What to do? Driver leaves scene.

ButtermilkJack

I was driving to work this morning when a car pulled out of a stationary line of traffic on my left, and then drove right accross a painted median about two metres wide and into the lane in front of me. I was travelling at an average speed, as my lane was clear in front. As he had just started to move and was virtually stationery, I had to jam on the brakes and swerve and skid to a stop to avoid going straight into the side of his car. I ended up with the nose of my car a foot or so into the lane on my right where there was a gap in front of an articulated truck (the traffic in the right lane was stopped but had just started moving which created this gap). However, the truck driver then started to move forward, and as I was in his blind spot, his bumper rubbed off the side of my car and caused some minor cosmetic damage to the front wing and bumper.

I had placed my hand on the car horn and kept it there as I was initially screaching to a stop. The guy who pulled out in front of me slowed down, looked back out his window at me, and then just drove off. I flashed my lights and hit the car horn a few more times to get him to stop but no joy. He just kept driving. Complete w**nker.

Anyway, the reason for this post is this. The Gardai told me that even if they track him down, all they can do is charge him with dangerous driving and slap him with some penalty points. But there's no way his insurance company will pay me anything because as far as they are concerned he wasn't 'officially' involved in an accident.

What are my options at this point? I'm beginning to think I may just have to put my hand in my pocket and get this fixed myself. I've only got the car two months and have just forked out nearly €1500 on insurance and tax - and coupled with the car loan, I really don't need this right now!!

dts

Unfortunatly you would have been better off just raming him in the side.

ButtermilkJack

Unfortunately my survival instincts took over and I did my best to avoid hitting into him

But yes, that's exactly what I was thinking.

Henry Ford III

Unfortunately it sounds like you have no options.

Did you get the offending cars reg?

ButtermilkJack

Got about 80% of it. Missed the last two digits. But the Garda who's helping me out is fantastic. I've just got off the phone with him, and from the description I gave him of the car this morning, and the partial reg, he's managed to trace the car back to the last owner.

However, the car has not been insured since 2004 and not taxed since 2005. The car was a Roscommon registered car, 00 RN..., which matches the address of the last registered owner, so he's going to get the Gardai over in Roscommon to call to the guys address and see what he has to say. So it looks like the owner possibly sold it on and it was never re-registered.

It's not looking hopeful at all.

Wing Walker

Yes, it's looks like it's going to be out of your pocket I'm afraid.:(

However, you know what the car is, the reg and you probably have a good idea of what that stupid driver looks like. So, keep an eye out for him. You'll never know when you'll meet him again. I know what I'd do if this happened to me and I don't think it could be considered legal

Henry Ford III

If you've a good cop on side let him do the needful for you.

However if the car isn't registered, taxed (and possibly neither insured nor the driver licensed) it's hard to know what they can do.

Kimbot

I had a similer experience!! Some bloke ran into the back of me caused damage and drove off!! I was in shock and didn't know what to do, only got a partial reg, gave it to the gardai and they said there was not too much that could be done but I saw him 3 months later and took his proper reg. Gardai rang him and he was told there would be a hit and run charge against him unless he paid for the damage which he done!!

Mickk

You were stationary and the truck drove into you, blindspot or not is he not liable.

ButtermilkJack

I don't think so as I swerved into his lane in front of him. He had no way of knowing I was there. As far as he was concerned the way was clear.

Anyway, I wouldn't even dream of trying to chase him for money as he was sound and really co-operative and as far as I'm concerned, was not at fault at all. It was just an unfortunate situation we both found ourselves in because of some a*shole.

I'm just really p*ssed off that this other guy just drove off. And that there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. Really annoys me that people can get away with this type of thing and through no fault of my own I'm left forking out my hard-earned cash.

Guy:Incognito

If the registered owner says it was sold on or he doesnt have it anymore, can he be liable for anything (not to pay for damage to the op car, assuming he wasnt the driver) by law for having a car owned by hinm driving with no tax or insurance?

Wishbone Ash

Stekelly wrote:

If the registered owner says it was sold on or he doesnt have it anymore, can he be liable for anything (not to pay for damage to the op car, assuming he wasnt the driver) by law for having a car owned by hinm driving with no tax or insurance?

I think that they have to get an affidavit signed to show that they had sold the car (even though it was still registered to them). It is up to the seller to ensure that they get the Change of Ownership form signed and sent to Shannon.

A colleague a work had this problem lately. He traded in a car but subsequently got penalty points for speeding done by a garage employee in his old car. He had a lot of hassle getting out of it and sorely regretted not sending off the form himself.

Stark

The good news is that driver sounds ****ed if he's caught. Dangerous driving with no insurance, can't be good at all.

Fingers crossed he never gets to drive again.

Rudolph Claus

The good news is that driver sounds ****ed if he's caught. Dangerous driving with no insurance, can't be good at all.

Fingers crossed he never gets to drive again.
__________________

But hes driving with no insurance already. Do you think if a judge tells him hes banned its going to bother him? He`ll still be driving around with no insurance.

Stark

The judge can impose a jail sentence though. Hopefully followed by a driving ban when he gets out followed by another jail sentence when the ****er flouts it.

ButtermilkJack

Stark wrote:

The judge can impose a jail sentence though. Hopefully followed by a driving ban when he gets out followed by another jail sentence when the ****er flouts it.

A judge imposing a jail sentence... in Ireland... we can only dream...:D .

kikel

ButtermilkJack wrote:

Anyway, I wouldn't even dream of trying to chase him for money as he was sound and really co-operative and as far as I'm concerned, was not at fault at all. It was just an unfortunate situation we both found ourselves in because of some a*shole.

Fair fecks to you. Great to see a bit of understanding.

pontovic

Sorry for your trouble jack, **** sandwich I was in that situation before. A driver driving a truck based with Mullens Hauliers in Kilcullen Co Kildare sideswiped my new polo in Dublin City Center probably because he was drunk or something and then drove off. What a wanker !!. Anyway that aside I regretted not having a camera so I could photograph the bastard and send it into the cops. I'm still very angry about this situation one year on. You will need hard evidence in these cases so always remember to have a disposable film camera in your car so you can catch these ****ers. A digital camera is inadmissible as evidence in court I heard one day.

good luck with catching him I hope he breaks his leg or something the bastard.

Supercell

pontovic wrote:

A digital camera is inadmissible as evidence in court I heard one day.

How reliable a source was that?, I always carry a camera in the car either on the mobile or a normal digi camera just in case, if I get into a prang and some fecker decides to rip me off, I'll have photo evidance. Am worried now!

Our man in Havana

Wishbone Ash wrote:

I think that they have to get an affidavit signed to show that they had sold the car (even though it was still registered to them). It is up to the seller to ensure that they get the Change of Ownership form signed and sent to Shannon.

A colleague a work had this problem lately. He traded in a car but subsequently got penalty points for speeding done by a garage employee in his old car. He had a lot of hassle getting out of it and sorely regretted not sending off the form himself.

Always send the form away yourself, never give it to a garage or another person to do.

Wishbone Ash

Longfield wrote:

How reliable a source was that?, I always carry a camera in the car either on the mobile or a normal digi camera just in case, if I get into a prang and some fecker decides to rip me off, I'll have photo evidance. Am worried now!

It's probably because the images taken on a digital camera can be edited as opposed to a traditional camera.

Archeron

ButtermilkJack wrote:

However, the car has not been insured since 2004 and not taxed since 2005. The car was a Roscommon registered car, 00 RN...,
QUOTE]

Hey ButtermilkJack, chances are slim and none I know, but this car wasnt a Renault people carrier by any chance was it? Just asking as 00RN regs are rare (they have cars in Roscommon now?? ) and I saw a 00RN Renault yesterday which almost side swiped me changing lane on a roundabout, then overtake a car on a white line approaching another roundabout in Citywest. When the woman he overtook beeped him, he pulled in in front of her, forcing her to stop and started hurling abuse at her. Fecker pulled off quick enough when other vehicles approached.

ButtermilkJack

Archeron wrote:

...this car wasnt a Renault people carrier by any chance was it?...

Nope. Nissan, Primera I think, but definately a saloon. Maroon in colour. Accident happened on the M1 near the Dublin Airport. This is what makes me think all hope is lost. The car is still registered in Roscommon (Sligo?) and this happened in Dublin at 7:15am so I'm thinking it's just some knacker who stole it or just couldn't be arsed registering/insuring/taxing it. Either way, I doubt it's the original owner from the West.

I could be wrong...

Wishbone Ash

ButtermilkJack wrote:

Nope. Nissan, Primera I think, but definately a saloon. Maroon in colour. Accident happened on the M1 near the Dublin Airport. This is what makes me think all hope is lost. The car is still registered in Roscommon (Sligo?) and this happened in Dublin at 7:15am so I'm thinking it's just some knacker who stole it or just couldn't be arsed registering/insuring/taxing it. Either way, I doubt it's the original owner from the West.

I could be wrong...

It's just a thought but there are a lot of Garda traffic cameras and traffic monitoring cameras in that area. I don't know if they record or just provide a live feed. It's a bit of a long shot but you never know.

okidoki987

Couple of things
Never ever let someone else send in your change of ownership form EVER.
If you do and the garage don't send it in and that car is in a crash, hit and run, speeding, unless you can prove you traded it in or sold it, you're ****ed.
The onus is on the previous owner to make sure it's been re-registered.
Also you are liable for parking fines.

If he did have insurance, you could write to his insurance company with details of the accident giving as much detail as you can.
Helps if you have an independent witness.
The insurance company may settle your claim with informing the insured
(Believe me it has happened before) depending on what you are claiming for.

If he didn't have any insurance, you could try the MIB (Motor Insurance Bureau I think is the full name), they cover non insured drivers.

You could always take some time off work and wait around where you had the prang at or around the same time (allow a week as he may think you will do this), that way if he uses that way to go to or get home from work you may catch him.
Follow him home and then ring the guards with the details but don't approach him or alert him.

Wishbone Ash

okidoki987 wrote:

You could always take some time off work and wait around where you had the prang at or around the same time (allow a week as he may think you will do this),QUOTE]


That would be a bit difficult (and illegal) on a motorway.

cargrouch

Longfield wrote:

pontovic wrote:

A digital camera is inadmissible as evidence in court I heard one day.

How reliable a source was that?, I always carry a camera in the car either on the mobile or a normal digi camera just in case, if I get into a prang and some fecker decides to rip me off, I'll have photo evidance. Am worried now!

I carry a disposable camera, one of those multipack jobbies that comes in a foil bag. For actual photo's of an accident scene a digital camera would be fine if admissable, but for catching somebody driving away from you most standard digicams would be so slow to turn on and focus I'd say the offending party would be out of range. In typical murky Irish weather trying to catch a clear shot of a moving target is hit and miss with a digicam anyway.

In this case I would well believe that the actual driver at the root of the problem probably isn't at fault in the eyes of the insurer as he wasn't physically involved in the damage. Unfortunately closing this hole in the law would probably increase insurance premiums rather than decrease it because of increased time arguing stuff in court.

At risk of dragging this off-topic - Personally I believe this has a certain amount to do with supposed lower risk of female drivers - the claims come from men avoiding them when they do something bonkers.

ButtermilkJack

cargrouch wrote:

At risk of dragging this off-topic - Personally I believe this has a certain amount to do with supposed lower risk of female drivers - the claims come from men avoiding them when they do something bonkers.

Wing Walker

cargrouch wrote:

At risk of dragging this off-topic - Personally I believe this has a certain amount to do with supposed lower risk of female drivers - the claims come from men avoiding them when they do something bonkers.

Can't agree with you there. I think there's an equal amount of crazy male and female drivers on the road today. But I have to say that I've found that women are getting as bad as men with road rage. Kind of scary really.