Depressed after car accidents

Bobtheman

I have had a bad history with driving. Three accidents last few years..adding up to about 4k
My insurance shot up to 1400 with an excess of 3k.
I was hoping to have at least one clear year but now I tipped a car the other day. I'm hoping it just stays at a bumper repair. They insist on going through insurance despite my pleas
I'm just so so down about this.
My insurance is likely to be 4k now or something ridiculous

Plumbthedepths

Maybe go and have a few lessons to improve your driving.

antix80

Sounds like driving might not be for you. Too expensive and is causing you misery.

blindside88

Worth going and getting your eyes tested and getting a few driving lessons. This is genuine advise and not me trying to be an ass. If you’re having an accident every year you’re either an incompetent driver or you have a problem with your eyesight. In relation to your claim, if they go through the insurance you can ask your insurance company to allow you pay for it and not have it counted as a claim against your insurance

Bobtheman

Good point on the lesson but am I looking at 4k in insurance? I can't give up driving. Got to get to work

Bobtheman

blindside88 wrote: »

Worth going and getting your eyes tested and getting a few driving lessons. This is genuine advise and not me trying to be an ass. If you’re having an accident every year you’re either an incompetent driver or you have a problem with your eyesight. In relation to your claim, if they go through the insurance you can ask your insurance company to allow you pay for it and not have it counted as a claim against your insurance

My excess is 3k..I don't know how this will work. If it's just a bumper excess will cover it but I think it still counts as a claim.? I had about 6 years without accidents. Just a bad run

Ursus Horribilis

It looks like you've got no other option but to suck this up. And if you don't have it on your policy already, get no claims bonus protection onto it as soon as you can.

Is there any reason why you've had so many accidents? Is it really down to a "bad run" or is there something genuinely wrong with your driving? Do you speed? Drive aggressively? Not pay enough attention? I second the advice about having some driving lessons to see what's going on here.

ted1

Bobtheman wrote: »

I have had a bad history with driving. Three accidents last few years..adding up to about 4k
My insurance shot up to 1400 with an excess of 3k.
I was hoping to have at least one clear year but now I tipped a car the other day. I'm hoping it just stays at a bumper repair. They insist on going through insurance despite my pleas
I'm just so so down about this.
My insurance is likely to be 4k now or something ridiculous

Maybe you should consider not driving. How far is work ?

Bobtheman

ted1 wrote: »

Maybe you should consider not driving. How far is work ?

20 miles. No public transport

Bobtheman

What am I looking at in terms of a hike ?

pwurple

Bobtheman wrote: »

What am I looking at in terms of a hike ?

If it is just a bumper repair, don't use your insurance. Just pay for it directly. No effect on insurance then.


I agree with the others, working on solving this may be useful for you.
How long are you driving? Do you have the wrong car for you maybe?

dubrov

Bobtheman wrote:

My excess is 3k..I don't know how this will work. If it's just a bumper excess will cover it but I think it still counts as a claim.? I had about 6 years without accidents. Just a bad run

An excess of 3k means that you cover the cost of the first 3k in any claim.

It sounds like the cost of this setup be much less than 3k so you'll have to pay it all yourself but it won't affect your insurance

listermint

There's are always options in life no matter what.

These could include but not exclusively. Give up the car start cycling instead. Yes there are plenty that do 20 miles each way everyday no problems. Plenty. This would remove a large stress in your life and replace them with a lifestyle positive change.

Others could mean changing car perhaps the car you have is too large or has poor visibility. Replace with something with better visibility and seating position. Nissan note springs to mind.

Move jobs closer to home and get rid of car and walk it.



Nothing is insurmountable you just have to approach it with a different mind set.

lawred2

dubrov wrote: »

An excess of 3k means that you cover the cost of the first 3k in any claim.

It sounds like the cost of this setup be much less than 3k so you'll have to pay it all yourself but it won't affect your insurance

It'll be recorded as an incident and thus the risk of insuring the OP appropriately goes up.

Even if it cost the insurer nothing

Bobtheman

pwurple wrote: »

If it is just a bumper repair, don't use your insurance. Just pay for it directly. No effect on insurance then.


I agree with the others, working on solving this may be useful for you.
How long are you driving? Do you have the wrong car for you maybe?

The guy is being difficult (edit) andinsisting on using insurance despite my offers. He says he has had bad experiences before doing it the other way. I left a begging message
I will check with my insurance company too

Bobtheman

lawred2 wrote: »

It'll be recorded as an incident and thus the risk of insuring the OP appropriately goes up.

Even if it cost the insurer nothing

Am I looking at a huge hike !

Caranica

Bobtheman wrote: »

Am I looking at a huge hike !

We are not psychic or actuaries. Probably, but we can't know.

You're out of line calling the other party names for going through your insurance, they are totally entitled to do so. You have done material damage to their car, you have no say in the repair.

Bobtheman

Caranica wrote: »

We are not psychic or actuaries. Probably, but we can't know.

You're out of line calling the other party names for going through your insurance, they are totally entitled to do so. You have done material damage to their car, you have no say in the repair.

You have a point. He is entitled. But being entitled and doing the right thing are not always synonymous. I offered to go directly to the garage and pay in cash.
Anyway I will ring my company today and let them know. It's out of my hands now

gwalk

Bobtheman wrote: »

You have a point. He is entitled. But being entitled and doing the right thing are not always synonymous. I offered to go directly to the garage and pay in cash.
Anyway I will ring my company today and let them know. It's out of my hands now

just because something suits you more does not make it "the right thing"

kirving

You could be the most genuine person in the world, and pay for the car to be fixed perfectly in a main dealer.

But what happens when they take off the bumper and find a broken sensor or chassis damage that costs a few more thousand to fix?

Insurance company won't want to know you might not be able to pay it and the other guy is stuck.

Or in 3 months time and the new paint cracks? Who pays up then?

It's absolutely right that the other driver is choosing to go through insurance, and you say that they're difficult for doing so is completely wrong.

What kind of accidents are they? €4000 isn't huge money. Give a good description of what happened in each and people can give good advice on how to avoid them in future.

For example parking sensors help me out hugely driving a big car around small car parks. I genuinely can't see the front of the car at all. And automatic means I never roll backwards on hills or worry about cutting out.


EDIT: I had a quick look at your other posts to see if I could see details of your accidents that you might have posted.

Two post stood out. One where you said that you believe it's okay to drive on 3 pints. Maybe it's just me, but 3 pints in and I'm definitely feeling it. I get where you're coming from, I think the 0.02 limit is a joke, but nevertheless the less its a law we all have to abide by. I would suggest that you should take driving a bit more seriously and give it the respect it deserves.

Second one is also drink related. 30 units of alcohol in a week is double the recommended maximum intake. This will make you more tired I general which will affect your driving and concentration at all times, and alcohol is also a depressive.

ManOfMystery

You don't mention if you were to blame for all these accidents or if you were merely involved in some of them. What were the circumstances? Is it anything to do with eyesight, tiredness, attention, etc? All of these things can be worked on or resolved to some degree so that you can avoid yet more repetition in future.

If it's generally having poor car control ability and not judging distances well, that could be a different story - some people just aren't naturally good at driving and in that scenario the only thing I can suggest (accepting that you really need to drive) is that you decrease your speed across the board to give you more time to avoid collisions. And for what it's worth, that doesn't mean that I'm suggesting you are currently speeding everywhere.

ManOfMystery

Bobtheman wrote: »

The guy is being difficult (edit) andinsisting on using insurance despite my offers. He says he has had bad experiences before doing it the other way. I left a begging message
I will check with my insurance company too

He's not being difficult. He is well within his right to use insurance, that's why he's paying for it. He doesn't know you from Adam and has no idea what quality of repair will be carried out, and as you say, he's been through this before with bad experiences.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Bobtheman wrote: »

Am I looking at a huge hike !

You said its 20 miles to work, so yeah that's a fair hike, but probably safer than driving.

Bobtheman

I have poor spacial awareness so I got a smaller car . All accidentats my my fault. I'm going to get a few lessons.
I presume Jimmy you just didn't read the posts properly.
I drive 20 miles to work
The hike is in ref to my insurance cost
I am willing to accept all his costs without question

Bobtheman

ManOfMystery wrote: »

He's not being difficult. He is well within his right to use insurance, that's why he's paying for it. He doesn't know you from Adam and has no idea what quality of repair will be carried out, and as you say, he's been through this before with bad experiences.

I was obviously going to let him pick a garage of his choice

Bobtheman

I want to thank you all. Have had other personal issues going on and thus don't need this but that's life ain't it ?

hawley

Bobtheman wrote: »

I was obviously going to let him pick a garage of his choice

Sorry to hear about your accident. Have you been driving for many years, were you accident free before these scrapes. Is there a reason for the accidents, have you become more anxious behind the wheel since you started having these tips. It might be worth going to see a psychologist, there must be something behind this.

Sonny noggs

Bobtheman wrote: »

The guy is being difficult (edit) andinsisting on using insurance despite my offers. He says he has had bad experiences before doing it the other way. I left a begging message
I will check with my insurance company too

He is the one being difficult?

Have you considered getting a bicycle?

Bobtheman

hawley wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your accident. Have you been driving for many years, were you accident free before these scrapes. Is there a reason for the accidents, have you become more anxious behind the wheel since you started having these tips. It might be worth going to see a psychologist, there must be something behind this.

Yes I have been stressed. I think too I have to switch off radio and all distractions. I'm just worried my insurance will go to something like 5k. It's 1300 now with a 3k excess

Tell me how

Bobtheman wrote: »

I have poor spacial awareness so I got a smaller car . All accidentats my my fault. I'm going to get a few lessons.
I presume Jimmy you just didn't read the posts properly.
I drive 20 miles to work
The hike is in ref to my insurance cost
I am willing to accept all his costs without question

Can you see your driving improving? Being honest.
If not, you're insurance costs are going to continue to increase. That's a simple reality.

You're asking how much will it increase based on a small payout but the actuaries will be looking forward and determining the likelihood of future payouts and recent experience will indicate a very high likelihood.

Not to mention driving with a fair degree of likelihood that an accident will happen is extremely unsafe.

I think you need to consider everything to get you out from behind the wheel. At least until your ability and confidence increases.

hawley

Bobtheman wrote: »

Yes I have been stressed. I think too I have to switch off radio and all distractions.

It sounds like you need a break from everything. Are you in the position to take a holiday? Sorry that you've been put in this position. You need to look after yourself first of all. You can't let this all build up inside you, you must deal with it before it comes to a head.

Bobtheman

Tell me how wrote: »

Can you see your driving improving? Being honest.
If not, you're insurance costs are going to continue to increase. That's a simple reality.

You're asking how much will it increase based on a small payout but the actuaries will be looking forward and determining the likelihood of future payouts and recent experience will indicate a very high likelihood.

Not to mention driving with a fair degree of likelihood that an accident will happen is extremely unsafe.

I think you need to consider everything to get you out from behind the wheel. At least until your ability and confidence increases.

For about the 100th time I work 20 miles away. No public transport. Whatever happens I will have to keep driving! And nobody can give me a lift. Thanks for advice but would be great if people actually read previous posts !!

Considering your acknowledged difficulties with spatial awareness, I would be less concerned about fender benders and price hikes, and more concerned about you hurting yourself and others. Multiple accidents in such a short time period should prompt some serious consideration on your part, having to drive for work will not be of consolation to you if you have a more serious accident changing lanes or overtaking.

Sonny noggs

There should be a mechanism whereby people who are not capable of safe driving should be permanently removed from the roads. (Penalty points don’t cover all scenarios.)

Tell me how

Bobtheman wrote: »

For about the 100th time I work 20 miles away. No public transport. Whatever happens I will have to keep driving! And nobody can give me a lift. Thanks for advice but would be great if people actually read previous posts !!

I'm tempering my response here because it is PI.

If you were unable to drive for some reason (accident/ban/cost) you'd have to consider alternatives.
You are unwilling, it seems, to consider these at this point despite people suggesting it for the 100th time and evidence that you should do so.

Genuine best wishes in overcoming the depression.

ted1

Bobtheman wrote: »

20 miles. No public transport

Get an electric bike. Problem sorted.

The rate you are going, You are either going to kill your self or someone else

I cycle 30km each way on a regular bike. Before I started cycling I was driving 50,000 km a year and hadn’t been in a bike for 20 years. I’m also 100kg and had poor fitness, so there’s no excuse not to.

L1011

dubrov wrote: »

An excess of 3k means that you cover the cost of the first 3k in any claim.

It sounds like the cost of this setup be much less than 3k so you'll have to pay it all yourself but it won't affect your insurance

The excess is for first party claims; not third party.

MissShihTzu

Not being funny, OP but have you passed your test? How long have you had your licence if you have?? Those figures seem very high to me, even with your driving history.

Lads cycling 20 miles to and from work is about as practical a suggestion as telling the op to buy a helicopter. No way is it a solution.

ted1

Quincy Putrid Wedding wrote: »

Lads cycling 20 miles to and from work is about as practical a suggestion as telling the op to buy a helicopter. No way is it a solution.

Really , have you tried it? I do it takes about 1 hr 10. Driving takes between 35 minutes to 2 hours. Depends on if the schools are in if there’s a crash on the M50. Or 1.5hr on public transport

I even suggested using an electric bike to make it easier.

gwalk

Have you actually been diagnosed with depression OP or are you just upset at lack of ability to drive safely and numerous instances of crashing the car?

genuine question

Ursus Horribilis

What's the story with your poor spatial awareness? How did you pass your test if you have a problem? Have you sought professional help for your concentration issues?

MissShihTzu

You probably won't be able to switch insurers very easily due to the driving history, but have you shopped around to get the excess down - go through a broker perhaps? There are a few providers who specialise in 'alternative drivers' - young drivers, those with penalty points, bans, etc.

Another thing - the car you have. Is it stick or automatic? Perhaps think about switching to an auto and a small/city car if the car is manual.

gwalk

So this part wherer the OP says I Wasn't Paying Attention

perhaps you should stop before you kill someone

Bobtheman

gwalk wrote: »

So this part wherer the OP says I Wasn't Paying Attention

perhaps you should stop before you kill someone

Gee thanks for the advice. Lots of people have a run of accidents and move on. I have been driving 15 years. Most of them safely. Yes I should not have got distracted. Stop the virtue signaling

hawley

Bobtheman wrote: »

Gee thanks for the advice. Lots of people have a run of accidents and move on. I have been driving 15 years. Most of them safely. Yes I should not have got distracted. Stop the virtue signaling

Is there any reason why you have become more accident prone in recent years? It sounds to me like you are under major stress, so you need to find a way of dealing with the causal factors before you address any flaws in your driving. Are you in a position to take some time off work and destress yourself. You've been going through a tough time but you need to reach out and ask for help.

MissShihTzu

Bobtheman wrote: »

Gee thanks for the advice. Lots of people have a run of accidents and move on. I have been driving 15 years. Most of them safely. Yes I should not have got distracted. Stop the virtue signaling

I'm sorry, OP but this is hardly virtue-signalling given what you wrote in your opening post...

Bobtheman wrote: »

I have had a bad history with driving. Three accidents last few years..adding up to about 4k
My insurance shot up to 1400 with an excess of 3k.
I was hoping to have at least one clear year but now I tipped a car the other day. I'm hoping it just stays at a bumper repair. They insist on going through insurance despite my pleas
I'm just so so down about this.
My insurance is likely to be 4k now or something ridiculous

By your own admission, three accidents in 3 years isn't great. That is the reason why your insurance is so high. You also admit you have poor spatial awareness. I remember first asking if you have a licence (i.e. passing your driving test) and secondly how long you had been driving. I see from your later posts you've been driving 15 years. Other posters have suggested getting a few refresher lessons. I also suggested shopping around with a specialist broker. You seem to have ignored all those posts.

So. Instead of having a pity party and getting defensive, how are you going to fix this?

From what you've written, you run a real risk of not being able to drive. Either you'll injure or God forbid kill someone through your driving, resulting in a ban. Or - the insurance premium at renewal will be so high as to be unaffordable.

Why do you think you're having so many accidents? From that work on the root causes - depression, medications whatever it might be.

I would also seriously look at the suggestion of getting some driving lessons and changing your car. If you take an Advanced Driving course, it will even bring down your premiums. It's also worth noting you can protect the NCD from about 1 year with some insurers. Most, it's 2 or 3, but stand to be corrected.

Rubberchikken

few people have a 'run' of accidents without actually figuring out whats causing them.
you seem, imo, to be more concerned with insurance hike etc than the fact that youve had a number of accidents and admit to inattention.

you know theres no room for inattention on the roads and addressing that might help in the first instance.

people here have been giving you good advice and all thats coming through your posts is short temper and annoyance with same.

are either of these an issue when you're driving?

Bobtheman

I asked this thread to be shut down. I need a few lessons and more attention and care on the road. Lots of good advice here but you are preaching to yourselves from here on in

Darc19

Maybe look at getting an automatic.

Much easier to drive, less things to think about and probably bring more confidence.

Tons of automatics out there.