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.

Been driving for 25 years. In that time I’ve had 3 accidents, none my fault.

1 write off - another car pulled out of a side road and directly into the side of my car. I was going quite fast and it felt like quite a big accident.

2 minor accidents - In one, a pole flew off a scaffolding lorry behind me and hit my car. Only minor damage, a wheel needed replacing.

In the other a car pulled across from the opposite carriageway to go into a side road and went into the side of my car. It was a low speed collision and just bodywork damage.

I have twin brothers

Twin one was in his work van and twin two was in his own car,with our mother sat next to him,behind twin one

Twin one pulled up at some traffic lights,twin two had my mother say to him 'that's the takeaway' and he glanced over

And promptly drove into the back of twin one's van

The insurance company didn't believe them and thought it was a scam

All got sorted in the end but it took a while

Three in 20 years of driving. One was a drug-driver coming the other way who swerved his car into mine head-on, then fled the scene. Luckily it was in a residential area and neither car was going more than 20mph. The second was a lorry on the motorway who didn't see me before pulling in after overtaking the lorry behind me and changed lanes into the side of my car.

No one was hurt in either crash. The car was written off in the first one, just needed a dent repair and respray after the second.

The third one was me. I had to reverse out of a t-junction, residential road with cars double-parked and oncoming cars. I was so busy not clipping the cars parked on the corners that I reversed straight into the car parked opposite the junction No one was hurt but the owner was Not Pleased. I sent her flowers anyway (as well as covering repairs via my insurance).

3 but only minor ones. The first one I aquaplaned into the back of someone. I'd only had my car a few days but thankfully only very minor damage to the number plate on my car and no damage to the car that I went into to the back of

Second one I clipped the front passenger side bumper of someone's car with the drivers side rear wheel arch. The way he had parked meant once I was past a certain part when pulling in. The front of the bumper was hidden in my blind spot. The only damage was a slight scuff and the transfer of paint from my car to the other. The twat still managed to get a brand new bumper at £1500 curtesy of my car insurance though oh and then tried to get compensation out of me 6 weeks later when he 'suddenly' developed soft tissue damage to his neck and leg. Nothing ever came of that one though

Third one. Skidded going straight across at a roundabout in the snow. Literally going about 15 mph but the Car came off the road and smashed into some railings. That cost me around £1500 to fix as it completely snapped the steering column.

Just with animals. Mostly pheasants but last year a deer.

Been driving 33 years:

Cars hitting me as a driver

Rear ended whilst stationary - twice, second time I'd only had my car back 4 weeks!

Hit by another car whilst moving - once

Hit by another car whilst stationary in a car park - once

... as a pedestrian, I was knocked over on The Strand in central London outside Charing X station when I was 17.

Me hitting other cars

Rear ended a family on the A1. Their car (sturdy, new family saloon) was barely scratched. Mine (old Renault 5) was a write off. They let me sit in their car to keep warm whilst we waited for the AA.

I also turned too tight into the back lane to my old house and wrapped my car round a big old sandstone gate post, which damaged both the passenger door and back door on the passenger side.

Just one. A woman drifted across the road at 9am, drove straight at me and hit me head on. She got out the car wearing a nightie, big coat and barefoot said "I'm so sorry my love. Um, I'm just going home" in a sing-song voice and drifted off, on foot, home.

It transpired she was on coke, drunk and had no insurance. And had just dropped her kids off at school. Absolutely loads of witnesses.

She wrote off my Range Rover Sport and the police said if I hadn't been in such a substantial car she likely would have killed me - they said the impact was the equivalent of driving into a brick wall at 60+mph.

Psychotic irresponsible bitch.

35 years of driving, some of those years doing 30,000 miles a year for work.

With one of my early cars I went to straighten up in a parking space and moved forward into the path of a van I hadn't noticed, smashing my bumper. I got it back from being repaired a few weeks later and promptly reversed into a bollard.

Somebody jumped the lights at a roundabout and careered across my path, causing me to hit his car. I was in a lovely company car that I'd barely had a month and I'd just collected a new puppy in it! Poor thing was traumatised.

I had a car which earned the nickname Jonah. It was first smashed into when it was parked on the road and I was asleep in bed. A woman put a letter through my door admitting it was her but saying another vehicle caused her to swerve. Her insurer refused to pay. I got that repaired, and shortly afterwards someone drove into the back of me on a roundabout; was still waiting for that to go in for repair when someone backed into me in a supermarket car park. Got it back freshly repaired - someone else backed into me in a multi-storey and drove off. I gave up and sold the bloody thing.

I was driving up a busy road when the spare wheel fell out from beneath the car in front (remember the late 90's/00's Fiestas where the spare wheel was bolted to a plate underneath?) and went under my car. It bent the front axle and ripped off the undertray.

I was once creeping out of a junction in London onto a gridlocked main road. A van waved me out and I crept out into the space - the next thing I know, a motorcyclist who was filtering slowly between the traffic was startled at my unexpected appearance, wobbled into my front bumper and fell off. The combined speed was about 12mph and there wasn't even a scuff on the car - the rider sucked his teeth at me, picked up his bike and rode off but claimed £20,000 from our insurance company for lost earnings, personal injury etc etc. It was my fault as I was turning right from a minor to a major.

Other than that...hardly any 😂

Never had a crash type accident. Scraped cars various times but don't think of that as an accident!

Once in 40 years of driving, when someone went in to the back of me when I was stopped at a roundabout. I probably went a bit OTT at the other driver because my dog was in the boot (Fiesta) and I was terrified she was hurt. Fortunately she was ok, apart from being spooked.

I've been bumped from behind twice. The first time they said they'd been distracted by a hot air balloon, the second they said they were on their phone. Panic seems to make people very honest.

Driving 24 years and luckily I've never been in an accident. No points or fines either. I don't think I'm a fantastic driver or anything, just lucky (and cautious)

40 years of driving. I knocked someone over (they ran out from in between parked cars, thankfully just bruised), had a wing mirror smashed when parked up and I reversed into a car in a dark car park. Starting to think I have done alright with that lot. Watch me jinx it!!