Car crash

Webmonkey

I'm so pissed right now. My car slided about 6 meters into another car along a wet oily road today. That car hit another car and the other car hit the car in front of that.
Fortuntally the car in front hadn't much damage and he headed away.
Gaurds came and gave all details to every body.
I am only on the road a few months with a new car, that i've taken a loan out to pay.
Its killing me right now, i rang the girl in front and she said that she's going to a guy to get it fixed, thats cheap and she will get quote for me, i can choose weather to pay privatly or insurance.
Other woman said don't worry and drove off but did take my name and address. She apparently was a nun. A really nice woman I must say.
I've heard from too sources that i am only responsible for the car in front me me and not the car's damaged as result to the chain reaction.

Now how it happened....We enter a 60km/h zone and i slowed down to the 60 mark and the other cars went ahead creating a gap. It was a junction and there was heavy traffic so i slowed down incase a car would like to get through, and as far as i remember a car did take the opportunity, that was fine but as it went past it blocked my view and it passed and suddenly i see a queue of cars ahead of me about 10 meters away so i slow down but no good breaks lock and what not, i even tried swerving out but the road was so slipy that the whole car just kept going straight into the back of the car in front.
My car is totally destroyed in front, right up to the wheels, but i believe its fixable.
The car in front's back bumper is dented badly but thats about all wrong with it. It looked wierd to see my car in such a state when the other car didn't look half as bad. Looked a lot better.

The great weather we had the past few days heated the tar on the road and then when it rained it got all oily and greasy. Honestly when i got out of the car i could barly stand, it was so slippy and the gaurd and everyone pointed that out aswell.


Anyways, just wanted to write this down, its driving me crazy Its going to cost me a fortune that i probably won't be able to afford.
The gaurds were there too but do you think they will go to insurance companies etc, or is it just the people themselve can chose wheather to claim? And am I resonsible for the other cars in front...
This probably should be in the motors forum, i dunno but its more to get it off my chest more than anything

Anyways thats my day, one horrible miss fortunate one.


EDIT: At least no one was injured - thats the main thing

drdre

yeah thank god no body is injured or even dead.

anyway i think the best way is to pay everyone you need to pay to fix the cars as if you through the insurance company its going to be on your records and its going to increase your insurance.as you are young thats bad as up to around 25 you will have a high premium quote.
so thats what i think anyway but good luck and hope its all sorted out as cheap as possible as i know its hard to believe what happened as it only takes 1 second and 100's of euro.but anyway thats life
good luck and please keep us updated.

Webmonkey

thanks.

I think if it has to go through insurance company i can forget about driving next year

cormie

Damn I sympathise with you. I hope I'm never in the same situation

I think you are only responsible for the car you hit too, they should have stopped within a reasonable distance of the car in front and I think this plays a part. Although there was a discussion in the motors forum and I think it went both ways. You may and probably should be, responsible for all cars. Not to be harsh, but if you were going well over the limit and there was an adequate gap between the two ahead it's hardly the fault of the first car you hit if the force is strong enough. That's not the case here though I'd imagine.

I'd steer clear of insurance companies as it will haunt you for the rest of your driving life. Extend that loan and pay it off that way.

You got off lightly, the nun had a case, she shouldn't have left the scene, but maybe her car was worthless and she saw you were distressed etc and she was in a hurry too. And nobody claimed whiplash :eek:

It's happened to me a few times, you just lapse concentration for one second be it a hot girl or whatever and you find yourself having to react quick with the breaks.

Sleepy

I had a similar accident years ago. Best policy for me at the time was to take out a bank loan to pay for it because the insurance companies will kill you otherwise.

You needn't worry about the Guards going to the insurance company. As far as they're concerned it's entirely a civil, rather than criminal, matter once everyone is insured and licenced.

All you can do is suck it up and learn from the mistake. It's harsh I know, but that's life and believe me, this will make you a better driver.

Webmonkey

thanks guys. This is helping me a lot. I appreciate it

Cucullan

Webmonkey wrote:

I've heard from too sources that i am only responsible for the car in front me me and not the car's damaged as result to the chain reaction.

I'd imagine your liable for all the cars damaged, I'm not 100% sure but if the 2nd and 3rd car aren't badly damaged you might be better off paying up rather than risking it in court which is what will happen. If you can pay them all without going through the insurance even if it meant a small loan you would be better off other wise your insurance company will load your policy and chances are you won't even be able to get another quote off a differant company for at least 3 years.

seamus

You're probably only responsible for the vehicle in front of you. There are certain circumstances where the "should have left a reasonable gap" rule doesn't apply*, but this doesn't sound like one of them.

The Gardai will not go to the insurance companies. The insurance companies will go to the Gardai if a claim is made. If you pay anybody off, you'll need them to sign a waiver to prevent from claiming in future for injuries, etc.

*Rear-ending someone at 100mph+, truck rear-ending someone, i.e. situations where no gap would make a difference.

Kernel

cormie wrote:

I think you are only responsible for the car you hit too, they should have stopped within a reasonable distance of the car in front and I think this plays a part.

Sadly not, you're responsible for all the cars. The person who causes the initial crash by ramming up someones arse is at fault, not the other people who were sitting there and had their cars pushed into someone elses. Bad luck dude, but you were lucky that it looks like it can be settled off the record and your insurance remains intact.

Riamfada

Heres a story for ya. I was going for a coffee in town a while back and parked on South William Street outside Miss fantasia. I got out and shut my door. Was staring at the "products" in the window when I hear an almighty bang. My Passenger had opened the door into oncoming traffic. Destroyed my door. Damaged her arm and cause 3500 euro damage to a jeep. And Im liable for the whole lot. What a crock of sh*te i must say. There goes my insurance in may.

The_Conductor

Was in a not dissimilar situation about 2 years ago- only it was 3 cars not 4 in my case. It went to insurance, and I figured that there was no point in paying for the damage on one car privately and another by insurance. The extremely minor damage on the furtherst away car (barely a dinge in the bumper of an old Ford Fiesta) along with my damage and that to the car immediately in front of me, were all judged to be economic write-offs
I was found to be 100% at fault for all the damage, irrespective of the mitigating factors.

As stated above- the Gardai just took everyone's details, and calmed folk down. Once they saw we were all taxed, insured and licensed, that was as much as they were interested in.

Very tough luck, it will take 5 years to clear your insurance record, if it goes to insurance, but that may be the path you have to thread.

Thankfully no-one was hurt- thats the main thing- the cost of the damage will hurt, but at least its only financial.....

Webmonkey

Grimes wrote:

Heres a story for ya. I was going for a coffee in town a while back and parked on South William Street outside Miss fantasia. I got out and shut my door. Was staring at the "products" in the window when I hear an almighty bang. My Passenger had opened the door into oncoming traffic. Destroyed my door. Damaged her arm and cause 3500 euro damage to a jeep. And Im liable for the whole lot. What a crock of sh*te i must say. There goes my insurance in may.

aw man your situation sounds worse. If its going to cost no more than 5k i will have to go with the insurance guys. I can't even afford the 5k but i'll have to do something to make it. Anyone here fix cars, how much would it cost to fix a back bumper. My car is the problem though as the whole front is gone

matheadug

stop moaning, your car didnt slide by itself, you were driving and you are responsible

Sparky

you are only responsible for the cars in front of you AFAIK

but taking out a loan and paying off the damages to the third party would be better, because you'll end up paying 75% more on your insurance or may not get insured again for a good while, and as pointed out above get an agreement signed and witnessed so that the third party cant claim off you.

I noticed how you said the nun said its ok, but just incase get her to sign an agreement aswell, (you got her details didnt you) because she may try to claim, they may seem nice but not untill they get home and ring up your insurance.

Riamfada

If you give me the make of cars. The damage done. And the Years of the cars Ill give you a fair estimate. With Insurance companies the claims often go through the roof. The bodyshop will know its an insurance job and try to make as much otta it as possible.

It also depends on wether the cars will be fixed to their original standard or if you want a pretty quick fix done

Kernel

Webmonkey wrote:

aw man your situation sounds worse. If its going to cost no more than 5k i will have to go with the insurance guys. I can't even afford the 5k but i'll have to do something to make it. Anyone here fix cars, how much would it cost to fix a back bumper. My car is the problem though as the whole front is gone

Well, it looks like you're only gonna get hit for the first car you hit? For a bumper it should cost less than a grand, easy. But what happens is that the person may get a lot of things fixed, the mechanic will give them a huge quote, they split the money 50 / 50 and you pay. You can request the person to go to an honest mechanic that you know, you are legally entitled to get another quote for the damage if you don't feel the initial one is fair.

Sparky

matheadug wrote:

stop moaning, your car didnt slide by itself, you were driving and you are responsible

Shutup, accidents happen

Cucullan

matheadug wrote:

stop moaning, your car didnt slide by itself, you were driving and you are responsible

Jesus lads I think Mister Perfect has arrived, hope it never happens to you someday NOT

Riamfada

matheadug wrote:

stop moaning, your car didnt slide by itself, you were driving and you are responsible

I love people with under two posts

Silverfish

Poor you.

I think you're only responsible for the damage to the car in front of you, because you should have maintained the braking distance.

The car in front of you did not maintain braking distance from the car in front of him, so it's his responsibility.

I know two people who've been in a similar collision ( one at the very front,one at the back) and they basically claimed off the person who hit them from behind, and so on right the way back.

Webmonkey

Ok Car in front of me was a 02 Toyota corolla. Had its back bumper pretty damaged, will probably need new one. Front bumper didn't look that bad but might need new one.

Second car had back bumper dented as well, might need new one, front of that car was fine, small smack into the other car but the other car hadn't a scratch so it went away.

My car is the big problem though. But estimate without my car first and then with.
My car had the whole front taken back to the tires, left lights gone, right lifts hanging loose. Grill totally gone, radiator smashed and leaking. Coolent came out under the car too. Break pedal doesn't work, won't press down. Whole electrical system working grand though, back from the wheel car seems pretty ok. Except my door doesn't seem to open very well.

Thanks

Kernel

Silverfish wrote:

Poor you.

I think you're only responsible for the damage to the car in front of you, because you should have maintained the braking distance.

The car in front of you did not maintain braking distance from the car in front of him, so it's his responsibility.

I know two people who've been in a similar collision ( one at the very front,one at the back) and they basically claimed off the person who hit them from behind, and so on right the way back.

No no no... read my earlier post. The person who crashes is responsible for all the cars. What happens is car (c) claims from car (b), who claims that from car (a), it goes back, and the person who caused the crash is responsible. If you are sitting at traffic lights and somone rams into the car behind you, which then trashes your car, is that the fault of the car behind? Nope.

Sparky

matheadug is going to be banned soon, he will live a short life because when im in a car accident ill make sure not to miss him

conical

Man, that's a seriously bad day, but you'll have better and you'll have worse.

Just curios, is it a Fiat you were driving? I've seen a punto being crunched while the other car comes off completely unscathed. Either way, hard luck

Kernel

Webmonkey wrote:

My car is the big problem though. But estimate without my car first and then with.
My car had the whole front taken back to the tires, left lights gone, right lifts hanging loose. Grill totally gone, radiator smashed and leaking. Coolent came out under the car too. Break pedal doesn't work, won't press down. Whole electrical system working grand though, back from the wheel car seems pretty ok. Except my door doesn't seem to open very well.

Thanks

Hmmm... sounds like your car is written off mate, and you probably have the front axles bent to bits, chassis may be knackered too. What kinda car were you driving?

Webmonkey

Yes i have to agree that it makes sense for me to be resonsible for all cars. Theres no way that i am going to leave the car in front of me pay for the damage, i'm not that kind. The woman knows me well anyways, well my family. I didn't know her though.

Webmonkey

Kernel wrote:

Hmmm... sounds like your car is written off mate, and you probably have the front axles bent to bits, chassis may be knackered too. What kinda car were you driving?

Rover 400. Lets not start the arguements of how rovers are crap cars though. They really nice car as a matter of a fact. I would do anything i coudl to have her back

matheadug

Cucullan wrote:

Jesus lads I think Mister Perfect has arrived, hope it never happens to you someday NOT

it wont, because im responsible, i dont cause a pile up and whinge on a bulletin board, he IS responsible, what if it was your brand new 05 car that got slammed by some kid who hops out and say's jaysus the road was slippy, not my fault, would you all be so considerate then hmmm

Webmonkey

matheadug wrote:

it wont, because im responsible, i dont cause a pile up and whinge on a bulletin board, he IS responsible, what if it was your brand new 05 car that got slammed by some kid who hops out and say's jaysus the road was slippy, not my fault, would you all be so considerate then hmmm

I am making it quite clear that i accept responsibilty. I am just curious thats all about wheather i'm responsible for all cars. Why don't you stop moaning about other peoples posts.

Riamfada

matheadug wrote:

it wont, because im responsible, i dont cause a pile up and whinge on a bulletin board, he IS responsible, what if it was your brand new 05 car that got slammed by some kid who hops out and say's jaysus the road was slippy, not my fault, would you all be so considerate then hmmm

Are you one of these knobs who who says that accidents dont happen? Obviously Im worshiping the wrong messiah. Mr Perfecto. Human Decency? I know how you feel? Has happened to the best of us. I can assure you Mr responsible that one day you WILL be the cause of an accident. And then when your scr*wed you will turn to somone for advice.

Sparky

matheadug wrote:

it wont, because im responsible, i dont cause a pile up and whinge on a bulletin board, he IS responsible, what if it was your brand new 05 car that got slammed by some kid who hops out and say's jaysus the road was slippy, not my fault, would you all be so considerate then hmmm

And noobs like you should fcuk off, hope you like prison soon, the person had an accident, if everybody was so perfect in driving we would'nt need insurance, but im sure since your sooo perfect you dont have insurance and like to brake the law just like here on boards like having mutiple accounts, do ya hear me moondogcat yeah?