bad fright but don’t give up.

No I’m not going to trust you. I was in an accident - my fault - I settled independently but still told my insurance company. Because my contract required me to do so.

you are being very irresponsible giving legal advice which cannot be substantiated

but the OP should do what her contract small print advises.

Do people really take any notice of P plates ?

If you settled independently there was no point telling them. They'll put your premium up and you didn't even have the benefit if their service which you'd already paid for.

OP accidents happen to even the most experienced drivers. You wouldn't have passed your test if you were a terrible driver. Of course this will affect your confidence but make sure you keep on getting out there. Maybe ask a trusted friend/your lovely hubby to accompany you on a few drives so you can build your confidence up.