Hit and run?

[Tnib]

Any help please? I was driving and then slammed on my breaks as a couple ran into the road, it was rainy and dark…a car came into the back of me I believe, I say I believe as I’m doubting it happened as they didn’t stop but sure I heard the contact of their car and mine as well as feeling it jerk me but the back of the car is fine. I’m feeling some lower back pain but wonder if that’s psychological, I took down their number plate incorrectly so doubt anything will happen apart from my premiums being hiked up.

Has anything similar happened to anyone? What would you do?

Any advice, much appreciated.

Thank you

Why would your premium go up if no damage to your car

If she put in a claim for back pain.

If there's no damage and you can see a GP about your back, I wouldn't bother unless your back pain gets worse.

I would have thought it’s unlikely that any contact that didn’t leave a mark on your bumper is going to have caused you an injury. Have you reported it and what do you hope the gain if there is no damage to be paid for?

I thought any accident pushes your premium up, even if it’s it wasn’t your fault. perhaps that’s urban legend.

Only if you declare it

Also what I think. If it was bad enough to hurt your back, then I assume there would also be damage on your car.

Only if either party reports it to insurance. I can’t see why you would if there’s no damage, and if the other party left the scene I don’t suppose they’re planning to.

if you had an “accident” where you are neither sure nor sure if the car went into the back of you I would say your back pain is in your head seeking a compo claim.

No hope to gain anything as such, just that’s what you’re supposed to do. I did an online search and it says damage could be done to the car that’s not detected, but I. think you’re right in terms of no long term damage to the car. I wouldn’t do anything if I wasn’t in the car but it had been hit but was fine.

I am having this lower back pain but maybe in my head or will go in a day or two.

Okay

Yes that’s what I meant.

-You didn't feel the impact
-No evidence of impact (dent, scratch, paint)
-Your back hurts
-You heard impact
-You felt a jerk
-You don't have the correct plate number of the other car

Just trying to see if I got the situation right... if so I'd suggest that maybe you didn't get hit from behind but the hard break caused the jerk and your now back pain. Anymore any impact is going to leave scratches, breaks, or paint transfer on a bumper.

I think you don't do anything except go to a doctor if your back pain is bad enough. There's nothing else to do, IMO but I may not be totally knowledgeable on your laws.

I haven’t reported it as I was sure if I should as I don’t want to pay more for my insurance if nothing will happen to the driver.

How does the back pain change anything? You’re not even sure if your car was hit, so it could just be the impact from the emergency stop. The other party are unlikely to report it as they left the scene and would be liable if they went into the back of you.

No visible damage but your back hurts? Get the car checked out and go from there….

you would have at least scratches…

Thank you, that’s the most helpful ting anyone has written.

Where did the other car go?
If you thought it had gone into the back of you, didn't you just get out to look? Did it overtake you or something?

I’d have thought you’d know for sure, the noise is really, really loud. I honestly can’t think how you’d not know. And if you hurt your back, there would definitely be some damage to your car. Open and then close all the doors (including the boot), if there is any buckling under the car, your doors are unlikely to close properly ie there may be a slight gap between the door and its frame, or it might be much more noticeable, also check your front seats slide on their runners, if they don’t that can be a sign of damage (providing the sliding mechanism has previously been in working order).

Statistically, drivers who make a no-fault claim are more likely than average to go on to have an accident where they are at fault. Therefore reporting a no-fault incident is likely to increase your premium.

Not reporting a no-fault incident is also known as "fraud" and can result in your policy being voided. And leaving the scene without stopping to swap details is an offence; I am afraid I would very much allow my high dudgeon to take control in this instance.

However, having been hit from behind in a number of instances at low speeds (in queuing traffic) - I have never not been sure that I've been hit. It's always been a real shock and very obvious. If you were moving at speed then I would expect you to be absolutely sure that it happened, it wouldn't be a question!

No visible damage then I can’t imagine there was contact and if there was, it wouldn’t have been enough to cause an injury. An emergency stop can be quite a jolt.

Have you been driving long, OP? If you haven’t and this is the first time you’ve done an emergency stop on your own I can see how you might have thought someone had driven into the back of you, especially if it wasn’t a safe place to do it as you tend to be on high alert.

However I don’t think there was any collision, it’s more likely that you’ve imagined it after you stopped, again as a result of being on high alert. How fast were you going before you braked? If you were going at higher speeds it would again lead me to believe it’s something you’ve imagined based on the circumstances.

I personally really think the back pain you’ve reported here is a result of tension caused by the sudden stop, and maybe a little bit of an overactive imagination too - I’m sure it’ll go away. If not then you should consider seeing a physio or your GP next week.

Thank you. Will take a look in the morning, as it was dark.

Thank you. I’ve been driving for just over 20 years and have done a similar stop, but the breaks pads are scored (was told in the service but told not to replace yet) and hate the way they sound at the moment but feel like the sound of the breaks happened then it seems like a while later ( like when time slows down) the car came into the back to me. I wasn’t driving very fast about 20 at the most.

Thank you, what you’ve said makes sense. I’ll check out the car, see how I feel and see how I feel about it tomorrow.

I would think you would know ftom the noise made by even a low impact bump - it is a horrible sound.

Check the car in case there is damage underneath, not visible on the bumper- it could have pushed something underneath. Probably unlikely if you can't see anything, but worth checking.

Did you tense up when it happened. That and the shap break could cause the back pain.

Technically you djould notify the insurer at renewal of any accident, claim or loss, regardless of fault. On reality I suspect a lot don't - you see lots of cars driving around with damage.

I had an accident at a road junction years ago OP. I went to pull away when the road I was entering was clear, but it was a wet morning, and my shoe slipped off the accelerator, causing the car to stall, by the time I'd restarted the engine, and was ready to pull away again it was too late, and there were cars too close. At this point I heard a noise and felt a slight rocking of the car. The car behind me had anticipated me pulling away, and because I hadn't, ran into me. We looked at the back of my car and couldn't see any damage, but to be on the safe side I took a note of his registration number. When I got home that night I told my DH, and he went out to have a look, got down on the tarmac, and saw that there was damage below the bumper. We called my insurer, and they took on the case, got the damage rectified, which turned out to be far worse than it looked, and I didn't lose my NCB.