accident on Malahide rd on Monday 5th Nov - looking for a witness

tsuzmir

I posted that before elsewhere - hope i'm not breaking the rules of boards.ie

Hi all,
it'll sound a bit mad, but here it goes:
on monday 5th Nov at approx. 10.30 I was riding my motorbike down the malahide rd and just after Graingers pub/close to fairview junction a gentelman in a car decided to change a lane without looking in a mirror. the result: one side of bike not looking pretty. he run out of the car: 'Jeysus, sorry mate, did see you...' i thought if something like that ever happen to me i'd kill the $^%^&£$% but i was stupid enough not to, as he seemed like a decent man who just stopped using a brain for a moment. while waiting for gardai, he sincerely apologised, got details exchanged, he said - 'i know it's my fault, i'll pay for the damage, glad you're ok'. fair enough i thought, might happen to everyone, even someone who normally is not on a road like a monkey with machine gun. guard arrived - he won't make a report because he did not witness that. checked if details exchanged and left.
funny bit, that you already are expecting - his insurance company calls: we need to check liability. I say - he already admited liability. Insurance co. - no, he didn't.
all in all - my word against his word. I'm furious at myself that i didnt get the guard to write what he saw and what was said. anyway - story is probably a bit too long already - what i need is a witness and i was wondering if anyone on here has been passing by at the time or you know someone who could be around there at the time. any help would be greatly appreciated. i know it's like looking for a needle in a haystack, but i thought I'll give it a go anyway.
cheers.

vektarman

Hope you weren't injured, I know it's easy for me to say after the event that if you had a cameraphone you could have taken a couple of pics, why not have a look around the locality and see if any business or shops have a security camera on the off chance they might have recorded the accident...

tsuzmir

vektarman wrote: »

Hope you weren't injured, I know it's easy for me to say after the event that if you had a cameraphone you could have taken a couple of pics, why not have a look around the locality and see if any business or shops have a security camera on the off chance they might have recorded the accident...

ah, pictures taken of the damage but won't say it was his fault. will try local businesses for cctv, thx!

chris85

There should be a report by the Garda since there was an injury at the scene which may help proving the other parties liability.

Dont let it drop as insurers are always at this messing about.

tsuzmir

chris85 wrote: »

There should be a report by the Garda since there was an injury at the scene which may help proving the other parties liability.

Dont let it drop as insurers are always at this messing about.

my injury was really minor (the protective clothing is now wrecked but did the job!) but the guard did not make any notes even though i asked him. he just replied he did not witness the accident so he's not in a position to make a report (load of b****x in my opinion).

goz83

tsuzmir wrote: »

my injury was really minor (the protective clothing is now wrecked but did the job!) but the guard did not make any notes even though i asked him. he just replied he did not witness the accident so he's not in a position to make a report (load of b****x in my opinion).

That sounds very peculiar. I was rear ended October last year. Rang Guards and made sure the guy stayed until they arrived. A Guard who happened to be driving by stopped and checked if all was OK. This was around 20 mins after the incident. He asked us to drive to the local station and cancelled the emergency call. We arrived at the station, where he took details and noted the other driver admitted liability. I was advised to visit the A&E dept where I was diagnosed with whiplash. I notified my insurance company (you have to do this) and gave the guy a chance to pay for car damage and whatever the hospital bill was. He refused, insurance company wrote my car off as uneco repair and paid me the difference, less the scrap offer. Now a claim for injury is pending, because the guy wouldn't agree to cover my A&E bill, plus damages to car, which were less than 2k. He was also named driver on his GFs policy :rolleyes:

msg11

Not a witness, but just glad you have lived to tell the story.

Wishbone Ash

Sorry to hear about your accident.

The Garda seems incompetent. I'd be having a word with a more senior Garda at his station. (Store Street?) It's irrelevant whether he has witnessed the accident or not. He's expected to take notes especially where there is an injury and forward his report to the Superintendent. The Superintendent decides whether to take a charge against the driver (independent of you). Gardai are called to accidents all the time when they haven't witnessed them.

I would contact his insurance company and request to speak to a senior manager. I'd explain the scenario and inform him/her that I am expecting to be reimbursed for the damage to my bike and clothing and that if I hear nothing satisfactory within a week or so I'll be pursuing a personal injuries claim on top of my material damages claim.
(I did this myself and it worked a treat after a couple of weeks of being fobbed off!)

Don't read too much into the driver changing his mind re liability. All insurance companies insist on the policy that under no circumstances do you admit liability. He probably thought about it afterwards and worried about what he has said.