In RTA, probably my fault, what next?

Hi, just after some quick advice.

I rear ended a car that was pulling away from the lights and then performed an emergency stop.

I am cut up quite bad as I went through his back windscreen, I imagine that I have a claim coming my way, is there anything I need to do in the meantime or just sit and wait?

what speed were you doing? be glad the window shattered.

got any insurance at all – start looking through your house insurance if your not with the BC or CTC etc.

Do you have specific insurance with BCF/BTF/CTC?

If not, check your house insurance, you’re almost certainly covered somehow.

Hope you’re alright, sounds nasty. Police attendance?

I have silver BC membership, so covered for 3rd party on the road.

Police and paramedics in attendance yes. I have PC number, and details of independent witness.

i assume bar cuts your ok ?

what was the drivers reaction ?

About 0.25 secs ??

trail rat

Terminal speed was around 10mph according to the garmin

bar cuts OK yes, had to have glass removed under local anaesthetic

Drives reaction was that he seemed gutted and was reacting to another emergency stop in front of him. No idea of the cause of that as all the preceding traffic had driven off by the time we looked around.

You have 3rd party cover so problem solved in this instance.

Wait for him to contact you requesting your insurance details and then give him your third party insurance details.

That, in theory, should be the end of it.

You will no doubt be contacted by your insurance provider after he submits his claim but that will be for verification of the circumstances as alleged by him.

thanks MW, will just sit tight for now then

That, in theory, should be the end of it.

You will no doubt be contacted by your insurance provider after he submits his claim but that will be for verification of the circumstances as alleged by him.

This. My experience of Leigh Day & Co (BC solicitors about 10 years ago) when implicated in an ‘at fault’ accident was very hassle free. I filed a counter claim, filled in some paperwork, then got a cheque through the post a few months later when they agreed split liability.

It’s worthwhile writing out a statement now, including details of damage, location, time and how the accident happened.

Oh, and obviously, as with all insurance things, you should not admit to fault. Or talk with the other party more than communicating insurance details.

You have 3rd party cover so problem solved in this instance.

Wait for him to contact you requesting your insurance details and then give him your third party insurance details.

That, in theory, should be the end of it.

You will no doubt be contacted by your insurance provider after he submits his claim but that will be for verification of the circumstances as alleged by him.

Sort of off topic (sorry), but I’m reminded of an incident I had ages ago.

Had a nasty note from a solicitor, claiming I was at fault in a RTA. I wrote to CTC’s legal thingy, giving details (the other parties’ claims were largely lies. I had witnesses, and police/ambulance reports would have confirmed).

Never heard anything again. Standard practise?

Sounds similar to what happened to me. Except I rear ended a brand new (1 day old) Bentley 🙁

I had BC silver. IIRC, process was like this:

1.Gave driver my BC number and contact details at the scene of accident
2.Rang BC insurance hotline on the Monday morning. They were really nice and friendly. They took details, passed it on to their underwriters, and sent me a statement form.
3.Received statement form, filled in as much detail as I could, I kinda accepted liability on the statement (car stopped quickly, I was at end of a 100+miler wet ride, with crappy cantis on my winter bike, no chance of stopping).
4.Details passed to underwriters, who sent me a letter telling me it is with them.
5.Emailed underwriters after a month or two asking what has happened. They were quite stroppy and told me it’s now nothing to do with me and it’s not their business to chase an ‘at fault’ claim. They did say they had asked for 3 quotes for repairs.
6.Didn’t hear anything for about 9 months until I got a letter from BC saying they had settled for £3000-ish. Was only a couple of small scratches on the boot 😯
7.Thanked BC for saving my ass (I don’t have £3K!), ended up being quoted on their website(although they did miss out the ass-saving bit). 😀 http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membership/article/memst-Third-Party-Liability-Insurance-0

Hope that helps.

Give him your details, inform your insurers, let them deal with everything.
Any letters from any solicitors claiming you owe them £X,XXXs just pass on to your insurers.

Aidy – Member

Oh, and obviously, as with all insurance things, you should not admit to fault.

Why not? Unless you’re going to pretend it wasn’t?

djglover – Member

thanks MW, will just sit tight for now then

It may well be a condition of your insurance that you contact your provider immediately following an accident.

if your insured its not your right to say whos fault it was it is the insurances .

as soon as you admit fault you may be contravining the insurance T & C and thus find your self finding it hard to renew…..

Aidy – Member
Oh, and obviously, as with all insurance things, you should not admit to fault.

Why not? Unless you’re going to pretend it wasn’t?

With a lot (all?) policies, this is a stipulation. It is for the insurance companies to agree fault – if you make comments that prejudice their ability to do this, it could invalidate your cover. That is not a situation you want to be in…

Oh, and obviously, as with all insurance things, you should not admit to fault.

Why not? Unless you’re going to pretend it wasn’t? every insurance I’ve seen says do not admit liability at the scene, first question they ask when you ring up “did the other guy admit liability?” second is “did you?” not sure what you are supposed to do when you run into the back of someone and they get out and obviously say “you do accept this is your fault don’t you?” as anything other than agreement is likely to cause the innocent driver to get a bit shouty.

Apparently I admitted fault in my accident (don’t really remember, was pretty shaken), and she had witness statements saying I did. Didn’t matter in the slightest.

I also didn’t contact BC to tell them about it for 10 months – which was how long it took her to decide she wanted to sue me for the damage!

Fault admissions at the scene are largely irrelevant as the person often admitting fault could be a) in shock b) in an aggresive situation where they feel threatened or c) have no knowledge of what legally constitutes blame.

The reason insurance companies tell you not to admit fault is because you probably have no idea who’s at fault in circumstances other than simple accidents. Obviously a ‘hit in rear’ is straight forward but what about roundabouts, filter lanes, misleading indicators, the differing rights of different types of vehicle etc etc. They are simply saying “dont get involved” and are largely right.

not sure what you are supposed to do when you run into the back of someone and they get out and obviously say “you do accept this is your fault don’t you?” as anything other than agreement is likely to cause the innocent driver to get a bit shouty.

I’ve never been in such a situation, but I imagine I’d say “My insurance policy doesn’t let me comment on that”.

Why not? Unless you’re going to pretend it wasn’t?

This goes back to my OP, it is probably my fault, but given all the traffic in front had driven off, there is no way of telling if he brake tested me maliciously or something like that.

I haven;t admitted fault, given the circumstances it is ‘probably’ my fault though.

I rode into the back of a bus once and fell off,bus drove off didnt realise i had hit him, me lying on floor, car driver stops and says youre lucky that bus was able to run you over between its wheels.

He thought the bus had hit me and then driven over me. 😯

another rta

probably a fake

Glad you aren’t too badly hurt. I did pretty much the same thing. A few months down the line after beginning to think nothing would happen I got a letter from the driver’s insurer saying they held me responsible and that I owed them for the repairs to the car (a few grand). I didn’t have CTC or anything but luckily my home contents insurance through Endsleigh covered me for accidental damage outside the home. They were great and took control of everything, never heard anything from anyone again.

They said the most important thing is not to deal with the drivers insurers yourself, don’t ring or answer the letter, just let your insurer deal with it. They always try and claim back damages but in reality it is very rarely they would be able to build a case if you contest it – they are just having a punt.