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.

I've been driving for years and hit a wing mirror the other day. I'm a good driver, never had an accident, but it happens. I stopped and checked the wing mirror and it was fine, just folded in. Pretty shit the instructor didn't stop.

I'd be telling him you're concerned you didn't stop at the scene of an accident and you're off to the police station. Bet you won't hear from him again.

You need to report to the driver school so they can stop recommending him.

Just tell him no. He is responsible for the car, it comes under his insurance and if there's a premium he pays it. It literally has fuck all to do with you. Despite the fact you were driving.

@WilsonMilson I got in touch with a driving school for lessons and they assigned me an instructor, i looked on their website just and it says that all their instructors are self employed so he doesn’t work for the driving school but I went through that driving school to get him as an instructor, if that makes sense

im not sure how to go about this. If I report him, or just refuse to pay and then leave it..

He didn’t even get out and leave his details? This is all really bizarre OP. No I would not pay

Are you insured on another vehicle OP? One that you practise on? If so you need to ring them and let them know about the accident and that someone is trying to make a claim against you.

‘trying’ being the key word. It will be on his insurance not yours.

www.money.co.uk/car-insurance/do-you-need-car-insurance-when-you-learn-to-drive

As an instructor he should be insured against that sort of thing. You just refuse to pay and get another instructor. Unless he takes you to court (which he won’t over a small claim) then he has no legal pursuit.

To be fair though shit loads of "experienced " drivers do this and worse every day

I'd be reporting him to the DVSA for both trying to con you into paying, and for leaving the scene of an accident. And to the driving instructor agency so they can take him off their books, although they might not care since their T&Cs cover them.

You are definitely not responsible for any monies don't worry.

And sorry so many people have been so rude about you learning to drive. Don't let this knock your confidence, with the right instructor you can get there. And it's life changing

he is in charge of the car, not you, and he should have insurance.

do not pay!

Can I ask what amount of damage was done to the other vehicle, the one that y the wing mirror of the car you were driving hit?

You hit a car with sufficient force to detach the wing mirror (not just move it into the wrong position) from the car you were driving.

I don't know if you'll have to pay towards the repair, but as someone else has posted, after 50 lessons, you should have more spatial awareness on the road so as to have been able to avoid the other vehicle with the one you were in. I think it is relevant to the underlying issue as to the situation you now find yourself in.

I also wouldn't pack in the learning to drive either. There are other ways to learn to drive to give you the confidence on knowing your position on the road. Just doing a quick Google search, I found some residential driving courses that might work for you:
www.pass-drive.co.uk/driving-lessons/residential-driving-courses/
It's intensive and you get a lot of driving skills built up. Don't throw in the towel just yet. You can do it!

Just do it that if the instructor hasn’t got the right insurance for the car then he shouldn’t be teaching people in it. He might even be doing something illegal

It’s not about fault it’s about liability. Driving instructors car therefore driving instructors insurance. All she needs to do is ask for his ADI number and say she is going to query it with the DVSA.

Shocking that he didn't get out and check, was there any clear damage to the other car?

See what the driving school come back to you with first and then if not happy, report to the DVSA, as Wilson advises. Maybe you could even see if you could get a free 20/30 minute consultation with a solicitor too?

I'm really sorry that some people on this thread have thought it was ok to judge you and your progress and I'm sure youllprove them wrong one day soon with the right instructor in your corner!

Also OP I think after 50 hours you should consider finding an instructor who does semi intensive courses as weekly lessons don’t seem to be a good fit for you. They are more expensive £50 to £60 an hour but continuity is key. Good luck don’t give up lessons though L.

Report him to the driving school

for not having the right sort of insurance (or any????)

for intimidating the OP and lying to her about responsibility

for leaving the scene of an accident

I passed my test relatively recently, and my instructor was very clear that her insurance covered any damage I might do (I didn't do any, but was very nervous, so I asked).

Well it's 100% the driving instructor's fault and liability then!

Unless your attention was drawn to the T&Cs on the website (ideally for them they would have asked you to confirm you read and agreed them - you often get tick boxes for this) then they are irrelevant. If you had not agreed to them when you signed up for the lesson then they cannot add terms after the event.

My dads a driving instructor and a girl once wrote his car off ... it's obviously his fault as he is the instructor and should have been in better control. He was insured. Youre instructor is trying it on, I'd ask how you managed to do the damage whilst she was supervising (she should be looking out for upcoming hazards)

This. ☝️

.

I know someone who wrote off a car in their driving lessons.

They didn’t pay a penny and then continued lessons with the same instructor. I don’t think I’d have had the nerve to go back!

The point of the T&C you highlighted is basically that you can't sue the school for anything done by the instructor. It doesn't cover the point here.

Tell the instructor he needs to claim on his insurance for his car and mention that you feel you need to let the other party know his details in case they need to claim on it for the wing mirror.

I suspect he won't trouble you again!