Traffic accident last night.

[TK-421]

Last night about 3.0am i was driving along a three lane road and approached an intersection which had a green light indication, a nissan van was stopped at the intersection in the middle lane which had not responded to the green light. as i approached the van i moved into the right lane to proceed through the intersection, i reduced speed as i neared the van then as my front bumper was level with his rear bumper, without indicating the nissan turned onto me. resulting damage to my car a 95 liata was bumper bar, left headlight, grille and left guard require replacement plus a noticeable vibration in the steering wheel. I hit the brakes but i just slid into his side, the guy in the van jumps out to see if we had any injuries and was really apologetic, saying it was all his fault. my wife asks him what he was doing turning right at an intersection clearly marked no right turn. He replied I was trying to do a u turn, anyway it turns out the driver is a German tourist over here for four months with no fixed address only an email address. The van driver called the police but could not converse with the operater sufficiently to report the incident so i spoke with the operater who sent the police out. The van driver was breath tested which showed no alcohol, we exchanged details and he was let go. I'm left with a $1000 to $1500 repair bill and if this guy decides to return home and not pay? i dont understand how mr tourist can attempt a u turn at an intersection where it is clearly not permitted, change lanes without indicating colliding with another vehicle and does not even warrant a fine or mark against his international license.

[imugli]

Agreed. That sucks man.

[Archilino]

Couldn't you give all the details to you insurance company? if the van is hired then all your damages can be fixed. Let them deal with it, thats why you pay them.

[madmelon]

clown should have been done for neg driving...

[Pinch]

Ring your insurance company and let them deal with it. Its what you pay them for. Given them all the details, including the details of the driver etc and they will chase up.

[Jastel]

You are in for a fight if the van is hired. Most hire car companies will deny/ignore you and hope you go away right up to the steps of the courthouse, even in obvious cases like this.
I have had hire car companies not even make a claim, ie accepting a their car is a writeoff, so my insurance can do nothing but sue civilly.
They no doubt have slugged the driver $5000 excess or something so they are way in front if you give up.

If the van is not hired your chances are not much better, he has probably already left the country, unless he is an honest citizen...hope for a christmas miracle.

[TK-421]

The van is owned by one of the passengers, the driver is here for a four month holiday and assured us he would pay for the repairs. The car will be repaired but i'm at a loss as to how someone who cannot speak english and either disregards or doesnt understand the rules of the road, causes an accident and drives off without penalty.

[Yaw]

Mate, firstly find out if the van is hired, if it is DO NOT contact the hire company, contact the driver. even if you have to go out of your way and go to them, try and get a copy of the hire contract, without this you will not stand a chance in hell of recovering from the hire company. You see the driver is the at fault party, not the hire company. The reason you need a copy of the hire contract is this; with the hire contract you can see the terms and conditions and if there was in fact insurance on the hire contract, not to mention the price of any excess that may have been applied. Quite often hire companies will have 2000-5000 dollar excesses which then puts you squarly back to the driver as the cost of repairs may be less than the excess. Hire car companies will not disclose the contract between them (the hire company and the hirer) as you are not a party to that agreement. Which is why you must get a copy from the driver. If you find there is insurance and you also can get co-operation from the driver (hirer) to show the excess was paid, you then have the proof you need to recover from the hire company.

Wicked Campers and Able Rentals are noutoriously bad for this kind of behaviour.

I have heard whispers that laws are comming to make hire companies more accountable in these situations, but not in place yet.

I can tell you the insurer I work for I have over several claims that have gone this way.

[Yaw]

Originally Posted by EF4.0

The van is owned by one of the passengers, the driver is here for a four month holiday and assured us he would pay for the repairs. The car will be repaired but i'm at a loss as to how someone who cannot speak english and either disregards or doesnt understand the rules of the road, causes an accident and drives off without penalty.

playing devils advocate:
If you were a police officer who had to write an infringemnt notice to someone you know will be going back to another country before it is paid and needing to follow up in months time looking for the offender and wasting your time a resourses to come to what you know will be the case already...a dead end, do you want to put yourself to that extra work when you are already under the pump with your every day duties.
It would be 6 months + before it ever went to court or a summons to be issued and by that time he is long gone.

From that perspective it makes sense to me.

[StrokedXT]

Since when does a copper have to chase up an unpaid fine he has issued?

[TK-421]

Originally Posted by Yaw

playing devils advocate:
If you were a police officer who had to write an infringemnt notice to someone you know will be going back to another country before it is paid and needing to follow up in months time looking for the offender and wasting your time a resourses to come to what you know will be the case already...a dead end, do you want to put yourself to that extra work when you are already under the pump with your every day duties.
It would be 6 months + before it ever went to court or a summons to be issued and by that time he is long gone.

From that perspective it makes sense to me.

I would be more interested in seeing dangerous and incompetant drivers losing thier liscence than being fined, it should be more about making our roads safe than filling the governments coffers.

I wonder if you would have the same perspective if it was your car and one of your family members was injured? i thought changing lanes without indicating and attempting a u turn at an no right turn intersection were illegal??

[Yaw]

Originally Posted by EF4.0

I would be more interested in seeing dangerous and incompetant drivers losing thier liscence than being fined, it should be more about making our roads safe than filling the governments coffers.

I wonder if you would have the same perspective if it was your car and one of your family members was injured? i thought changing lanes without indicating and attempting a u turn at an no right turn intersection were illegal??

I am in no way condoning what has happened, I am just pointing out what the sense behind it may be. As for if it happened to me, I would not be worried, I have insurance and that is what it is for. But even if this person was given an infringment notice, it would be a a minor traffic infringment of either failure to give way or driving with undue care and attention, neither of which would be enough to cause loss of licence. especially if it is an overseas or international licence, demerit points do not carry over to them. so best you could hope for was a fine, in which what I have said above about him being long gone before it was ever paid or a summons could be issued, and I assure you the police are not going to attempt to waste tax payer money on finding and extraditing someone over a small fine which would cost much more than the fine was worth to have an outcome.

[Dr Smith]

If you're fully covered just claim with your insurance company, they'll deal with the vehicle's registered owner and take any action. This could take months and even court action between them. You might be stung for an excess fee on your own claim however it's far less headache, you get your car fixed more quickly and you're not out of pocket waiting to get money out of a tourist, owner etc...

[Stefan]

EF4.0 I can tell you're upset but it 's an accident, it sounds like you want him jailed for life...

Go see your insurnce company give them the driver's details and move on...