Was rear ended - other driver blamed me and he has a witness

[Charcharm]

was Stationary for around five seconds at a t junction with a give way box, traffic ahead of me meant I couldn’t advance so I was letting one or two cars through. All of a sudden there is a crash from the impact of the car behind me driving into me.

we move over to a side road and exchange details. I’m shaking from the shock at this point. The guy had a friend in the car so has a witness to back up his story, which is that I slammed the breaks out of nowhere which caused this to happen.

This is completely untrue but that’s his story. I don’t have a witness as I didn’t have the presence of mind to get the details of the people around who saw the incident. I’ve made a police report, my husband spoke to the other driver who repeated his story. Will call insurance next.

what’s my situation? There is around £400-£1000 damage to my car and I have a light concussion (despite the low velocity). I feel sick and shouldn’t be on my phone but I’m feeling so stressed, and wanted to see if anyone else has been in a similar situation?

Thanks in advance

I would suggest going onto the local Facebook group of the town where it happened and putting a post up to ask if anyone saw the incident. I always see these types of posts on our local pages and 9 times out of 10 the people who saw are more than happy to help.

Take a photo of the junction for your Insurance Co.

Anyone approaching a junction should be prepared for the car in front to stop.

He is just trying to intimidate you.

I had someone slam on their breaks just after setting off when the lights turned green. They got out of their car and started talking to me at my car while rubbing their neck and telling me they thought they were injured...
Luckily I had also slammed on my breaks and there was about an inch between our cars and no impact of any kind.
A complete fraudster who probably did this multiple times to claim whiplash or back pain on someone else's insurance.

Anyway, the person who runs into the back of the car is at fault if there is damage regardless of whether the person in front was breaking hard to create an accident or not.

This. Not your fault.

And he doesn't have a witness, he has a mate.

Just leave to your 8nsurance.
You have no need to engage with driver directly
They will seek to claim from the guy. He isxat fault.
You might need to initially pay your excess
And they must check internal damage on car ie not just visible bumper damage

It's a scam

If you feel sick and might be concussed please go to A and E to get checked out. Concussion is very serious.

A rear end collision is pretty much guaranteed to go in favour of the driver in front (yourself).

They can only be caused by one of two things really, one is the situation you describe where driver 1 is stationary and driver 2 goes into the back of them, meaning driver 1 was not paying attention because they were distracted and hit their brakes either too late or not at all. Or they happen because of the situation he describes where someone ahead brakes suddenly, which would still be his fault because it means he didn’t leave an adequate gap to come to a safe stop. Either way it’s his fault and I’m sure your insurance will tell you as much.

He should have kept adequate braking distance. His fault.
Save yourself the stress and let your insurer sort it out.

Have you been checked over at the hospital or by a GP? If you have mild concussion, you need to make sure you are careful. Make sure you tell your insurance company. In most incidents involving a car rear-ending another, it's usually the person who hit the car in front of them who is liable. As a driver you are supposed to leave enough room to brake, and be able to read the road ahead. The person who hit you, was likely not paying attention, didn't leave enough braking distance probably due to the speed he was driving.

A very well known scam I am afraid 🫤, those guys do that multiple of time a week for anyone paying them. I am sorry it happened to you but don't lose your confidence regarding driving, those guys are pros and likely part of an organised gang.

This.
He should have been driving at an acceptable speed according to the road conditions and NOT been so close that he couldn’t stop in time! He is totally at fault and he knows it!

Please don’t worry. It’s always the driver behind who’s at fault. Still annoying though, as it’ll make your premiums increase regardless.

Also I will just add because nearly everyone has said it doesn’t matter as he hit you. Yes for most incidents that is correct but not always. The car in front can be found liable if it can be proven they were driving without due care and attention - normally by dash cam footage or independent witness testimony, but I wouldn’t just presume you will be okay because everyone is saying you will. Very unlikely you will be found liable, but it’s not impossible so try to get some witnesses if you can.

Get some high dose fish oils for that concussion and rest up well. The insurance will sort everything car related - recovering from that concussion is priority!

If you are in Scotland his friend is classed as an independent witness. I was a victim of a hit and run and have had to pay out big time because I stupidly claimed through insurance. Thinking it was a no brainer as it was a hit and run i reported it, giving the other driver's licence and description. Despite not reporting to the police or their insurance, the other driver has been believed due to their 'independent witness' (boyfriend), and I have had to pay for their repairs and now my extra premiums.

Note to everyone - get a dashcam!

He’s responsible, as my Dad told me when I was learning to drive many moons ago, “if someone runs in the back of you, it’s always their fault (unless you’re reversing at the time)” 😂 But don’t engage with the other driver at all, it’s what you pay your insurance company for

I expect his insurers will swiftly admit liability so try not to worry about it. What a wanker

Watch 'big jobber' videos on facebook- he'll make it really clear to you that the other driver is responsible, not you.

He's liable if he goes into the back of you irrespective of whether you braked or not.

I was just watching a Big Jobber video today where he explains that even if you slid into a car from behind because it's icy, you would still be at fault. You can't blame the ice.

His passenger is not an independent witness so I don’t believe his account carries any weight. Stick to your guns with your side of the story .

I was crashed into and as it was at Heathrow airport drop off I told my ins Co to get the cctv. I was horrified when a month later they came back and said it was 50/50 and both drivers would lose NCB and have to pay excesses. The reason for this was that I’d allegedly pulled into the other driver’s lane and braked (a total lie put forward by other driver) I called very angrily and they hadn’t requested the cctv and when I checked it wasn’t kept after a month, so was too late. I refused to accept their decision and threatened legal action. They quickly backed down. I suspect they were insuring both drivers through one of their many brands and this was the cheapest resolution for them.
So in summary if the ins co messes you around get shirty!!

I hit a car once because she just stopped randomly. It was my fault because I should have had enough space to stop.

I’ve learnt so much from big jobber I’m certain that if my career doesn’t work out I could go into car insurance claims without any training at all 🤣