Bumper bashing

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20167 posts

Uber Geek

#1268585 26-Mar-2015 19:20

scuwp: You only have to report crashes to Police where there has been a injury or where there has been damage to property and you cannot find the owner.

Breach or not of licence conditions is irrelevant to the circumstances. The following car is obligated to stop within the length of lane visible on a marked road (so stop short of the vehicle in front) or within 1/2 the visible distance on an unlaned road. It doesn't matter why the car in front stopped.

Don't hand over a cent, it's not your daughters fault at all. 100% on the following car.

IANAL, but usually insurance companies will also require it is reported to the police if there is any form of damage. If I was in this situation, I think I would report it to the police, just so it is on record, incase insurance companies get involved.

mdooher

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#1268587 26-Mar-2015 19:23

rb99: Hmm, thanks very much guys, sounds like the best bet is to notify insurance but not police. No one could say we were trying to hide anything I guess.

Since I asked this daughter has arrived home (she was 70km away at the time) and.....

- the damage is indeed very minor

- now not quite so sure if they were trying to blame my daughter and expecting her to pay, seems to depend on the exact wording of things that were said. Will see what develops....

Just remember they will put the accident on her insurance record, her fault or not she has shown she is more likely to be involved in an accident.

not that big a deal not fair ...but still

Matthew

Jase2985

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#1268588 26-Mar-2015 19:26

http://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publication/community-roadwatch-form

fill in one of those, wont amount to much but it is at least something

mdooher

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#1268589 26-Mar-2015 19:27

mattwnz:
scuwp: You only have to report crashes to Police where there has been a injury or where there has been damage to property and you cannot find the owner.

Breach or not of licence conditions is irrelevant to the circumstances. The following car is obligated to stop within the length of lane visible on a marked road (so stop short of the vehicle in front) or within 1/2 the visible distance on an unlaned road. It doesn't matter why the car in front stopped.

Don't hand over a cent, it's not your daughters fault at all. 100% on the following car.

IANAL, but usually insurance companies will also require it is reported to the police if there is any form of damage. If I was in this situation, I think I would report it to the police, just so it is on record, incase insurance companies get involved.

no they won't, the cops get very pissed off with that sort of rubbish from the insurance companies. insurance companies only care if there is some sort of criminal offending involved or if you lose something that may turn up in the lost property bin (they will claim it)

Matthew

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#1268609 26-Mar-2015 19:35

I wouldn't lodge it with insurence if you are not planning on doing anything with it. They will just put it on their record and that's not good. Other car was at fault 100%. Did your daughter take pictures or assess the damage of the other car? How much more severe? Just paint transfer or caved in front end?

Very interested to see how this develops. Keep us posted!

richms

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#1268620 26-Mar-2015 20:08

The damage may look minor to you now, but the bumper might be totally mangled under the cover, it may have torn the mounts etc as well. Just because the plastic bumper cover looks intact and popped back to its shape doesnt make all well. For the other car to have signifigant damage then yours probably does too.

Get a call to your insurance, get it into a panelbeater to get looked at, then you know where you stand with it being damaged.

Richard rich.ms

JWR

821 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1268807 27-Mar-2015 08:38

mattwnz:
scuwp: You only have to report crashes to Police where there has been a injury or where there has been damage to property and you cannot find the owner.

Breach or not of licence conditions is irrelevant to the circumstances. The following car is obligated to stop within the length of lane visible on a marked road (so stop short of the vehicle in front) or within 1/2 the visible distance on an unlaned road. It doesn't matter why the car in front stopped.

Don't hand over a cent, it's not your daughters fault at all. 100% on the following car.

IANAL, but usually insurance companies will also require it is reported to the police if there is any form of damage. If I was in this situation, I think I would report it to the police, just so it is on record, incase insurance companies get involved.

I don't agree.

In my experience, insurance companies will NOT force you to report the crash to the Police.

I think you my be confusing things like burglary, where criminal law has been clearly broken. In that case they will almost certainly ask you to report a burglary to Police.

A non-injury crash does not fall into this category.

Sharesies

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JWR

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Ultimate Geek

#1268810 27-Mar-2015 08:41

DravidDavid: I wouldn't lodge it with insurence if you are not planning on doing anything with it. They will just put it on their record and that's not good. Other car was at fault 100%. Did your daughter take pictures or assess the damage of the other car? How much more severe? Just paint transfer or caved in front end?

Very interested to see how this develops. Keep us posted!

Personally, I would report it to the insurance company.

It is clearly the other person's fault. No way it can reflect back on his daughter.

Insurance companies don't like surprises. It is best to make them aware of all the details in case the other party involves them.

rb99

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#1268846 27-Mar-2015 09:35

Ok, so just had a perfectly pleasant conversation with BNZ / IAG about the great bumper bashing of 2015. Perfectly happy no note details. Suggested, but didn't require, checking car out at panel beater.
Also said if they don't hear from other people but we do claim then we'd have to pay the excess, which I guess is pretty standard. So unless panel beater finds anything really major on a 20 year old car worth $4000 with a likely excess of $1500, hopefully that'll be pretty much it (hope I'm not speaking too soon).

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

bazzer

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#1268874 27-Mar-2015 10:10

mdooher:
rb99: Hmm, thanks very much guys, sounds like the best bet is to notify insurance but not police. No one could say we were trying to hide anything I guess.

Since I asked this daughter has arrived home (she was 70km away at the time) and.....

- the damage is indeed very minor

- now not quite so sure if they were trying to blame my daughter and expecting her to pay, seems to depend on the exact wording of things that were said. Will see what develops....

Just remember they will put the accident on her insurance record, her fault or not she has shown she is more likely to be involved in an accident.

not that big a deal not fair ...but still

Rubbish. I'm not saying they won't keep it on record, or that the insurance company won't use that information for future pricing decisions, but she is no more likely to be involved in an accident. Even if this were the case, she has only shown that she is more likely to be involved in accidents that are not her fault (i.e. not the insurance company's liability).

meesham

973 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1268916 27-Mar-2015 10:57

I was in a similar situation last night. I was sitting at the traffic lights and heard a crunch, then another, then saw the car behind coming towards me and they went into the back of me. The police (and ambulance) attended and the police said that the first driver will be held responsible for damage to the other 3 cars as they were shunted into the ones in front of them, he failed to stop short. He's claiming he doesn't have any memory of it and it was a medical incident, however he wouldn't let the ambulance staff check him over so the officer attending was a little cynical about his story.

I'm fully insured and the first lady he hit was insured however the driver at fault and the car that went into me wasn't, so things could get interesting for those two. Apparently my insurer will chase him for the money and I should get my excess back, the guy who went into the back of me will have to go through civil court to get his money unless the driver does the right thing (but based on what I saw yesterday I doubt it).

bazzer

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#1268942 27-Mar-2015 11:29

meesham: I was in a similar situation last night. I was sitting at the traffic lights and heard a crunch, then another, then saw the car behind coming towards me and they went into the back of me. The police (and ambulance) attended and the police said that the first driver will be held responsible for damage to the other 3 cars as they were shunted into the ones in front of them, he failed to stop short. He's claiming he doesn't have any memory of it and it was a medical incident, however he wouldn't let the ambulance staff check him over so the officer attending was a little cynical about his story.

I'm fully insured and the first lady he hit was insured however the driver at fault and the car that went into me wasn't, so things could get interesting for those two. Apparently my insurer will chase him for the money and I should get my excess back, the guy who went into the back of me will have to go through civil court to get his money unless the driver does the right thing (but based on what I saw yesterday I doubt it).

If it really was a medical incident then I would expect the driver's licence to be taken off him (e.g. similar to what happens if you have an epileptic seizure). In any case, it doesn't change the fact that he's liable for the damage. Maybe the cops would feel lenient and not give him a ticket, but it wouldn't have a bearing on the insurance situation, I'd have thought.

Edit: Licence/license!

Journeyman

1187 posts

Uber Geek

#1269140 27-Mar-2015 16:57

rb99: glad its sorted. However, there is some really bizarre and poor advice in this thread which could steer people wrong in similar situations. The most useful advice is these two:

scuwp: You only have to report crashes to Police where there has been a injury or where there has been damage to property and you cannot find the owner.

Breach or not of licence conditions is irrelevant to the circumstances. The following car is obligated to stop within the length of lane visible on a marked road (so stop short of the vehicle in front) or within 1/2 the visible distance on an unlaned road. It doesn't matter why the car in front stopped.

Don't hand over a cent, it's not your daughters fault at all. 100% on the following car.

richms: The damage may look minor to you now, but the bumper might be totally mangled under the cover, it may have torn the mounts etc as well. Just because the plastic bumper cover looks intact and popped back to its shape doesnt make all well. For the other car to have signifigant damage then yours probably does too.

Get a call to your insurance, get it into a panelbeater to get looked at, then you know where you stand with it being damaged.

I've been in something of a similar situation. Rear-ended by someone not paying attention. Short version of the story - the mother of the fella who hit me wanted to settle for cash, which I wasn't keen on (been there, done that). There was a bit of a scuff and a crease on the bumper but what the panelbeater said was that you just can't tell what the full extent of damage is to a bumper without seeing what's underneath and looking at the supports (like richms said). In an impact, plastic bumpers just spring back out and can disguise what's happened underneath. I wasn't about to pay for a panelbeater to remove the bumper to make a full assessment so that this lady could decide whether she felt like paying up.

This is important - here's what you do: call the insurance company and tell them someone drove into your car and they'll arrange for someone to assess the damage. The insurance company will contact the person who is at fault and get the money from them.

That is what insurance companies do. You do not need to be at fault in order to involve the insurance company. You do not need to be making a claim to involve the insurance company.

In my 17-odd years of driving I've never been in an incident where I was at fault. But I have had numpties drive into me. I call the insurance people, they get my car fixed at no cost to myself and my premiums have never been increased as a result. It does not count against you to tell the insurance company that some dozy sod smacked your car. Always tell your insurance company unless you think you have something to hide.

And now, for your own amusement, a video of me being rear-ended. Unfortunately the camera is pointed the wrong way, but you get the idea. LANGUAGE WARNING.

bagheera

539 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1271526 28-Mar-2015 16:58

the other thing to remember - there a cluse in all insurance policy that say if you do not tell them about any crashes that you are involve in (and speeding tickets btw), and they find out about it later after bigger crash worth lots of $$$, they will use that info to voild your insuance policy with them and not pay for the big crash.

mattwnz

20167 posts

Uber Geek

#1271532 28-Mar-2015 17:12

Journeyman: rb99: glad its sorted. However, there is some really bizarre and poor advice in this thread which could steer people wrong in similar situations. The most useful advice is these two:

scuwp: You only have to report crashes to Police where there has been a injury or where there has been damage to property and you cannot find the owner.

Breach or not of licence conditions is irrelevant to the circumstances. The following car is obligated to stop within the length of lane visible on a marked road (so stop short of the vehicle in front) or within 1/2 the visible distance on an unlaned road. It doesn't matter why the car in front stopped.

Don't hand over a cent, it's not your daughters fault at all. 100% on the following car.

richms: The damage may look minor to you now, but the bumper might be totally mangled under the cover, it may have torn the mounts etc as well. Just because the plastic bumper cover looks intact and popped back to its shape doesnt make all well. For the other car to have signifigant damage then yours probably does too.

Get a call to your insurance, get it into a panelbeater to get looked at, then you know where you stand with it being damaged.

I've been in something of a similar situation. Rear-ended by someone not paying attention. Short version of the story - the mother of the fella who hit me wanted to settle for cash, which I wasn't keen on (been there, done that). There was a bit of a scuff and a crease on the bumper but what the panelbeater said was that you just can't tell what the full extent of damage is to a bumper without seeing what's underneath and looking at the supports (like richms said). In an impact, plastic bumpers just spring back out and can disguise what's happened underneath. I wasn't about to pay for a panelbeater to remove the bumper to make a full assessment so that this lady could decide whether she felt like paying up.

This is important - here's what you do: call the insurance company and tell them someone drove into your car and they'll arrange for someone to assess the damage. The insurance company will contact the person who is at fault and get the money from them.

That is what insurance companies do. You do not need to be at fault in order to involve the insurance company. You do not need to be making a claim to involve the insurance company.

In my 17-odd years of driving I've never been in an incident where I was at fault. But I have had numpties drive into me. I call the insurance people, they get my car fixed at no cost to myself and my premiums have never been increased as a result. It does not count against you to tell the insurance company that some dozy sod smacked your car. Always tell your insurance company unless you think you have something to hide.

And now, for your own amusement, a video of me being rear-ended. Unfortunately the camera is pointed the wrong way, but you get the idea. LANGUAGE WARNING.

I agree with all that, but when something like this happened to me, and another car damaged my vehicle, the first thing my insurer wanted was to get it reported to the police so it was on record, where you have to go to the police station to file a report. This all takes up time. I guess it may depend on your insurance company as to what they require, but as most of the brands are now owned by a handfull of parent companies, many companies will have very similar policies.

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