How many road accidents have you been in?

[Butterpaneer]

Just musing after someone went into the back of me this afternoon, wondering what the norm is (I'm in the UK) and thought I'd do a Mumsnet dip sample.

I've been driving 18 years and have had someone go into the back of me 3 times. It's always been when I've been stationary (traffic, roundabout...) brake lights on but I've been driving different car makes and colours, all no fault obviously. It seems like quite a lot! I've also come back to my car in a car park to find someone has driven into it and caused damage.

Other than minor bumps when parking at home (catching fence etc)and that one time I clipped a farm animal I've not been the fault party.

Once I slowly reversed slightly into a parked car trying to make room for another car to enter the tiny car park.
No damage to the car. Besides that 0 accidents 0 tickets ever.

4 in 22 years:

1. Driver pulled out of a junction and went into the side of me.
2. Lorry reversed into me - he hadn't seen me behind him and reversed back to let a tractor come through. Very lucky he admitted it in front of the tractor driver otherwise I think he'd have tried to say I went into the back of him.
3. Man's brakes failed and he slowly drifted into the side of me.
4. Tractor driving way too fast down a rural, icy road. I'd pulled over to the side and was stationary to let him through. He had a trailer on and it skidded on the ice and and took out the side of my car. I'd got all the kids in the car and it was very scary as I knew he had lost control. The driver was pretty shaken up. I hope it made him think about his driving going forwards

Zero, as a driver or passenger. Driving 20 years, passenger for... a few more!

I had a car written off but it was parked correctly in a marked bay in a car park when it was hit so not sure that counts!

Driving for 33 years. Currently drive 240 miles a week. Only once. A car tried to merge into my lane on a rainy day and went into my side. Then buggered off at speed. That was when i was in my early 20s.

4 times if you count the motorcycle accident when I was 18. I was riding pillion and somebody pulled out in front of us with no lights on (it was night).

Then my steering failed going down a country lane and I ended up scraping all down the side of a feed lorry (it was huge!)

Next one - on the M25 just about to go across the Dartford crossing bridge. Traffic very slow, we were going at less than 20 miles per hour and (thank goodness) leaving a good distance between us and the car in front. Gigantic builders supplies lorry ran into the back of us.

Last one - on the A303, there were masses of roadworks, crashes and delays. One stretch of dual carriageway was closed and traffic was being diverted down a narrow lane just before the crash. We had to pull out slightly to go past a minibus on the verge, then couldn't go forward due to a queue of traffic ahead. An ambulance came hooning down towards us and scraped all down the side of our car.

4 accidents, none of them our fault!

One serious crash, going down the motorway at night so it was dark. I was about to hit a pothole and over exaggerated the steering to avoid it. I was young and scared.

Car flipped in the air a couple of times and landed on its side next to a tree. Car was squished like a coke can and I had to be cut out. The seatbelt saved my life. I’m really not sure how I survived.

As a car driver... once someone took my wing mirror off.

I was in three bus crashes before the age of 18. And one plane missed the runway and got stuck in the mud.

Driving for 27 years. No accidents involving other vehicles.
did once smash the back window by reversing into a tree

None!

Two. I was a passenger in both. The first one was the car driver talking to someone handfree. I had my eyes closed, and somehow, we were suddenly in the ditch. The driver behind us thought that we had a blowout. He was so lovely to us.

The second time, someone tried overtaking on a twisty road. There was a massive tractor coming against him, so he pulled in sharply, hitting us. He was an important man on his way to an important thing per himself!

Thankfully, in both cases, no one was hurt.

None that were my fault thankfully and none serious. Driving 22+ years and drive as part of my living so about 400 miles per week.

I have had an old man roll the front of his car in to the back of mine as we were on a hill. He apologised profusely. Also a young guy drove in to the back of me at a petrol station, agian he apologised. And a family member drove in to the back of me as she was following me and obviously wasn’t paying attention. I was mad about tahy as she was on her phone. I said are you ok and she was like a drama queen saying yea and didn’t apologise for being so careless!

Oh actually another time when I was driving on a main road and a guy pulled out of a side road in to the side of my car and immediately apologised and his insurance paid for that.

When people say “it’s a bad road”, when there is a crash near where I live. No it’s not a bad road, it’s a bad driver and they haven’t been paying attention or have taken a risk and failed. Unless of course they had say a heart attack at the wheel or there was a mechanic failure then it’s no one’s fault but let’s face it, it’s usually driver error

I've had few :(

1. Lorry driver pulled into me on a roundabout, his fault as I'd joined the roundabout already, he was coming on at the next junction - he was a prick
2. Girl drove into me when I was waiting to turn into a parking space, her fault
3. I drove into the back of someone, my fault, I was too close when they braked for a traffic light changing
4. Stolen vehicle drove in-between 2 lanes, pinging off about 20 other vehicles, car eventually got stuck between 2 cars and driver and passengers legged it out of the windows
5. Woman pulled out of a side road and went into side of me

3 years driving no accidents:)

DH has had his license for 7 years and had 5 accidents where people hit him while he was stationary. He must just have shite luck!! Always at roundabouts or traffic lights😵‍💫

Zero in 15 years

1 accident a month after I passed my test, thought it was a filter lane at some traffic lights, it wasn't... hard lesson but probably did me good

3 times- luckily all minor.

Passenger in a low speed collision in 30mph zone but still quite an impact as other driver was drunk and speeding abit.
I was fine but friend broke her foot.

Went into the back of someone at a crossroads once...didn't think there was any damage to either car but had a KA with the big old plastic bumpers....took the front bumper off one day to find that the whole cross member was badly dented!

Spun my car out on ice and ended up in a bush late one night (took a bend abit too fast) luckily no cars coming the other way but car had to be recovered as it was properly stuck in the hedge/verge!

I’ve never been involved in an accident in my car in 36 years of driving. I have had my parked car backed into multiple times (various neighbours / visiting trademen have reversed into my car in its parking space where I live) and the door dented/scratched where people have opened their door into mine (despite me always parking in the furthest quietest part of car parks), Canary Wharf Canada Square car park being the site of this on at least 4 occasions. Only once has anyone had the decency to leave a note with their contact details.

Actually I did have a huge block of wood (thrown from a roof by builders into a skip that it bounced straight out of) land on my windscreen during my driving lessons. That’s how I learnt to do an emergency stop. Pure instinct! 🙄

However I have been involved in accidents as a cyclist and a pedestrian. I was hit by a car when I was 12 crossing the road at traffic lights to school one morning by a car who drove through despite the red light. And I’ve had numerous near misses as a cyclist (I used to cycle to work across central London pre-bike lanes) and one instance of ‘being splatted’ on the rear window of a black cab that cut me up swooping into the pavement to stop for a fare on the Euston Road - the driver obviously underestimated how fast I was going and cut straight across me and slammed his brakes on to stop. Splat! I very much appreciate the pedestrians who screamed at him on my behalf. Arsehole.

2 in almost 20 years of driving, sadly both my fault.

The first in an area I was unfamiliar with, I’d taken a wrong turn on a country road and pulled into a lay-by/clearing at the top of a hill to turn around. Drove back into the road in the correct direction right into the path of a car. 🙈 I had looked to make sure the road was clear, but had clearly misjudged how long it would take a car to appear on the high speed road, totally at fault and only grateful the other driver had already dropped their kids at school. No injuries, two written off cars and a lesson learned!

The second I was behind another car in a left turn lane at traffic lights. Lights changed, car in front released their brakes…but then I went forward and they stayed still. Very low speed, but my little city car crumpled against the spare wheel on the back of their 4x4. Literally not a scratch on theirs, mine went straight to the scrapyard. Offered to pay for theirs to be checked over and any repairs if anything was found, they got in touch in the week to say no damage found so not to worry about the cost of the inspection. Sent them flowers instead, and thanked my lucky stars it hadn’t been worse.

Fortunately not so much as a car park ding in the decade since.

5 in 38 years

1 my fault
2 the other drivers
And believe it or not 2 by the same person, who hit my car when it was (legally) parked in the same place on both occasions

Two; one my fault, another theirs. First one I was lucky to come out relatively unscathed, second one was minor/whiplash from a taxi hitting the back of me.

I've been driving 30 years. Three times someone has crashed into the back of me. Actually 4, but that one caused no damage or injury.

After shortly passing my test aged 17, I reversed into a car (no one was in it!) so learned my lesson quickly.

As a driver I have been in 2 car accidents. First one within a couple of months of passing my test. Cause of crash went on contested for at least 2 years. Finally agreeing mutual responsibility. 2nd one was about 12 years ago, other drivers fault.

Have been driving for 34 years which makes me feel ancient!!

One. I’ve been driving 2 years. I was tired, I’d worked 15 hours. Came home to park outside my house, and another car was parked like an absolute buffoon about 3 ft from the curb at the front and 1 ft at the back. At a huge angle. It was dark, the car was dark and I went for my usual manoeuvre and hit the side of it with the back end of my car. I was gutted. All the damage was to my car but thankfully I was going so slowly there was no damage on the other car.

I can't drive but my father has a big motorbike

He part exchanges every 3 years and upgrades to a bigger and better bike everytime

He'd had his bike less than a week when a woman in a car,drove into the back of him at some traffic lights

Insurance paid out and he bought another one

Some fool came out of a side street and hit him about 3 days after getting the second bike (he'd just coughed up for some new leathers,helmet and boots-he was so glad he had)

Insurance paid up

About 10 days after getting the second bike,my parents went to the seaside,parked up and wandered off

Came back-no bike!

Some fucker had stolen it! (He thinks it was shipped abroad within minutes)

Insurance where getting a bit arsey (and I don't blame them!) but did pay out

4th time lucky-he upgraded it 3 years later

He's been riding a motorbike since he was 17 (hes now retired) and had no accidents or thefts in all that time,then went through 4 bikes in a month

Growing up in the US, I was in a few crashes in my teens and 20s.
My only 'crash' in the UK (fingers crossed) was a lad running up the back of me. I felt awful since it was as inconsequential and yet expensive for him as it could be.