Rear ended a car today, and im on a provisional

mgsrocks

Ill be blunt, i rear ended a car today, foot slipped off the break and bang. His bumber took a hit, boot wont close and one of is back doors wont open. Seems simple, ill contact my insurace company (quinn direct), except im a provisional driver, driving unaccompanied. Im on my dads insuarance and i know Quinn will cover me even i was unaccompanied, they said it when i took the policy.

The other driver and i agreed that it was not necessary to contact the guards.

So my only problem now is weither or not i need to contact the guards in order to make a claim? And if i do have to, what kind of penalty will i be facing.

Anan1

You don't need to contact the Guards, just your insurance company. The other driver will claim directly from your dad's insurance. From what you've said, it doesn't sound as though there will be any penalty bar your dad's loss of his NCB. I guess now you know why learners shouldn't drive unaccompanied.;)

Seth Brundle

Are you going to pay for the damage yourself or using Quinn?
Notify Quinn company of the incident either way. If you are going through them then take their advice.
If not then:
1. call to your local garda station and just let them know of it (and that they record it) just in case.
2. have the other person bring the car to an independant garage for an assessment. Was your car moving far or had you stopped and taken your foot off? The damage sounds quite bad to be from a car coming from standstill.
3. On agreement of the cost of the repairs get the other party to sign a statement indicating that the claim is complete and there are no outstanding items.

Spud83

Anan1 wrote: »

You don't need to contact the Guards, just your insurance company. The other driver will claim directly from your dad's insurance. From what you've said, it doesn't sound as though there will be any penalty bar your dad's loss of his NCB. I guess now you know why learners shouldn't drive unaccompanied.;)

Because somehow an accompaining driving would have been able to stop his foot slipping.

Sizzler

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

Because somehow an accompaining driving would have been able to stop his foot slipping.

You read my mind.

What a ridiculous post!

Anan1

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

Because somehow an accompaining driving would have been able to stop his foot slipping.

Sizzler wrote: »

You read my mind.

What a ridiculous post!

Think about it for a minute, boys - nobody's that stupid.

mgsrocks

Anan1 wrote: »

You don't need to contact the Guards, just your insurance company. The other driver will claim directly from your dad's insurance. From what you've said, it doesn't sound as though there will be any penalty bar your dad's loss of his NCB. I guess now you know why learners shouldn't drive unaccompanied.;)

I know i shouldnt have been unaccompanied. The only reason i was out was because i have my test on monday and need to practice the raheny route. Timing is bad though, if this happened after next monday and i had failed my test id still get a 2nd provisional and be fine. (stupid system)

I contacted Quinn pretending to take out a cover and asked them what the situation would be if this happened. They said im covered but that the gardai must be contacted for any claim. Are they right about that? My understanding is that the people effected can choose not to get the gaurds invloved.

L1011

Quinn's policy is to require a Pulse case number

Go in to the Guards and just recount what happened and I seriously, seriously doubt they'll do *anything* about your licencing status. Get the issue number, report it to Quinn, and that should be the last you'll hear of it (the Guards involvement that is! You'll be forever with that shower of an insurance firm, although I do use them myself...)

DannyBuoy

I'd suggest doing your best to avoid going through insurance at all. If there's not much damage and the chap you ran into is reasonable then its the way to go imo.

the_syco

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

Because somehow an accompaining driving would have been able to stop his foot slipping.

Handbrake for the win!

mgsrocks

DannyBuoy wrote: »

I'd suggest doing your best to avoid going through insurance at all. If there's not much damage and the chap you ran into is reasonable then its the way to go imo.

Dont know much about the cost of reparing cars but id guess that to fix both will be alot. His rear bumber will need to be replaced, the door frame will need to be fixed, the boot, which is also out of alignment will need to be repaired/replaced. Ill need a new front bumber and bonnet, radiator seems a bit loose too so that will need to be fixed. So my only choose is insurance. I dont have the money to pay for all that.

So does anyone know if the gardai must be contacted in order to make an insurance claim with Quinn Direct?
I dont want to be banned from driving a few days before my test.

Seperate

MYOB wrote: »

Quinn's policy is to require a Pulse case number

That's simply not true. The only time they require the gardai to be notified is a theft.

If liability isnt an issue, gardai are irrelevant.

Spud83

Anan1 wrote: »

Think about it for a minute, boys - nobody's that stupid.

the_syco wrote: »

Handbrake for the win!

I'm not getting into an argument that will lead to the thread being hijacked on the OP.

L1011

Seperate wrote: »

That's simply not true. The only time they require the gardai to be notified is a theft.

Not what they told me....

mgsrocks

the_syco wrote: »

Handbrake for the win!

I already agreed i shouldnt have been driving unaccompanied, i hardly ever do it, i just needed the practise.

Bit of good news though! I would have had to cancel my test because of the state of the car (bumber sticking out, headlights now out of place and a bonnet that needs a screwdriver to open). BUT the rsa rang saying they have a backlog next monday and need to move my test to thursday, so no need to cancel.

Anyone have any idea about cost/time of a repair to my car. If i can afford to fix both cars i will but i seriously doubt it.

And does anyone have a definitive answer for that gardai thing. Is it true Quinn make you contact them for a claim to go through even IF i did admit fault.

The Muppet

Bad luck on the crash. Did your dad have his no claims bonus protected? I hope so as It sounds like a considerable amount of damage was done to both cars.

Don't worry about the Guards it is very unlikely that they will do anything about you not having someone with you, certainly nothing will happen before your test.

Accidents happen, no one was seriously hurt so just put it behind you and good luck with the test.

cpoh1

mgsrocks wrote: »

And does anyone have a definitive answer for that gardai thing. Is it true Quinn make you contact them for a claim to go through even IF i did admit fault.

You 100% DO NOT have to contact the gardai. You have admitted liability, ring your insurance company and give them the details of the other driver informing them that you admitted complete liability on the spot and they'll do the rest.

Calling the Gardai for an accident with no injuries is a waste of time, a garda friend told me the only benefit of having one of them attend ther scene of an accident is to be a witness that the accident actually took place. They wont take a side, they cant give evidence about the liability of the persons involved. All theyre good for is ensuring your details are swapped over.

mgsrocks

Not sure what 'protected means'.

He only justed moved to Quinn 6 months ago so that i could get insured on the car. 30 years driving and he never took out a claim, im going for 6 months and need it!

The man in the other car is having a rep from a garage around to is house tonight to give him an estimate, hope its not HUGH.

I havn't said yet that i was at fault but since i rear ended him then it automatically is, since i didnt give enough space.

The Muppet

mgsrocks wrote: »

Not sure what 'protected means'.

He only justed moved to Quinn 6 months ago so that i could get insured on the car. 30 years driving and he never took out a claim, im going for 6 months and need it!

The man in the other car is having a rep from a garage around to is house tonight to give him an estimate, hope its not HUGH.

I havn't said yet that i was at fault but since i rear ended him then it automatically is, since i didnt give enough space.

When taking out the policy he may have been given the option to protect his no claims bonus. Ie he would not lose his bonus if he had an accident.

I say may because I'm not sure the option applies to named drivers but it would be worth checking out. I had bonus protection when I was with quinn but I have a full licence with no named drivers.


If you rear ended him you are totally at fault, it sounds like the other guy is being decent with you , I wouldn't mess him about if I were you as he could develop whiplash overnight.

DonJose

mgsrocks wrote: »

His bumber took a hit, boot wont close and one of is back doors wont open.

Sounds like the bodywork took a good beating, possible write-off. Was it a new car? I was rear ended last year, had to replace rear bumper, boot door and respray, cost that fellas insurance over €3k. If the rear door wont open then it sounds like the bodyframe was pushed forward, the worst damage in these cases is what you can't see.

mgsrocks

I thought i would upload a few pics of my car i took straight after the hit. You can see the light on the left are out of place. Bumber sticking out and an out of place bonnet. I know its hard to guess from just the pictures but could anyone give me a rough estimate on the repair cost/time.


http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/4/1/3/f_03012008058m_7295eb4.jpg

DonJose, sounds like thats what happened to his car, ill upload some pics of his later. Looks like i have no choice but to go the insurance route.

Our man in Havana

kbannon wrote: »

3. On agreement of the cost of the repairs get the other party to sign a statement indicating that the claim is complete and there are no outstanding items.

That won't work as it does not bar the injured party from bringing an action to PIAB for whiplash etc.

Seth Brundle

@mgsrocks - your reg plate is kind of visible in the first pic - are you sure you want that?

mgsrocks

kbannon wrote: »

@mgsrocks - your reg plate is kind of visible in the first pic - are you sure you want that?

Woops, my bad. Used that one because i thought no one could make out the year and county. Will remove it.

UPDATE: Looks like insurance will cover me and the guards dont need to get involved. The guy is being really nice about it to.

tbh

did you get an estimate out of curiosity?

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

mgsrocks

No estimate yet, ill get back when i do. But id say the other mans car will be a right off. Its only the bodywork but his car is 12 years old.

Our man in Havana

People who work/have friends in the VRO or the Gardaí could get your name and address from the reg. You never know what nutters are out there. Seriously.

Also people could take your reg and head into a motor factors and get a plate made up and then use your reg to commit crimes, speed, park illegally etc. You will then end up spending alot of time in Garda stations explaining that you did not steal €50 of petrol from that shop etc.

mgsrocks

But could they not do that with ANY car then.

unkel

Bond-007 wrote: »

People who work/have friends in the VRO or the Gardaí could get your name and address from the reg. You never know what nutters are out there. Seriously

Car regs are in full view on the public road. They could pick any one of them

kleefarr

Anan1 wrote: »

Think about it for a minute, boys - nobody's that stupid.

The hand brake is in the middle isn't it?

craichoe

Yeh, if the door won't open, it would indicate the body is warped. It may be a case of beyond economic repair.

Wossack

mgsrocks wrote: »

Not sure what 'protected means'.

He only justed moved to Quinn 6 months ago so that i could get insured on the car. 30 years driving and he never took out a claim, im going for 6 months and need it!

The man in the other car is having a rep from a garage around to is house tonight to give him an estimate, hope its not HUGH.

I havn't said yet that i was at fault but since i rear ended him then it automatically is, since i didnt give enough space.

dont worry, hugh's reputation for exorbitant estimations is totally unjustified, he's quite fair

mgsrocks

Well the garage said id need a new bonnet and headlights (there still working but have been knocked out of place) There estimate is €1500 but since he said 'estimate' i guessing it will be more. Also said that if i brought it to a toyota garage they would just say its a right off since it 5 years old!!

DonJose

Wossack wrote: »

dont worry, hugh's reputation for exorbitant estimations is totally unjustified, he's quite fair

LOL good one.

IncredibleHulk

foot slipped off the break and bang.

Not to be smart but if you were stopped in traffic or at lights apply the handbrake. Hope you get sorted

Fey!

What was his car? You may well end up cheaper replacing it!!!

As for the damage to yours, shop around. You may well find a bonnet or bumper (possibly in the right colour, if you're really lucky) in a scrapyard.

mgsrocks

Dont think its worth the hastle. Even if i did find a new bonnet and put it on, the latch is broken on the car since the bunber took the hit and moved the frame back a bit. I wouldnt be able to open it.

My insurance said my premiem woulnt increase loads since im on my dads and he had never made a claim.

meathstevie

If the dad went for full whack comprehensive with Quinn he most likely has NCB protection. And as for your estimate go to an independent body shop as well. They can use spurious body panels Toyota can't really sell you for obvious reasons. I suppose your car is a Corolla and by no means is a 5 year old Coralla with a bit of non-structaral body damage a write-off.

reitoei

Anan1 wrote: »

Think about it for a minute, boys - nobody's that stupid.

Accidents happen all the time... give the dude a break!

mgsrocks

Just to give a final update, i got the car back today and its back to normal. New headlights, bonnet, bumber, grill and a support bar just in front of the radiator (not sure what you call it). Total cost €2270.

rebel.ranter

What about the other car? From your description of it it sounded expensive (rear door not opening etc.). What kind of car was it? Year etc.?

mgsrocks

rebel.ranter wrote: »

What about the other car? From your description of it it sounded expensive (rear door not opening etc.). What kind of car was it? Year etc.?

Insurance is dealing with him, not me. I havent even seen him since the day it happened. Im guessing it was a write off, the car was a 95.

Our man in Havana

Yep, a 95 would be a right off for sure. He will only get market value for it. He would be lucky to get €1000 out of your insurance.

mgsrocks

Bond-007 wrote: »

Yep, a 95 would be a right off for sure. He will only get market value for it. He would be lucky to get €1000 out of your insurance.

He rang me today to just tell me how things went, he got 1100 from my insurance company, and he's after using it to buy a new 06 car.

Tanks for all the help people, now i have a driving test to pass!

The Muppet

An 06 for 1100 , I'll have two of those please.;)

Happy to hear you got sorted without things getting painful for you or your Dad, Count your blessings that the guy you hit was very decent about it , there's not many of them left.

tbh

The Muppet wrote: »

Count your blessings that the guy you hit was very decent about it , there's not many of them left.

yeah - if it ever happens to you - repay the favour!

Glad to hear everything worked out ok, you were unlucky, but at least you can forget about it now. Good luck in your test!

mgsrocks

for all of you that have been dying to know, i passed my test today.
YAH!!!

meathstevie

Great. Congratulations and keep the Corolla as long as you can. They may be pig ugly and bland as cold porridge but they're boringly relaible and refuse to die.