Involved In An Accident With An Uninsured Driver?
Uninsured drivers are ten times more likely to drink and drive and three
times more likely to be convicted of driving without due care and attention.
They also cause one accident every six months. In fact one in twenty motorists
regularly drive without insurance. It's therefore not perhaps surprising
that, one in ten of all motorists have been involved in accidents with uninsured
drivers. The question is what to do if you're involved in an accident with
one?
At the time of the accident you're unlikely to realise that the other driver
is uninsured so you'll have to react in the normal way. Take a note of the
other car's make, model and registration number. Also note the other driver's
name and address – but whether he'll give you his correct details is
perhaps unlikely! Nevertheless, always record what the other driver says.
Unless you have this information you'll have no leg to stand on when it comes
to getting some of your money back.
Also take notes about the damage to the other car and the accident scene.
Remember to note road markings, road signs, light and weather conditions
and whether the other car had its lights on – in fact as much detail
as possible. Then if you're lucky enough to have an independent witness get
their full contact details. And if you happen to have a camera in the car,
take lots of pictures - and try and get one with the other driver clearly
in the picture. The police might like that one!
If your policy is comprehensive, your insurer pay for your car to be repaired
but you could lose your no claims discount unless you've paid to protect
it. But then there's the issue of your excess payment – that's the first
part of the repair cost you have to pay for. You'll have to pay that unless
you're lucky enough to have a policy that waives the excess payment if you're
hit by an uninsured driver.
For those of you with third party car insurance, you're in for a hard time.
Your insurer won't pay for your repairs and, as the other driver is uninsured,
you're not going to get any money off him unless you can trace him and succeed
in a court action. Even then there's no guarantee that he'll pay up! Always
ask the police for a copy of their accident report as the Bureau's likely
to ask to see it.
A police spokesman said recently, “ Uninsured drivers are often guilty
of many other driving related offences, such as having no driving licence.
We're doing everything in our power to get these dangerous and illegal drivers
off our roads”.
We say, go to it blues and two's!
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