Had an accident in driving instructors car - he said I have to pay for it

[Yupbabs]

A question for uk learner drivers

I had a driving lesson today and I had an accident, I took the wing mirror off when passing a parked car. Instructor said he’ll try to lower the price as much as possible but he’ll be in touch with how much I need to pay. Is this right? Do I need to pay? My previous driving instructor said if there was an accident then his insurance covers the damage

I feel like he’s trying to con me. This was the first lesson I ever had with the guy, I had about 50 lessons with my other instructor and he made sure I didn’t have any accidents by using the dual control. This guy today just tilted the steering wheel away from the parked car and it still hit it.

or because they’ve not been to their car!

Sounds suspicious to me. I never did it in a driving lesson but remember a few times when my driving instructor would anxiously say "wing mirrors.. wings mirrors!!". About 5 weeks after passing I took a neighbour's wing mirror off their car. Luckily it was a company car and when I knocked on his door in a panic, he told me not to worry and that he'd say nobody stopped. Unluckily, he drank in the same pub as my driving instructor who texted me a few days later to say he had hoped I'd grown out of my wing mirror phase. To be fair, I've never come close to another accident ever since. It's a lesson that's stuck with me for the last 15 years.

Just to give you a bit of hope @Yupbabs i had many many lessons aged 17-20 and failed several tests. Stopped at 20, started again at 24, and passed first time after only a few weeks. I hope you find your right time with the right instructor in the future.

It might not be damaged, but you don't know that.

It's a lesson for the future anyway. At least you know what to do if it happens again.

OP DO NOT LISTEN to the horrible judgemental people who’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a learner AND who have no idea how many hours of lessons it takes these days to get to a pass standard! Honestly the amount of parents who think little Jonny must be ready by now and the instructors are fleecing them - well I’d be very rich if I had a penny for each one. It’s normal for someone to have had 50 hours. Yes some pass in under 30 and some pass after way more than 50 so don’t you worry.
People who passed their test over 10 years ago do not have the knowledge of what it’s like now. I’m in the industry and it really opened my eyes.
Trust me - 99% of these people answering you don’t have the foggiest.
Also if you see all the bad drivers, the ones that get too close, don’t know what lane to be in, don’t know how to use a roundabout properly, don’t look ahead enough and plan, don’t use their mirrors enough, don’t know how to correctly merge on dual carriageway or motorways, barge through when not their priority or follow others through like a tail and block the street etc etc I could go on and on. These are the people who passed a while ago and you’re probably a better overall driver than them! It was a momentary glitch in spacial awareness due to an unfamiliar car and inexperience plus nerves. Don’t give up.

@niugboo well either way I was just basically told it wasn’t my problem so I’m not going to think about it anymore

You’re the driver. You’re required to report it or leave details. You’ve reported so you are fine.

@Changeitupnelly It was a momentary glitch in spacial awareness due to an unfamiliar car and inexperience plus nerves

well I mean it wasn’t, she said the instructor has to take control once or twice a lesson, but good pep talk

It’s all here.

OP, ignore the nasty comments on this thread. I'm not a legal expert but that wording you posted doesn't seem to be about accidents but about your arrangements with the driving instructor - so e.g if you have a lesson arranged and he doesn't turn up, you can't blame the school. As to driving in the future, please don't give up. It took me ages to learn. If I can do it, you can. I looked at some of the people around me who were thick not very bright and that gave me confidence that it was possible for me. It's really hard at first but it does get easier. Everyone was a learner once. Just find a better instructor. And stop worrying about your accident - he was in charge, he was responsible, you did as he told you, of course , and he has insurance for this.

Good on you OP for calling them to get clarification, you were in the right all along. Leave driving for a bit then go back to it but with an automatic. Don't let this dodgy incident put you off. Life gets in the way when you get older and time constrained. You've got a great chance of passing at your age. Best of luck.

Make sure you got a reference number for the report.

Guess he has no insurance as that will cover it.

As it’s such low level damage I guarantee he doesn’t want toy claim on his insurance so he’s just trying it on to make you pay instead.

Once or twice per 2 hour lesson is a lot! I had around 30 hours of lessons as a 17yo & my instructor never took control of the steering wheel.

With regard to the accident you aren't liable for any costs involved in the repair or insurance claim but you did leave the scene of an accident without checking the other vehicle or reporting the accident so are at fault for that - claiming you're a learner & didn't know what to do isn't an excuse for just driving off.

@niugboo i don’t have a reference number. there probably is one on the system but I wasn’t told what the reference number was.

Is it ironic to tell a driving instructor to jog on?

@MamaDollyorJesus well actually, I phoned the police and they said that HE committed a road traffic offence because HE should’ve got out and left HIS details

it is an excuse since I was in shock, I was still processing what happened and he just told me to drive off. I don’t have details to give, if I put my details down on a note and placed it on the car then that’s basically another way of saying that I’m paying for it.. yet you just said the instructor is liable for that. He was the one with the insurance, he was the instructor, he should’ve done more. I did the most I can since I’ve reported the fact that he tried charging me to the driving school and I reported this incident to the police.

Changeitupnelly · Today 19:02

OP DO NOT LISTEN to the horrible judgemental people who’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a learner...

Yes, well put. I, for one, didn't spring from the womb, brandishing a full driving licence.

OP don’t give up driving please. You’re so young and you still have time to nail it down. Don’t listen to the nasty comments telling you to
stop. Competent drivers have made mistakes on the road before never mind a learner.

I also wouldn’t be taking advice from other driving instructors. They will always look out for theirselves off course. You’re not responsible for anything that happened as confirmed by the officer.

Find a new instructor and continue taking your lessons. You’ll get there.

Don’t give up driving OP! Everyone makes mistakes. I knocked the wing mirror off my car when I was 21. You didn’t hurt anyway.

glad you got a good response from the police. Good luck if you try driving again :)

To be fair if I came out to my car being damaged with no note left with details unless there was really good cctv I wouldn't bother phoning the police about it because there's nothing they can do about it - I'd just call my insurance & get it sorted.

I doubt anyone would bother to report their wing mirror being damaged when parked - mine was knocked off a couple of years ago at my mum's - cost me £250, but I didn't report it to anyone. I was just lucky someone collected it from the road before it got more damaged (though while I could tape it on to drive home, it still needed to be fully replaced).

Then one time a car drove into my wing on a dual carriageway changing lanes at around 70mph, could have been a far worse accident. I reported it and the police said they wouldn't follow up due to 'lack of evidence'. So, I don't think most people bother reporting to be honest.

So happy you have put your mind to rest and reported the incident to 101. I am the sort of person that if it was me when I was younger and learning it would have worried me to death.

Try automatic.

Try a few instructors if you are not happy you don’t have to stick with anyone. You are paying for a service you should be getting value for money in terms of progression and learning objectives.

Don’t give up.

Good luck 🍀

Some of the responses here are ridiculous! When you are learning to drive the instructor or adult in the passenger seat is liable for just about everything. I bet most people would drive off if told by their instructor when they were learning to drive!

When you are learning most people know nothing about liability or insurance etc. OP don't give up driving, ask friends for recommendations for an instructor and hopefully you will pass soon.