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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Car crash

185 replies

notagooddayallround · 07/01/2019 04:06

Namechanged.

Yesterday I was involved in a minor car crash. Was at a junction, thought the lights were still green, turns out they had gone red and bumped into the car in front at very low speed. No damage to my car (bar the little plastic bumper just popping out) but his car was a bit smashed in, light box smashed, scratches and dents in one corner. Ok.
Drove round corner to exchange phone, name and Reg.

Both drove away from accident happy that he would go and get quotes tomorrow and let me know, as we didn't want to take it through insurance.

I checked his reg this eve on DVLA website and it is mot'd but only has a SORN. Can anyone advise if I should just take this through my insurance?? I haven't been driving long (2-3 years) so obviously don't want my premiums going up massively.

OP posts:
eightoclock · 07/01/2019 13:03

Good decision. If you haven't been driving long you haven't got much to lose in terms of NCB and they don't take it all off you anyway for a smallish claim. Plus you would still have to report the accident so you would still get higher premiums (premiums can still go up even if NCB is so called unaffected, which is why paying to insure your NCB is a bit pointless). I think paying cash directly is really only for very minor things such as maybe replacing a cracked number plate or similar. Otherwise how are you to know they are asking for a realistic amount. An old car would be written off by the insurers for £1000 worth of damage. They won't pay out £1000 for repairs to a 10 year old people carrier. The market value of a car like that will be a few hundred and that's all they would get from the insurers.
I have had an old car written off due to a broken boot catch when someone drove into me. The item was no longer available and obviously not worth their while to try and track one down.

MotherOfDragons90 · 07/01/2019 13:07

Hi OP.

Sorry to hear about your accident - I had my first one this time last year so believe me I know how that horrible feeling. Mine was similar to yours, a low speed shunt.

I considered sorting it out privately but I’m glad I went through insurance in the end because the other person claimed for hire car use while there’s was being fixed and it ended up costing quite a bit. I didn’t have to pay any excess because my own car didn’t need any work.

I had 4 years NCD and they knocked off 2 and to be honest I’ve not noticed a huge difference in my premiums.

I also think you are legally required to inform your insurer even if neither of you claim, because the other person could claim further down the line. I think you’ve only got a few days to do it.

Plus it takes the stress out of it for you. Condolences Flowers

Craft1905 · 07/01/2019 13:15

If his car is declared SORN his insurance is invalid.

Utter tripe. Why do people post such nonsense?

Craft1905 · 07/01/2019 13:42

There's so much complete rubbish on this thread, but I'm just going to deal with one aspect.

Even if his vehicle was SORNed, and even if he was driving whilst uninsured, and drunk, with a dead body in the boot because he's a murderer...so what. There are penalties for all those things, and they do not include being hit up the back by the OP.

If you are negligent (which the OP was) and you cause damage to their property (which the insured did), then you (or your insurers) are responsible for that damage. That's really the end of the story in this case.

If he was breaking any laws himself, then the police can deal with those if they choose to, but none of that changes the OP's position.

WhoWants2Know · 07/01/2019 14:30

I'd not be paying a grand for an old banger that's SORN! He doesn't want you to go through insurance because he'll be nicked for not having taxed or insured it!

If it's an old banger and it's SORN, even if you went through insurance they wouldn't pay £1K to repair it. They'd give him blue book value which is bugger all.

Fair's fair, you hit him. Look up the value of the car online and when he comes back with a quote, you pay him whichever is less.

brighteyeowl17 · 07/01/2019 14:37

Sounds dodgy I’d go through insurance in case it was a scam or he knows a garage who will charge top dollar and pocked the cash! Not sure if insurance will even pay out for a sorn car? But he was knowingly driving it then screams odd

Magenta46 · 07/01/2019 14:45

I don't think you will hear from him. If the car has SORN status he would have been breaking the law and not want to be found out.
If in the unlikely event he was on his way to the MOT center ( pre booked) that would be different matter.

WhoWants2Know · 07/01/2019 14:46

The DVLA search can also tell you a car's MOT history, so it can give you an idea why the car SORN. (I find it very useful when buying secondhand cars.

AQuestionofIntent · 07/01/2019 14:49

I’ve got a strange one.

Almost exact same thing happened to me a few months ago- I drove into the back of the car in front of me. No visible damage on either car but driver in front claimed alignment had been knocked off centre and we exchanged details. I reported incident to my insurers straightaway admitting full liability. A couple of weeks after the incident he started sending me messages and leaving voicemails asking for money. I got a really weird vibe from him so just said that I had reported to my insurers and he needed to deal with them as I wasn’t prepared to get into any private negotiation. As far as I know he never submitted any claim against me.

But this is the weird bit, inspired by this thread I just looked his car registration up on the gov.uk site and it doesn’t exist there- it says the number is incorrect and they have no record of any car with that registration. I took a photo of the plates at the time and I definitely put the right number in. Anyone know why that might be?

Ps sorry to use your thread to ask this OP!

FreckledLeopard · 07/01/2019 14:50

Go through your insurer regardless. If it comes to light that the incident happened and you didn't declare it, then they can void your policy which is a HUGE pain in the arse and your premiums (if you can find any insurer to insure you) will skyrocket.

It really isn't worth the hassle of trying to do a deal without the insurer's knowledge. It will be a term of your policy that you agree to declare any incident, accident, whether any loss or damage, regardless of fault. In the circumstances, just notify your insurer, suck up the increased premium and let them handle it.

Magenta46 · 07/01/2019 14:58

A SORN car will be unlikely to be taxed but may have a valid MOT, either way it is an offence to drive without both certificates.
You did absolutely the right thing by contacting your insurers. You might no have even jumped the lights, you were upset and probably feeling quite shaken.
No harm was done, you're not injured, he's not injured.
Remeber to keep a good distance from the car in front in future.

PassTheGinPlease · 07/01/2019 15:02

You were careless but accidents happen, you apologised and offered details etc
He probably wishes to deal with it without getting insurance involved because he had none. He is driving illegally with a car declared off road, meaning he has not paid road tax nor will have insurance.

I would report the situation to the Police, say you admit fault (although if they want to be pedantic you could be charged with driving without due care and attention as well as failure to report a road traffic collision, I doubt they would though), but this guy is breaking the law and is part of the reason car insurance is getting ever more expensive.

CantWaitToRetire · 07/01/2019 15:04

Never been in a crash before so didn't know the procedures, but will be better equipped for next time.

I really hope there isn’t a “next time” OP and you go on to have an accident free life of driving.

Jeanclaudejackety · 07/01/2019 15:06

Never post anything related to cars and driving on mn, everyone here is a professional driver who's been driving for 40 years without ever so much as going 32 in a 30.

Although loads of people are majorly anti driver on here also as they can't be arsed or are too shit to pass a test so like to jump on drivers without having much a clue.

Craft1905 · 07/01/2019 15:12

A SORN car will be unlikely to be taxed

It definitely won't be taxed, that's why it's sorn. It's either one or the other.

Magenta46 · 07/01/2019 15:13

What a strange post ...I think most people on this thread can drive and hold a full licence. I for one actually have a professional licence. ( not that has anything to do with the OP's situation.)
The number of uninsured drivers is really high. I must see dozens of clamped cars on my estate each month.

Bunnyfuller · 07/01/2019 15:40

Pointing out the illegality of the other driver’s SORN status (see my previous post with link explains it to hard of reading) is not suggesting the OP shirk her responsibility regarding having hit him. It’s pointing out the necessity to adhere to official channels. For those who read stuff that hasn’t been written. Driving with declared SORN is an offence (not a professional driver but work for police).

LaurieFairyCake · 07/01/2019 15:46

Go through your insurance.

It's a well known scam that someone drives round in an old banger deliberately slamming their brakes on at junctions.

Tell the police too.

Craft1905 · 07/01/2019 15:47

Driving with declared SORN is an offence

Usually, but not always. As said, you can drive on SORN quite legally to a pre booked MOT test.

Bacardi101 · 07/01/2019 15:52

Talking with 6yrs of experience you have to tell your insurance company about the accident if you climb for your damage or not it’s likely that his vehicle will now been written off and if his boot won’t open then that can indicate structural damage. Safer all round for everyone if you go through your insurance. I’d say the car is worth £600 and the damaged is £700 ect they car will get written off instead making you £1000 better off and him with a safer vehicle all round

MattFreisCheekyDimples · 07/01/2019 16:03

Hmm, I smell a rat here too. The combination of the SORN thing, wanting to deal with what is apparently a fair bit of damage off-policy, and 'I thought the lights were green but it turns out they were red' is making me wonder if you're being scammed, OP. I wonder if the lights were actually green but by the time he'd braked unexpectedly and the impact had happened they'd turned red without you noticing when in the sequence of events that occurred. Do you drive with green 'P' plates on your car? I wonder if you were targeted. Best to go through insurers, as you are now doing, and I second the advice to report to police.

bengalcat · 07/01/2019 16:03

Go through your insurance - that’s what it’s for - SORN = off road notification to the DVLA meaning it’s not licensed to be on the road . There are possible caveats to that as others have explained eg being driven to a garage for an MOT , however such a car if in the road should be insured . Although as others have said it’s legal for a minor collision / damage to come to a gentleman’s agreement about paying for damages I’d never do so . Equally even if there appears to be no damage to either car it’s still worth exchanging details in case a claim arises further down the line - too many scammers out there .

stokieginge · 07/01/2019 16:05

@notagooddayallround if the vehicle is SORN it's not insured to be on the road as far as I'm aware as it's got no valid MOT as such you can't get valid insurance.

Report him to the police.

Craft1905 · 07/01/2019 16:07

I thought the lights were green but it turns out they were red' is making me wonder if you're being scammed, OP. I wonder if the lights were actually green but by the time he'd braked unexpectedly and the impact had happened they'd turned red without you noticing when in the sequence of events that occurred.

It would still be her fault though. He's entitled to stop if it's green. "I thought I saw a child about to run out but it turned out to be a crisp packet in the wind" She should have been far enough back to allow for his unexpected stop. So it's all irrelevant. Plus we'll never know what colour the lights were.

badlydrawnperson · 07/01/2019 16:10

@notagooddayallround if the vehicle is SORN it's not insured to be on the road as far as I'm aware as it's got no valid MOT as such you can't get valid insurance.

Total and utter rank.

You can legally drive a car to and from an MOT test on SORN and insurance isn't automatically invalidated by SORN or lack of a current MOT.

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