[cheesemonster]

Hi first post here, advice needed please:

On the commute to work this morning i had a collision on the motorway.
I was in the middle lane and a car pulled unexpectedly out of the lane to my left, I sounded my horn, the car bumped me and went back into their lane.

It was not safe to stop, it is a "smart" motorway without a hard shoulder and the traffic in my lane was travelling after a faster speed than the inside lane.

I had a few seconds to look at the driver and the colour of the car, i did not see the model, and I managed to write down the time, what I thought was the reg and junctions we were between.
I looked out for the car again on the journey but didn't see it again.

There are big scratches to the left side of my car and to my disappointment it turns out I did not take the registration down correctly.

Do I contact the police? Does that mean also needing to tell my insurance? Will the police be bothered to look at motorway CCTV? If the driver can't be traced does that just mean my insurance goes up? Do I just "take the hit", be thankful it wasn't worse and pay to fix it myself? Or shall I report just to highlight the flaws in "smart" motorways? What could I have done differently?

Thanks

[TC1474]

Without a registration number (or more to the point the correct registration number), your options are limited.

Firstly under the definition of the road traffic act, a crash has occurred and so the legal protocols need to be followed, in this case it is a matter of reporting it to the Police as soon as practicable but in any case within 24 hours.

If the Police say they are not interested, then take a note of the name of the person you speak to just in case the third party come forward and start making allegations.

As far as claiming is concerned, there is the option of making a claim under the MiB (Motor Insurance Bureau) scheme for uninsured or non traced vehicles, but this is a scheme of last resort and their protocols are really quite tough as they take over as if they are the insured third party (part of all our premiums go into a big pot to cover these claims)

The downside is, that not only does it take longer for MiB claims to be settled as they immediately invoke their 3 month investigation period before they respond, but there is a £350 excess on the first part of any damage only claim (no excess in personal injury cases), so the reality of you having any success is limited and you do need proper representation.

Again without a reg number, you could go through your insurance company and if you are fully comp it may cover your repairs, but it will of course hit future premiums and you will have to declare for the next 5 years (even though it was not your fault) but in any case, who are your insurers going to claim from, so the liability comes down to you and you alone despite how annoying it must be for you.

The last option of course is you just swallow your pride and pay for the cost of the repairs yourself or invest in gallons of "T" Cut depending on how deep the scratches are? There are some colour match polishes out on the market that do a pretty good job as well, so it may be a cheaper option if there are no substantial dents and the like.

Lastly, if you do a lot of Motorway driving, a dash cam can be an invaluable aid in these situations. You just need to be sure that your driving is beyond reproach, but even a basic cheapy can do the job very well.

Sorry I cannot be more help.

[cheesemonster]

Actually, that is a very helpful reply, although it confirms some of my fears.

You seem to have a very good knowledge, so please could I ask one more question?

If I tell the police, I believe I also have to tell my insurance company - even if I do not claim.

Would the act of informing them likely increase my future premiums? Or would they only rise with a claim?

Thanks

[TC1474]

Originally Posted by cheesemonster

Actually, that is a very helpful reply, although it confirms some of my fears.

You seem to have a very good knowledge, so please could I ask one more question?

If I tell the police, I believe I also have to tell my insurance company - even if I do not claim.

Would the act of informing them likely increase my future premiums? Or would they only rise with a claim?

Thanks

Many insurance companies are not really that interested if it resulted in no claim being made, but in order to avoid a problem later such as making a false declaration which would cancel out or null and void your future policy, you still need to declare it.

Telling the Police has no real bearing, you are simply complying with the law, but I can more or less 99% guarantee they will not be interested from the outset, hence why I said get the details of whoever you speak to.

Its called covering your "Ar*e!