Rear ended someone and im so worried and scared

[missymoomel]

I was driving down a country lane one that I have been driving everyday since last year, the road is 60 I was doing about 50, the csr infront of me stopped suddenly because the car infront of him stopped suddenly and as soon as I saw his break lights I pushed my foot so hard on the break but the car didn't slow down in time and I hit the back of the car very hard, my car is damaged and will be a write off, there was a lady passanger in the back of the car and she was injured she hurt her neck and couldn't move it properly, the ambulance and police came, did a breathalyser which was 0, took my details ans said they would be in touch if they needed anything else.But im feeling so guilty for the women they took her to hospital to be assessed she got out of thr car with help ans they put her in the ambulance with a red box thing round her head, I cant sleep properly or eat much and I just keep replying over and over in my mind , im so worried about her ans I dont even know how she is, and I dont know what's going to happen to me with the police, and im also scared to drive again

Yeah your right and obviously I wasent driving dangerously or anything like that and I didnt mean to do it, I would never want to hurt anyone or cause injuries to anyone, yes this will be in my mind for life I will leave so much space infront of me now even more then I should as I never want anything like that to happen again.

They charge for every road traffic collision and have done for over 30 years.

I dont have any support really, my husband is working very long hours, my mum just automatically judged me and said yoy must of been to close, and my dad hasent even messaged me to ask if im okay.All I can do now is stop crying and see what happens but I would love to know how the women but therr is no way to find out

Well I called an ambulance to my crash and I wasn't billed. Don't you think it's covered in our taxes?!

You could try ringing the local police control room and asking for an update? I don’t know if they’d say much but when I was 18 I ran a kid over only a few days after passing my test.

In my defence she ran out from behind a hedge without looking and her dad saw it happen and said it was her fault. I was doing 20mph at the time and she bounced off my bonnet and back down on the other side. She actually hit the side of me as she went sideways across the bonnet. The impact was on the side of my car….so technically maybe i didn’t hit her.

anyway I rang the police station the next day and they told me she was ok. But these days they might say they can’t tell you? And yes I had to pay for the ambulance!

Honestly I’ve had to pay for an ambulance following a collision. They send the bill to the person they think most at fault. Maybe that wasn’t you even if you called them?

Oh sorry to hear that that sounds worse then mine actually hitting someone, im scared to ring them i do have a insident number though but im to scared to ring

How much is the ambulance bill going to be ?

Yes the replaying is normal. My crash was in Feb and I still think about it although not anywhere near as often as the first month. I also have to drive past the crash point every day and have a fleeting memory of the crash moment each time I see it.

The woman will be ok it could have been worse.

You're not getting billed

Car went into the back of me, the other driver said that he wasn't looking! Went through the insurance and there it ended. These things happen, stop beating yourself up. Do something to take your mind off what's happened. One day at a time.

It’s bound to be upsetting in the immediate aftermath but it’ll fade. I’m sure she’ll be fine in a few days and your insurance will sort everything out.

You aren’t going to get charged by the ambulance. You have car insurance which will deal with anything.

Accidents happen.

Try to give yourself a break.

Big hugs , 🤗
I think the fact you feel.so bad shows me your are a very decent human being !
Maybe u just didn't realise how close you got but also if the car in front braked as well hard that would have closed the distance very quickly !
So it wasn't just your fault just remember this ! I'm sure the passenger will be ok she is more than likely feeling stiff if she was a passenger in the back
Be kind to yourself !! 🌺

As mentioned above, if there’s a bill for the ambulance it’ll likely go straight to your insurer.

If there is one your insurance will pay

Ok, I googled. Seems they no longer send the bill direct to the driver they think most responsible but will bill their insurers direct now. But yes, they do recover costs. So I guess for the OP it makes no difference. With my case i didn’t claim for the car on the insurance so just paid the ambulance bill. Which was a lot, it was over 30 years ago and iirc was around £100! Might be wrong on the amount.

It was deemed "no fault" by the police and they said accidents can just happen. My insurance company paid out because I came out of a side road to a main road so technically it was "my fault" but not like on purpose!

The front of a car is designed a ‘crumple zone’ so it’s very common for the car behind to be damaged more in this sort of situation.

You were driving too fast for the distance you had left before the car in front, so you were driving dangerously but it sounds like it wasn’t deliberate.

The most likely outcome is your insurance will have to pay for all the damage to the other car, any injury compensation for the passengers, and of course your own car. Did you push that car into the one in front that had braked? If so you will likely be liable for that damage too if both had stopped entirely.

I doubt you will face any criminal charges unless there is evidence you were speeding/driving recklessly.

I live rurally but avoid single track country roads as much as possible having had two low impact head on knock for knock crashes in 4 years. The speed limits are often 60 but in reality the roads aren’t safe to drive even half that speed!

Honestly OP I know it seems a big deal to you but to your insurance and even the police it will be one of many. The best thing you can do is get driving asap.

You won’t get charged for the ambulance.

These things happen, it’s why insurance is mandatory. Just chalk it up to experience and increase your stopping distance moving forward. The roads as really slippy at the moment as we’ve had such a long, hot and dry summer the roads are covered in oil, tyre residue and sand which means you have even less grip than usual.

I agree with getting out driving asap

Thankyou, honestly I've never felt so bad in my life, I was even thinking of going up the hospitsl that same day to see if I can find the family member ans ask if she was okay and stay there till I knew she was but I think I wasent allowed to do that, so been sat here worrying for thr last 2 days

Thankyou, honestly I've never felt so bad in my life, I was even thinking of going up the hospitsl that same day to see if I can find the family member ans ask if she was okay and stay there till I knew she was but I think I wasent allowed to do that, so been sat here worrying for thr last 2 days

If your car brakes aren't working properly-you say you weren't speeding and you pressed them in time-take it to a garage asap.