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

Oh right okay

Yeah i hope so then i csn hopefully move on and come.bavk to my normal self

Yes most definitely will learn from this ,

Yes that's very true

Don't worry. She will be fine I'm sure. And she will be in the best possible place at hospital - if not home already with a nice cup of tea and the TV on, as I hope you are - gently recalling the events of the day and processing what happened. These things are always such a shock to the system but by being kind to yourself this feeling will gradually get less and you can get back to feeling yourself again and not feel guilty about anything. It could have been many of us it happened to. Plus it's precautionary for paramedics to put the red blocks around a neck where someone has had a sudden jolt to the neck in an accident. All being well they would have been removed soon after arriving at hospital. Take care and have a good day tmrw - I think it's our last hot day of the year so a walk and a coffee out would be a nice treat - you deserve it. All will get sorted in due course so tell the anxiety to br off !! xx

Yeah im going to need to rent a car until we find another one or it could be ages

You're not wrong, but ABS isn't the whole story. The condition of the tyres, suspension and road surface can all have a big effect on braking distances.

The only good thing about these situations is they make us more careful in future. We’ve all made mistakes, I wouldn’t trust anyone that says they haven’t.

I would get your brakes checked as you say they were slow to work but I do agree with posters, the main takeaway is leaving a bigger distance between you and the car in front. Going 50 in a 60 won’t help you if you’re too close to the car in front.

Thankyou, yeah I have work 2moro at 7am but I finish at 12 so i can walk home go get a costa frape then come home and clean the house etc,

The car will be written off so we will have to look for a new one now I think which could take ages

This is why car insurance is compulsory. Last year there were nearly 130k casualties following road traffic accidents in the UK. Accept fault and let your insurer deal with it. The police are highly unlikely to be interested.

Yeah i know, I mean the car is 2008 playe and has done so many miles on country roads and through pot holes etc the tyres wer new in april etc but im not sure about the suspension those country roads and pot holes ruin suspension dont they

Had you noticed any slow responsiveness in the brakes previously?

Oh no, yeah unfortunately accidents happen everyday mlre worse then what happend in my situation so im just very grateful for that

Not i dont think so

Yes a lot of accidents do happen everyday, the police are ingested if its classed as csrless/ dangerous dribing or if somepne has very bad injuries which I dont know about this women yet

Oh bless you well im glad you are back on the road and are okay now

Oh bless you that must of been horrible, , I probably wont ring because if thry can't tell me anything I'll just worry anyway so might aswell just wawy

Helpful reply, just what the OP needs.... 🙄🙄

As you mentioned deer in an earlier post I would suggest dropping down to a max of 40 when you've sorted a rental or replacement and get back on the road. We are coming up to rutting season frim the end of the month and in my area even super confident drivers are a bit on edge with the amount of deer on the roads. You will probably be a bit nervous so the last thing you want is having to slam the anchors on again if you suddenly come across a herd running across the road as that will knock your confidence again which is not what you need.

Yes it's a good idea to leave a bigger stopping distance in future, but I think you were also just unlucky OP. It's unusual for the car in front to suddenly stop dead on a 50/60 mph road. I reckon a lot of drivers would have hit them. It sounds like you were going at a sensible speed and not super close - it could have been a much worse accident otherwise.

You're clearly a nice person to be concerned about the lady. I'd be surprised if she's seriously injured. I think you need to be kind to yourself.

Yeah i know coming into the cold icy season I will definitely be going slower on all roads from now on especially the country roads as even with your main beams its still dark

Yeah i definitely will from now on but im also feeling nervous to go on that country road again which I have to do unfortunately.But in time will be okay.Yes I am worried about that lady and inreally hope she is okay I thought the family member would at least email or message to say shes okay as he saw how distraght I was but maybe they dont want to which is also fine.abut I really do hope she is okay , my heart goes out to her so much

OP. I know this was awful for you. The lady will likely just have whiplash. Don’t spend your time worrying about it you didn’t do it on purpose.
Your insurers will pick up anything the other car or the passenger claims for. You only pay your own policy excess. No ambulance charge is coming your way don’t worry.

Same. My insurance didn’t mention it to me either. I went into the back of someone on my bike and broke my arm.