Hit by uninsured driver :(

Special Circumstances

Gratsy wrote: »

To respond to the other guys post I would say that I too have first hand experience of reporting two accidents. I was involved in an accident almost identical to the one in my original post a few years ago. I suffered a neck injury that I continue to have problems with to this very day.

You or anyone else won't get much sympathy here I'm afraid.
Opinion varies along a spectrum between "whiplash doesn't exist, you scummy scammer" to "€600 MAX total payout should be sufficient for a rear ender".

The idea that a 1600kg car could be shunted forward, boot crumpled, and that none of this energy would find its way to the not so robust inverted pendulum mechanism of the skull on top of the cervical spine is pretty typical of most people's understanding of physics before having been rear ended themselves.

OldmanMondeo

Jayop wrote: »

Do most insurance claims start with a call from a claimant to the guilty party's insurance?

I have an ongoing claim against someone who hit me, I reported to both my insurance and his, I was given a reference number from each. I have spent more time talking to their insurance than my own.

Gratsy

utmbuilder wrote: »

Uninsured drivers to valid disks has really gotten out of control. The insurance companys thought increasing the prices so high would get them out of their hole but I reckon they will have even bigger short falls from the amount of people not buying insurance.

terrible really, hope your ok maybe your insurance will cover you as some do if hit by uninsured drivers.

My own insurer said I could claim from my own policy and go through mibi. I would still have to pay an excess and even if there was no excess, I wouldn't want the history of a claim even though my NCD would not be affected. They said being hit by uninsured driver will not hit the NCD. I know some will say that that is why we have insurance but I also know insurance companies are businesses and will hike a premium for any reason and for no reason. The lady was very nice though and closed the claim so it would not mess with my renewal. She said I could reopen it if I wanted to.

Jayop wrote: »

I'm in no way calling the you out here but I am amazed an insurance company told you a policy belonging to someone else was cancelled on the phone. I used to work in the motor trade and the vast majority of companies would give no info about a policy without verification that it was with the policy holders consent.

I had a policy number and all the other details so they had to tell me that there was no valid policy in place. As I understand it, the easiest way to claim is directly through the other persons policy. I was just preparing myself as I was expecting the other driver not to pay at that stage. I was though very surprised that they gave me the date and reason of cancellation (non payment).

sunnysoutheast

Gratsy wrote: »

My own insurer said I could claim from my own policy and go through mibi. I would still have to pay an excess and even if there was no excess, I wouldn't want the history of a claim even though my NCD would not be affected. They said being hit by uninsured driver will not hit the NCD. I know some will say that that is why we have insurance but I also know insurance companies are businesses and will hike a premium for any reason and for no reason. The lady was very nice though and closed the claim so it would not mess with my renewal. She said I could reopen it if I wanted to.



I had a policy number and all the other details so they had to tell me that there was no valid policy in place. As I understand it, the easiest way to claim is directly through the other persons policy. I was just preparing myself as I was expecting the other driver not to pay at that stage. I was though very surprised that they gave me the date and reason of cancellation (non payment).

I'd ask them specifically if the MIBI "protocol" for fully comp. ensures that the renewal premium won't go up as well as ensuring that your NCD is protected, unless anyone on the thread knows?

A friend has had endless trouble over the last couple of years with a claim against an uninsured, unlicensed driver who caused an accident and then tried to make a spurious claim against her. Still not resolved over two years later.

Having said that, unless you can sue the other driver directly, I'm not sure you have much choice.

Gratsy

I stopped into the station yesterday and the original Gard I made the report to greeted me at the counter. I told him I had extra details and wanted to get an incident report number. He asked who I made the report to

Anyway, it was apparently clear that the incident had not been logged by the Gard, which I was a bit annoyed about, but there was no point in losing the cool. I just let it slip and said I wanted it followed up on, incase I decided to claim. He said the insurance company have to ask for an incident report, so I asked for a pulse number instead. He took the details and said he would call with a pulse ID the next afternoon. I rang the station to check up on it and a few hours later, I got a call with the pulse number.

Now, I have no plans to make a claim but I do want the other driver to get his slap on the wrist. Is there anything else that could be, or should be done on my end, short of going to see a solicitor? Or is it now all in the hands of the Gardai? I paid a very high insurance premium this morning and it is largely thanks to wasters like that. Up about 35% from last year which was a hike of about 30% on the previous year.

Jesus.

Sorry Gratsy like I said before I think you handled this one very badly and its biting you in the ass now. No offence intended.

h2005

Jesus. wrote: »

Sorry Gratsy like I said before I think you handled this one very badly and its biting you in the ass now. No offence intended.

Then why bother to repeat it?

Arcade_Tryer

Horrible situation.

Tail-gating is becoming worse and worse on our roads too. I hit the hazard lights today for the first time in my life on a national 100km/hr route on the way to work. And to be fair the guy behind me pulled back a bit. There was a line of traffic in front of me doing about 85km/hr which I was staying a safe distance back from , and then there was the guy tail-gating me who was also being tail-gated by a jeep. This was around bends and roads which cyclists and tractors use at all times of the day too.

Tail-gating and not using indicators should be penalty point offences.

shietpilot

In general I find drivers are too close to the drivers in front during heavy traffic on motorways / national roads. It makes merging onto the motorway / national road pretty hard because you have to wait for someone to open up some space. You won't save any time driving up people's bums and it just makes it more stressful and requires more concentration.

Arcade_Tryer

shietpilot wrote: »

In general I find drivers are too close to the drivers in front during heavy traffic on motorways / national roads. It makes merging onto the motorway / national road pretty hard because you have to wait for someone to open up some space. You won't save any time driving up people's bums and it just makes it more stressful and requires more concentration.

Exactly. And can also escalate a minor incident by causing a domino effect.

I admit I used to tail-gate myself. And I was a bad driver. (Obviously I thought I was great). But when you've been on the road long enough and seen what can happen, or even just have any semblance of sense, not to mention insurance claims and disputes, it really hits home just how dangerous tail-gating can be. Such unbelievably stupid and dangerous behaviour.

Jesus.

Arcade_Tryer wrote: »

I admit I used to tail-gate myself. And I was a bad driver.

I use'nt know how to merge properly until I joined this Site. When I'd go down a ramp I didn't speed up and instead waited for a gap....which was stupid. I now know you've to speed up sharpish, match the Motorway speed and join seamlessly if possible. Don't know how I didn't know that. Perhaps its something to do with not having any questions or driving test relating to Motorways or something. I don't know.

artanevilla

Arcade_Tryer wrote: »

Horrible situation.

Tail-gating is becoming worse and worse on our roads too. I hit the hazard lights today for the first time in my life on a national 100km/hr route on the way to work. And to be fair the guy behind me pulled back a bit. There was a line of traffic in front of me doing about 85km/hr which I was staying a safe distance back from , and then there was the guy tail-gating me who was also being tail-gated by a jeep. This was around bends and roads which cyclists and tractors use at all times of the day too.

Tail-gating and not using indicators should be penalty point offences.

They are offenses. 3 points for tail gating and not using indicators would fall under driving without reasonable consideration, 2 points.

Arcade_Tryer

Jesus. wrote: »

I use'nt know how to merge properly until I joined this Site. When I'd go down a ramp I didn't speed up and instead waited for a gap....which was stupid. I now know you've to speed up sharpish, match the Motorway speed and join seamlessly if possible. Don't know how I didn't know that. Perhaps its something to do with not having any questions or driving test relating to Motorways or something. I don't know.

That might be the reason. I only knew how to merge because my father would allow me to drive on the motorway while still a learner. At serious speeds too. It made me a very confident driver to be fair. Probably too confident. Though he did always stress to stay well back from the car in front on motorways, I didn't always carry that advice through to national and regional roads. Some English writer said once that when driving in Ireland, around every corner or bend, you have to expect to see an old woman standing on the middle of the road sipping a pint of Guinness. And it's true.

Lantus

Just let me clarify this. If I am involved in an accident and its my fault then all I have to do to avoid any claim is to cancel my insurance there and then? Presumably I can then start another policy with someone else and still be claim free?

Surely the cancelled policy would still be valid because the claim predates the cancellation?

Seems like an awfully easy loophole.

artanevilla

Lantus wrote: »

Just let me clarify this. If I am involved in an accident and its my fault then all I have to do to avoid any claim is to cancel my insurance there and then? Presumably I can then start another policy with someone else and still be claim free?

Surely the cancelled policy would still be valid because the claim predates the cancellation?

Seems like an awfully easy loophole.

No, you were insured at the time of the accident. Doesn't matter about the time of the claim.

goz83

Jesus. wrote: »

Sorry Gratsy like I said before I think you handled this one very badly and its biting you in the ass now. No offence intended.

Are you even reading the thread? What did the OP do wrong? No injuries = don't waste your energy phoning the gardai unless you want to wait a few hours. He/she also said there was no plan to claim AND has chased the gardai to make sure the uninsured driver is reported and a record is made. I don't see how this is biting the op in the ass. Maybe he/she should have fallen out of the car, called the armed response unit, the medical chopper and a judge and jury. I don't think your comments are useful to anyone and they are also wrong.

Correct me if I am wrong, but now that there is a pulse id with the uninsured drivers details, won't this show up on the system when his name is searched by the gardai, even if they do nothing now?

CramCycle

Gratsy wrote: »

I believe I went about it the right way. If everyone called the cops for every RTA, there would not be enough cops to go around. You are not supposed to call them unless there is an injury, or if there is a suspicion of drink driving.It's a complete waste of their time to call them out to every little bump.

There was reasonable grounds he was stoned. It's no different then you letting someone with a bang of booze off the hook.
I feel bad but you did handle that terribly.

The Bishop Basher

Gratsy wrote: »

If everyone called the cops for every RTA, there would not be enough cops to go around. You are not supposed to call them unless there is an injury, or if there is a suspicion of drink driving.It's a complete waste of their time to call them out to every little bump.

I used to think that too...

Till I was hit by an uninsured driver...

All his details looked normal, he was friendly and apologetic, we both agreed at the time that we didn't need the cops.

2 days later my mechanic called me to say the chassis was bent. Only then, when I chased up his details, did I start running into brick walls regarding his insurance.

I called the cops then but it was too late. They kind of chased it up but were ultimately incompetent and the guy walked away scot free while I had to pick up the bill.

Did a theory test recently for my motorbike permit and noticed it in there too that we shouldn't call the guards to an accident unless someone is hurt.

**** that.. Once bitten, twice shy..

I would call them out now for ANY incident involving ANY damage to my property.

Doesn't mean they'll be competent enough to sort it but at least i'll have them involved from the outset and i assume attending scene means they have to fill out reports etc so it'll be on pulse.

9935452

Swanner wrote: »

I used to think that too...

Till I was hit by an uninsured driver...

All his details looked normal, he was friendly and apologetic, we both agreed at the time that we didn't need the cops.

2 days later my mechanic called me to say the chassis was bent. Only then, when I chased up his details, did I start running into brick walls regarding his insurance.

I called the cops then but it was too late. They kind of chased it up but were ultimately incompetent and the guy walked away scot free while I had to pick up the bill.

Did a theory test recently for my motorbike permit and noticed it in there too that we shouldn't call the guards to an accident unless someone is hurt.

**** that.. Once bitten, twice shy..

I would call them out now for ANY incident involving ANY damage to my property.

Doesn't mean they'll be competent enough to sort it but at least i'll have them involved from the outset and i assume attending scene means they have to fill out reports etc so it'll be on pulse.

Id have the same opinion. Any accident involving more than one party and they will get called.

People will say only call them if there is any injurys,
Thats not logical. If there are injurys you ring an ambulance,
Also if you are involved in an accident , both partys could be in shock and this might hide injurys as adrenaline would be pumping, so it might be a good idea for them to attend as they might spot the signs.

We are being told not to ring the guards but several close friends and a member of the family are guards and say straight out ring the guards when there is an accident.
A friend is a retired guard and now an insurance ascessor . He says always ring the guards.
As the above friends also say, isnt that part of the reason you pay your taxes.

dr.fuzzenstein

Gratsy wrote: »

I stopped into the station yesterday and the original Gard I made the report to greeted me at the counter. I told him I had extra details and wanted to get an incident report number. He asked who I made the report to

Anyway, it was apparently clear that the incident had not been logged by the Gard, which I was a bit annoyed about, but there was no point in losing the cool. I just let it slip and said I wanted it followed up on, incase I decided to claim. He said the insurance company have to ask for an incident report, so I asked for a pulse number instead. He took the details and said he would call with a pulse ID the next afternoon. I rang the station to check up on it and a few hours later, I got a call with the pulse number.

Now, I have no plans to make a claim but I do want the other driver to get his slap on the wrist. Is there anything else that could be, or should be done on my end, short of going to see a solicitor? Or is it now all in the hands of the Gardai? I paid a very high insurance premium this morning and it is largely thanks to wasters like that. Up about 35% from last year which was a hike of about 30% on the previous year.

This has been the image in my head throughout this thread:



Just confirms what I always suspected. The Gardai couldn't catch a cold.

goz83

But what if the other person doesn't want to hang around for the nearest Garda to finish his Burger King, take a nap and then saunter on down to the accident? Not trying to be funny here, but they can take a huge amount of time to arrive to the scene and I know myself that if I had caused damage to the OP car, I would make sure all details were swapped over and that would be it, I would be on my way. If he tried to hold me against my will for the Garda to arrive to an accident with no injuries, well then he might find the Garda is coming to help patch busted lip. If there is an injury, fine. If not, here's my info, check them if you like on the phone with my insurer. After that, it's sorry for the inconvenience and goodbye. False imprisonment or attempting same would lead to bigger problems and the OP had no lawful right to detain the other driver even if he wanted to wait for the Garda.

CramCycle

goz83 wrote: »

I know myself that if I had caused damage to the OP car, I would make sure all details were swapped over and that would be it, I would be on my way.

You would be leaving the scene of an accident AFAIK no need to restrain you, your breaking the law. If I was the PO I would then re ring the gardai and telling them that you wouldn't wait and f'd off.

If he tried to hold me against my will for the Garda to arrive to an accident with no injuries, well then he might find the Garda is coming to help patch busted lip.

Who mentioned violence?

If there is an injury, fine. If not, here's my info, check them if you like on the phone with my insurer. After that, it's sorry for the inconvenience and goodbye. False imprisonment or attempting same would lead to bigger problems and the OP had no lawful right to detain the other driver even if he wanted to wait for the Garda.

And no one said he should have done so

topmanamillion

goz83 wrote: »

But what if the other person doesn't want to hang around for the nearest Garda to finish his Burger King, take a nap and then saunter on down to the accident? Not trying to be funny here, but they can take a huge amount of time to arrive to the scene and I know myself that if I had caused damage to the OP car, I would make sure all details were swapped over and that would be it, I would be on my way. If he tried to hold me against my will for the Garda to arrive to an accident with no injuries, well then he might find the Garda is coming to help patch busted lip. If there is an injury, fine. If not, here's my info, check them if you like on the phone with my insurer. After that, it's sorry for the inconvenience and goodbye. False imprisonment or attempting same would lead to bigger problems and the OP had no lawful right to detain the other driver even if he wanted to wait for the Garda.

Why do these threads always descend into anarchy?

You're talking about being violent there if someone politely said "look we're going to need to wait for the Guards, I'm as sickened as you and this is the last thing I want to happen but I want this done properly".
No one has said anything about false imprisonment or any of your other nonsensical ramblings, which have nothing to do with the situation as outlined.

The OP clearly should have went to their car and rang the guards, said to them they were involved in a motor accident and they have a suspicion that the other driver is under the influence of a substance.

That's hindsight though and I can understand the OP wanting an easy life.

Jesus.

goz83 wrote: »

Are you even reading the thread?

Yes I have done but Gratsy keeps coming back and bumping it up as if she's looking for sympathy. It was made plain to the girl that she can't do any more about it. The Cops weren't called so there's nothing they can do regarding her incident. All she can do is go through MIBI and put it down to experience. No matter how many times she tells us she's gone back to the Cops it won't make one jot of difference. I thought after the guy on page two posted she'd realise that and just get on with it.

(No offence to Gratsy btw)

Gratsy

Jesus. wrote: »

Yes I have done but Gratsy keeps coming back and bumping it up as if she's looking for sympathy. It was made plain to the girl that she can't do any more about it. The Cops weren't called so there's nothing they can do regarding her incident. All she can do is go through MIBI and put it down to experience. No matter how many times she tells us she's gone back to the Cops it won't make one jot of difference. I thought after the guy on page two posted she'd realise that and just get on with it.

(No offence to Gratsy btw)

Jesus you have said "no offense" enough times to know that your posts are likely to cause offense. Have you considered your style of writing? It does appear to be a pattern in other threads with you and so I wont take any offense. How you have managed to assume I am a woman is more mind boggling. No reference was made about my sexuality anywhere.

I informed my solicitor about the incident because I have had a long ongoing case with serious injury and I mentioned what was suggested here. I have been told that I would have had no right to attempt to keep the other driver there and to do so would have been potentially dangerous and could have left me in trouble. The best I could have done was ring the gardai if i did want to attend the scene but there being no injury they would have most likely asked me to come and report it to the station. Of course i did that anyway.

goz83

CramCycle wrote: »

You would be leaving the scene of an accident AFAIK no need to restrain you, your breaking the law. If I was the PO I would then re ring the gardai and telling them that you wouldn't wait and f'd off.

The law doesn't require me to stay at the scene of an accident if details have been exchanged and there have been no injuries. Happens every day, several times a day. Calling the gardai after that would only leave them laughing at you after they hang up the phone. The gardai just dont give a damn. If they're super bored, have nithing to do and are passing by anyway and want to stretch their legs, they might get out and take down a few notes, or draw a cartoon while youndescribe the accident. Call me cynical, but i've witnessed this personally a few times. Obviously not the cartoon stuff, but you get my meaning.

CramCycle wrote: »

Who mentioned violence?

I did. If there is an accident and there are no injuries and all particulars have been exchanged, I wouldn't be waiting around for the never never. You can politely ask me to wait and I will politely reply that it isn't necessary, referring to contact and insurance details having changed hands and photos taken. Preventing me from leaving is false imprisonment (reference...joan burton ) and I wouldn't take kindly to that.

CramCycle wrote: »

And no one said he should have done so

Looked a bit different to me. A couple of people said the OP had made a balls of it. I reckon a call to the gardai would have been the thing to do with the whole drugs thing but I also doubt they would have made an appearance and I doubt the other driver would have been willing to hang around if he was stinking of weed. So the choice would have been to try to stop the other driver from leaving or to do what the OP did. I can't imagine anyone under the influence of drugs wanting to hang around for the gardai. What others call making a balls of things, I call being smart. A scumbag on drugs, with no tax or insurance could just as easily be carrying a knife or gun. Innocent people have been left for dead for less.

CramCycle

goz83 wrote: »

The law doesn't require me to stay at the scene of an accident if details have been exchanged and there have been no injuries. Happens every day, several times a day. Calling the gardai after that would only leave them laughing at you after they hang up the phone. The gardai just dont give a damn. If they're super bored, have nithing to do and are passing by anyway and want to stretch their legs, they might get out and take down a few notes, or draw a cartoon while youndescribe the accident. Call me cynical, but i've witnessed this personally a few times. Obviously not the cartoon stuff, but you get my meaning.

In this scenario though, they would have had reason to call down, suspected driving under the influence. All they really do is take a statement but it also means you can't have someone change their in a few days later and say it never happened. Statements given at the scene are not worth much but they do act as an acknowledgement that an incident took place, even if the other party changes their story later. If the gardai tell you to exchange details, grand, but again, at least it is reported. You can even give over the policy number and other details over the phone or call in later with the details. It will be one of the first things an insurance company will ask for when opening a claim.

I did. If there is an accident and there are no injuries and all particulars have been exchanged, I wouldn't be waiting around for the never never. You can politely ask me to wait and I will politely reply that it isn't necessary, referring to contact and insurance details having changed hands and photos taken. Preventing me from leaving is false imprisonment (reference...joan burton ) and I wouldn't take kindly to that.

And yet again no one said you should be restrained, not sure why you keep bringing that up? If the gardai say they will be down in a few minutes, would you still leave?

Looked a bit different to me. A couple of people said the OP had made a balls of it. I reckon a call to the gardai would have been the thing to do with the whole drugs thing but I also doubt they would have made an appearance and I doubt the other driver would have been willing to hang around if he was stinking of weed. So the choice would have been to try to stop the other driver from leaving or to do what the OP did. I can't imagine anyone under the influence of drugs wanting to hang around for the gardai. What others call making a balls of things, I call being smart. A scumbag on drugs, with no tax or insurance could just as easily be carrying a knife or gun. Innocent people have been left for dead for less.

Again, no one said restraint, just call the local station, I imagine often the garda says they are too busy but to come down and make a statement, just to have it on record. At least you have ticked the boxes. I have been told that this is the way to go by Gardai, by legal and by people who have been through it.

I was knocked down once and done as the OP, when the driver heard how much my laptop I was carrying was to repair, they told me to F off, I was in the wrong. The gardai had no interest as I had not reported it at the time.

Luckily, the driver had admitted it happened via e-mail and a taxi pulled up behind and left me there number.

If the taxi had not pulled in or the driver had not responded to me, I would have had nothing, no MIBI, no nothing.

At least if I had called the gardai at the time, there would have been a record and I would not have looked like a chancer.

Lantus

Surely the op can still make a valid claim on the insurance as it occurred before before policy was cancelled?

goz83

CramCycle wrote: »

In this scenario though, they would have had reason to call down, suspected driving under the influence. All they really do is take a statement but it also means you can't have someone change their in a few days later and say it never happened. Statements given at the scene are not worth much but they do act as an acknowledgement that an incident took place, even if the other party changes their story later. If the gardai tell you to exchange details, grand, but again, at least it is reported. You can even give over the policy number and other details over the phone or call in later with the details. It will be one of the first things an insurance company will ask for when opening a claim.

I am in agreement with you on this point. Seems like the OP was in no state to hang around though. I would equate waiting on the gardai at a minor rta as the same as waiting in A&E with a tummy ache. You're going to be waiting a long time.

CramCycle wrote: »

And yet again no one said you should be restrained, not sure why you keep bringing that up? If the gardai say they will be down in a few minutes, would you still leave?

I was escalating potential events if someone tried to prevent me from leaving. This is why I mentioned it. Preventing someone from leaving starts with first asking and could end with physical restraint, or violence. I would respond in kind with reasonable force if I were prevented from leaving after I had followed my legal obligations.

CramCycle wrote: »

Again, no one said restraint, just call the local station, I imagine often the garda says they are too busy but to come down and make a statement, just to have it on record. At least you have ticked the boxes. I have been told that this is the way to go by Gardai, by legal and by people who have been through it.

What boxes? This is some imaginary list you have created in your head. All you are required to do, is exchange details and the accident can be reported later. No need for phone calls at the scene unless someone is injured, or other assistance is needed. Check out the legal forum. I asked over there to be sure of what I suspected. Furthermore, it appears that you don't even have to stay if there is an injury, as long as all details are exchanged. However, I would stay if there an injury, unless it was something so minor that it wasn't worth noting.....a grazed elbow for example.

CramCycle wrote: »

I was knocked down once and done as the OP, when the driver heard how much my laptop I was carrying was to repair, they told me to F off, I was in the wrong. The gardai had no interest as I had not reported it at the time.

Luckily, the driver had admitted it happened via e-mail and a taxi pulled up behind and left me there number.

If the taxi had not pulled in or the driver had not responded to me, I would have had nothing, no MIBI, no nothing.

At least if I had called the gardai at the time, there would have been a record and I would not have looked like a chancer.

The op mentioned that he/she had established proof that the other driver had caused the accident. Once this can be done, no need to involve the gardai at the scene.

Lantus wrote: »

Surely the op can still make a valid claim on the insurance as it occurred before before policy was cancelled?

Without reading back over the thread i recall that the op said there was no insurance in place.

People complain about other people claiming and this raising premiums. Then uninsured drivers are pretty much ignored. Something needs to be done about this. It is ridiculous that they are getting away with it while the rest of are slapped with stupid high insurance.

endagibson

goz83 wrote: »

he might find the Garda is coming to help patch busted lip.

Calm down, Rambo and step away from the keyboard. :rolleyes: