I think you need to concentrate on the fact that you all walked away, uninjured I presume, and very lucky!
If you plan to keep the car for a good few years and it’s repairable then I’d let them do it! You mentioned it had chips/marks etc on the bonnet so it may end up looking better than it did before the crash. I wouldn’t worry too much about resale value at the end of the day it’s a 4 year old Mazda 3. If 5 years down the line they knock another £500 off it then is it really the end of the World?
Finally...I’m not sure why they’d need to take his mobile number as it means absolutely nothing in something like this unless he was using his mobile at the time and they need to do telecom checks. They will take basic details and fill out an accident report which will be looked at to see what appropriate actions will be taken. However bare in mind that the area I work it can take 4 - 5 days to attend a burglary, if we even attend! So don’t expect the World for a non injury RTC involving a non UK citizen/driver/vehicle.
TBF it did involve a UK driver - just in the receiving end so probably already decided she wasn’t at fault.
I reckon as the not at fault driver first thing is to make sure there are no injuries. After that as IG said the car is secondary.
I wouldn’t worry about whether or not the HGV driver gets punished - at this point it isn’t going to help getting your car sorted.
You say it is probably written off but unless you have claimed or notified your insurance and they have all that in hand you are maybe at the step of deciding how you can get the damage paid for? Personally I would talk to the insurance - if they ask for police reports you can chase those up. They may decide to apportion blame though if you can’t get something from the police that says otherwise. If they can’t get hold of the other insurance you aren’t any further back.
Did you or your wife get the other drivers details? If not I presume the insurance can ask the police for them? They will want to follow up money regardless of whether the driver is brought to justice I suspect.
Other choice is to sort and pay for all all repairs or a new car yourself. Still won’t make any difference if the police have hounded the other driver or not I would think? If you want him to pay towards or for the damage you have to talk to your insurance I reckon.
I agree. It is just that there is a lot going on in my head at the moment.
Lot of 'ifs'. If it is repairable then I'd want to keep it until it is paid off. But after the clout it has had I'm not sure if it is repairable. It is three years old.
Well, they did take his mobile number, and the insurance company did ask us if we had it.
Bear in mind this is the first accident I've ever been in and I've no idea what happens (hence all the questions). I was told a while ago that the first thing the Police do was confiscate mobile phones at the scene. This was someone at work who is still suffering from a crash last year. As you say, they may be doing a telecoms check. Which is probably more thorough than looking at a mobile, possibly a change of policy?
Police at the scene said everything I said checks out. From where the impact occurred, how far we were pushed along and where the skid marks started and the pattern of them. The skid marks didn't track to the HGV, they were from our car when it spun and was pushed along sideways, you can see that they started in the middle lane and the car ended up on the hard shoulder. I have lots of pictures but I don't think it is appropriate to post any of the scene at the moment.
The insurance company are on the case. The car was collected on Friday and a loan car was dropped off. We are waiting for the report from the assessor.
Police took photos of his licence and all appropriate paperwork and sent it to me via email from the scene.
This is a very common type of incident. The blind spot on the offside of a continental truck will swallow most cars with ease. Uk truckers have the same on the inside, so it’s a common problem.
The issue is that long bonnet trucks cannot be used in the UK because they exceed the total train length with a standard trailer. They are actually safer, as mirrors can be positioned to avoid the blind spot. otherwise you are reliant on wide view mirrors and possibly blind spot detection systems if fitted.
I will never sit next to a truck and will hang back until I know I can accelerate beyond it. This at least reduces my time in the danger zone.
Very few truckers are getting prosecutions for these types of incidents a at the moment, unless they fail to stop or there’s is clear evidence that they could have seen the car.
Incredibly scary for your wife. I hope it doesn’t knock her confidence.
We were in the middle lane, due to the flow of the traffic we were doing the speed we were (around 50 - 55) and the inside lane was empty for a stretch. HGV steamed up the inside, undertaking everybody and drifted across.
^^^ If there's substantial evidence of that (following car dashcam, witness testimony) I can't see how the Police wouldn't prosecute.
Something clear,y very wrong with his driving to be in charge of an LGV (distraction, excess bours).
Although being devils advocate why where you in the middle lane when the inside was clear? Must be frustrating for lorries who can not use the 3rd lane but blocked from the middle lane.
Why was everybody else?
It was clear for a little while but ahead you could see the traffic backing up. Just behind us was an exit for Washington, a slip from Washington, an exit for Washington services and a slip from Washington services. Lots of off and ons which can sometimes make for the traffic being lumpy along that stretch.
As I said we had just overtaken the HGV then he came steaming up on the inside.
Third lane snakes off towards Tyne Tunnel & South Shields (A194). If you get over there by accident you can rarely get back across at that time of night.
The point of insurance is to put you back to the same position as if the accident had not occurred, including the condition & value of your car.
Insist on this when dealing with them.If the car is repairable, insist on new tyres (they don't like going sideways for hundreds of meters - they will have flat spots).I suspect that there is damage to the suspension, steering and other under the skin systems, so will be written off.