It's exactly eleven months to the day since I had to make a claim on my car insurance, and all because someone decided to vandalise it. My first claim ever. Yesterday was my second claim, again not my fault, but this time the damage is a lot worse.
I parked as usual on a wide straight road, no restrictions, and walked the few minutes into town. Found a bag I wanted in a charity shop for £1. Found a pair of heavy curtains for £3, also in a charity shop, these will make some great shopping bags. Then I went in the library and borrowed three books. Walking back to my car, this was the sight that greeted me.
Sickening isn't it? And this is the car which caused the damage.
I found a taxi driver getting his car recovered. No one had called the police so I said I want the police in attendance, and the recovery driver organised it. There was absolutely no reason for him to slam into the back of my car, pushing it into the one parked in front of me, damaging that one as well. All he could say was his windscreen misted up and he was trying to clear it. I'm afraid I lost my rag a bit and a few choice words slipped out, only natural in the circumstances. For a moment I was into trucker mode, and all signs of the demure little pensioner flew out of the window, ha ha. My God, it does you good to let rip sometimes. Anyway, I didn't sleep much last night, my lovely Ford Focus diesel estate, carefully chosen by me, is now in the garage awaiting assessment. The insurance company are on the ball and think it will be repaired, but they haven't seen it close up. The recovery driver warned that I might not see it again. We shall see what happens.
The lady who owns the car which was parked in front of me, turned up ten minutes after I did, she was also gobsmacked, to see the back end of her car caved in. When I left to come home with the RAC man, she was still waiting for her recovery vehicle to turn up.
Well, the wheels are in motion (not mine of course), to get me a hire car which I am assured will be delivered at 1.30pm. It is all out of my hands now, I will either get the car back repaired, or a cheque in the post. We shall see.
Sorry to hear you've got trouble. Hope there is a good result.
ReplyDeleteBlimey, thats some damage!Was the offending driver breathalized....
ReplyDeleteGoodness Ilona! :( I hope the police did turn up? That must have been some wallop! I am sorry, and do hope your hire car has turned up by the time you read this.
ReplyDeleteGood for you telling the bloke off! It's less than he deserved by the looks of things!
Take care, and I hope you hear from the insurance company soon.
Kind regards,
Donna x
Oh my God! This must really have shaken you up, Ilona. Thank God nobody was injured by this careless man. I'm sorry you may lose your car but the insurance will definitely cover the cost of a new one should your beloved Ford Focus be laid to rust! :( And you'll have a brand new car so this could be the start of a beautiful new friendship. Best wishes and cyberhugs for support and recovery of your nerves.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness how awful for you and poor little car, Despite it being an inaminate object one gets to love a car. I love my little green Fabia to bist and would be distraught if anything happened to her.
ReplyDeleteI hope she can be repaired....(((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))
Hi, Ilona, yes, well, we all know that the laws that apply to the rest of us don`t apply to taxi drivers - at least, not in my experience! I would be heartbroken, and I think the other driver got off lightly, no matter what words you used. Good luck to you, whatever the insurance company decides.
ReplyDeleteI would also have been furious, he shouldn't be driving at all if he cannot see a car parked in broad daylight, hope it gets sorted quickly without hassle.
ReplyDeleteI am not a lawyer, but...
ReplyDeleteThe driver of a vehicle is obliged to ensure that they can see clearly through the windscreen.
The taxi driver has admitted that he hadn't done that.
Attempting to clean the windscreen whilst driving could constitute driving without due care and attention.
Taxi drivers are notorious for "multi tasking" when they should be concentrating on simply controlling the vehicle. I could speculate that he may have been distracted by speaking to his controller, or even using a mobile 'phone. The claim about the windscreen misting up may be a distraction from a more serious offence.
Getting photos of the damage to the taxi was a good move. The visible damage could help to determine the impact speed.
Did you notice whether the taxi air-bags had deployed? This can also provide an indication of the energy of the collision.
It's bloody distressing when something like this happens, but at least you weren't sitting in the car when it happened. Whiplash injuries are no fun at all.
Good Luck.
Cyberkim, multi tasking, that was my thoughts. He had dropped a passenger off a few minutes before, so there was a good chance he was getting his next job via a phone or radio. He had only started the job a few days ago, so he might not have been familiar with how all the controls worked. I didn't think to look at his airbags, when I took the photo's his car was already on the tow truck. I'm not sure how big they are when they inflate, I might have seen them if they looked obvious.
ReplyDeleteHe was breathalised but was ok. The policeman told me his car had no MOT, and he will get done for that. It belongs to the person who he was working for, but I've just checked the phone number in the book, and it belongs to another taxi firm, so I guess his boss is getting work passed on to him. I spoke to his boss on the phone and he said it is going to put him out of business. Tough, he shouldn't take on unsuitable drivers.
Anna, the Focus is seven years old. If it is written off, I will only get the market value for it as it stands at the moment, nowhere near enough for a brand new car, I wouldn't have a brand new car anyway, they loose a lot of money as soon as they leave the showroom.
I would have to put at least £3,000 to it, to buy something decent. The insurance company thinks it will be repaired, perhaps this would be the best bet, then I could save up a bit more money and maybe change it in a years time. I don't do credit on cars, I dont pay interest on loans.
"the wheels are in motion (not mine of course)"
ReplyDeleteHa! I do like that. Very Funny; not the other stuff of course.
Oh your poor car:( My first thought was had he been drinking. Fingers crossed that your car can be repaired. Linda xxx
ReplyDeleteBloody hell, taxi drivers are a pain in the bum! I had to stop one the other day and let me out of his car. My van was in the garage for repairs and I had to take a taxi to work. He was driving like a maniac round corners. Needless to say, I refused to pay him for his careless driving, and I warned him that I would report him to his boss.
ReplyDeleteI see taxis on the road all the time, never indicating, pulling up by the side of the road, frequently double parking, reversing out into oncoming traffic, jumping lights, generally being right little roadhogs!
Good on you for reporting him to the police. He deserves everything they can throw at him!!
Ilona, I'm so sorry for what happende to you. I hope that things will work good for you. Something very similar happened some years ago, when we were visiting our son in Canada. We stopped to go to a garagge sale and when we came back the car was smashed on the wall and the guilty driver run away. Luckily, people saw him and the police catched him. The car was a mess, the boy (he was a young student from another province)smashed it from behind, driving with great speed. My son received some money from insurance but, as the car was an older one, it was not much.
ReplyDeleteI hope things will be better for you.
If you or your car is involved in a traffic accident AND you're not at fault then you MUST always have an ambulance called. Faint, act shocked and confused, collapse (gently) onto the kerbside.
ReplyDeleteWhenever an ambulance is called to an accident site the police will come too - and if it's not your fault then having a police report will 100% ensure that the other party's insurance company will pay up and hope you don't go for persoanl injury damage.