reporting accidents to the guards

woosaysdan

hi all is it against the law not to report an accident? on the way to work today i had a small accident where a small item fell off a trailer in front of me and broke the glass on my headlamp. no other damage was done and we settled the fault ourselves. is there still a need to reoprt this to the guards?

Seth Brundle

no!
assuming you settled it amongst yourselves then you don't need to tell anyone, including your ins. co.
Just out of curiosity, did he agree to pay you? I would have imagined that the damage caused is your fault as you must have been driving too close for evasive action.

zt

It is now generally accepted that the Gardai are only called when somebody is injured or when fault is not immediately acknowledged.

Note that this is in conflict with insurance company guidelines that state you should never admit fault at the scene of an accident.

If you are involved in a minor accident make sure that witness details, registration information, insurance company stuff and detailed notes of the accident are made.

Particularly good advice is to take a sketch of the cars involved and their positions. Also keep a good record of the time/date and an exact location.

You should report the accident and the collected details to the Gardai.

zt

Originally posted by kbannon
no!
assuming you settled it amongst yourselves then you don't need to tell anyone, including your ins. co.
Just out of curiosity, did he agree to pay you? I would have imagined that the damage caused is your fault as you must have been driving too close for evasive action.

This is not true. The other driver could be responsible for the accident by not securing the item correctly.

See my other post.

It is really important, even when you think fault maybe clear, to take as much detail as possible. Sometimes people will accept fault and later change their mind. In these cases be prepared for court by having the correct detail and notifying the police.

Seth Brundle

assuming that the debris fell of the vehicle in front then it is the driver behind who must ensure that they are a safe distance away from them. They must be able to stop in time in case of emergency. What (in an extremely hypothetical situation), would happen if it was a person that fell off the back of a trailer instead of debris?

zt

Originally posted by kbannon
assuming that the debris fell of the vehicle in front then it is the driver behind who must ensure that they are a safe distance away from them. They must be able to stop in time in case of emergency. What (in an extremely hypothetical situation), would happen if it was a person that fell off the back of a trailer instead of debris?

A driver is responsible for ensuring the safety of the vehicle and any load it carries.

If somebody falls out of a vehicle, the driver of that vehicle is responsible.

byte

Originally posted by kbannon
assuming that the debris fell of the vehicle in front then it is the driver behind who must ensure that they are a safe distance away from them. They must be able to stop in time in case of emergency. What (in an extremely hypothetical situation), would happen if it was a person that fell off the back of a trailer instead of debris?

So...
If somebody was driving behind a lorry with a load of logs and a log slid off and through windscreen and killed the driver behind, it would be the fault of person behind?

Seth Brundle

Im basing my opinion on the fact that if you are following a vehicle, you should ensure that you are a safe distance away from that vehicle, so that if you need to stop in an emergency, then you can!

mike65

I suspect in a court of law both parties would be held partially responsible.

Mike.

dark_knight_ire

Gardai are called to most RTA's i mean its only really an offence if you leave the accident without swapping details ie a hit and run which is serious. It is in your best interest even if you swap details just give the station a ring and have it logged just to be safe whats to stop the other driver making a claim of injury if no gardai know about it

woosaysdan

Originally posted by kbannon
no!
assuming you settled it amongst yourselves then you don't need to tell anyone, including your ins. co.
Just out of curiosity, did he agree to pay you? I would have imagined that the damage caused is your fault as you must have been driving too close for evasive action.

i was a safe distance from the car ahead of me but when something comes off the back of a trailer at 60 mph it does tend to travel a fair bit!!! also there was a ford transit behind me and on-coming traffic so slamming on the breaks or serving was out of the question at the time