Advice needed regarding traffic accident

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:07:28 GMT

wanderlust-alm — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:07:28 GMT

atrecord:
[Sounds exactly like the complex framework that it should be

If I have more queries in future, will maybe seek your advice. In this case, I'm just sore that the loss of use $ that I was supposed to get has not been made to me after >3 yr...

Repair was done, so I have no issue with that. There were also other hassle like going to the lawyer, etc. which I frankly would like to do without...

Sure !! Just PM me and i will be glad to share advise and comments : ) Though I am not exactly a regular contributor

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:59:41 GMT

atrecord — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:59:41 GMT

wanderlust-alm:
atrecord:

Thanks. For this case, we received a letter from the law firm representing us (engaged by either the workshop or the insurer, not us) telling us that there was a dispute in the amt claimed. I think there was no question about the fault, as we were exiting from expressway, and i slowed down initially, and only stopped near the main road. The driver behind was talking to his wife/gf, and didn't stop in time.
If the case was anything earlier than June 08 most workshops will enageg independent sutveyors ( paid by the workshop ) and claim through solictors hence the insurer of the car that hit you may not agree to the amount and hence the delay in the settlement and case has to be refer to court incurring more costs. Hence, after Jun 08 all are encouraged to report to authorised wkshop and all suthorised workshop will claim through engaging the insurer of the car that hit you who will send down the survetor ( saving cost and quantum will not be in dispute as car was surveyed by their appointed surveyor ) We also submit claims by writing directly to the insurance and thus no solicitors fees incur. In my opoinion everyone has a part to play in keeping cost down. This time you may be the one hit and if you don't bother about the amount claim and next time if you hit someone i am sure you will want that person to claim through authorised workshop which usually will be more reasonable. Although i believe in every trade there is black sheep but we are binded strictly by these guidelines to follow.

So, in your case the dispute is in the quantum claimed and not the liability. In the olden days the claim could be $4,000 and solicitors fees amount ro $3,000 etc if the case goes all the way to writ and court.

Sounds exactly like the complex framework that it should be

If I have more queries in future, will maybe seek your advice. In this case, I'm just sore that the loss of use $ that I was supposed to get has not been made to me after >3 yr...

Repair was done, so I have no issue with that. There were also other hassle like going to the lawyer, etc. which I frankly would like to do without...

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:52:43 GMT

wanderlust-alm — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:52:43 GMT

atrecord:

Thanks. For this case, we received a letter from the law firm representing us (engaged by either the workshop or the insurer, not us) telling us that there was a dispute in the amt claimed. I think there was no question about the fault, as we were exiting from expressway, and i slowed down initially, and only stopped near the main road. The driver behind was talking to his wife/gf, and didn't stop in time.

If the case was anything earlier than June 08 most workshops will enageg independent sutveyors ( paid by the workshop ) and claim through solictors hence the insurer of the car that hit you may not agree to the amount and hence the delay in the settlement and case has to be refer to court incurring more costs. Hence, after Jun 08 all are encouraged to report to authorised wkshop and all suthorised workshop will claim through engaging the insurer of the car that hit you who will send down the survetor ( saving cost and quantum will not be in dispute as car was surveyed by their appointed surveyor ) We also submit claims by writing directly to the insurance and thus no solicitors fees incur. In my opoinion everyone has a part to play in keeping cost down. This time you may be the one hit and if you don't bother about the amount claim and next time if you hit someone i am sure you will want that person to claim through authorised workshop which usually will be more reasonable. Although i believe in every trade there is black sheep but we are binded strictly by these guidelines to follow.

So, in your case the dispute is in the quantum claimed and not the liability. In the olden days the claim could be $4,000 and solicitors fees amount ro $3,000 etc if the case goes all the way to writ and court.

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:35:19 GMT

atrecord — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:35:19 GMT

wanderlust-alm:
atrecord:
wanderlust-alm, just wondering whether you would know whether can any claims drag on for more than 3 yr, if both insurance companies cannot agree on extent of compensation? 37 mth ago, someone hit my rear and until now still no outcome leh... not sure is it still in progress or did the workshop/insurance company representing me get the compensation already never update me...

Hi, Some cases do drag on for quite a while. I am still closing case that are in 2008 ! For property damage the time bar is 6 years ! For injury 3 Years.
In my opinion we must also put ourself in the shoes of the police. If there is no video cam on the road and no other concrete evidence nor witness and the other party stick to his words despite interrogation by police sometimes it is indeed difficult to have a conclusion. For many hit and run cases that i handle there is rarely a conclusion unless there is a witness / video recording etc.

Thanks. For this case, we received a letter from the law firm representing us (engaged by either the workshop or the insurer, not us) telling us that there was a dispute in the amt claimed. I think there was no question about the fault, as we were exiting from expressway, and i slowed down initially, and only stopped near the main road. The driver behind was talking to his wife/gf, and didn't stop in time.

I suspect the workshop/law firm jacked up the claims hence the dispute. only our rear bumper was knocked, but the law firm later (many months after the repair) said a surveyor wanted to take a photo of the side of our car... Maybe 'my' lawyer/workshop claims for extra things that they didn't do (and which I didn't know), and the other party's insurance company is justifiably disputing.

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:33:26 GMT

jtoh — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:33:26 GMT

Thanks for all your inputs on the in-car cameras. It’s really frustrating sometimes bec there’ll be people who’ll hit and run or change their story when they report accidents.

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:58:48 GMT

carebear — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:58:48 GMT

I bought my camera from AA 2 years ago.

At that time it was about $350 with the SD card. Installation is very simple and my DH did it for me.
The camera is very small and not obvious.
It will turn on each time I start the engine and records for up to 1.5 hours.
Newer recordings will be recorded over the older recording.

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:26:23 GMT

wanderlust-alm — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:26:23 GMT

Actually it is good enough to install the front only as from the front you can already see your lane and your travelling pattern and cars. Although i do have a client who install the rear too . Another kind is able to record even when car is stationery. But in my opinion, capturing the front is good enough. It will resolve a lot of disputes…

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:27:42 GMT

h530251 — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:27:42 GMT

tankee:
h530251:

So our best bet is to install a camera in the car to protect ourselves ?
but most people are unlikely to install cameras that can cover 360 degree around the car.

So we just install those that can cover the front.. is that good enough ? Does it take a lot of battery ??

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:15:43 GMT

tankee — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:15:43 GMT

h530251:

So our best bet is to install a camera in the car to protect ourselves ?

but most people are unlikely to install cameras that can cover 360 degree around the car.

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:09:50 GMT

h530251 — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:09:50 GMT

wanderlust-alm:
atrecord:
wanderlust-alm, just wondering whether you would know whether can any claims drag on for more than 3 yr, if both insurance companies cannot agree on extent of compensation? 37 mth ago, someone hit my rear and until now still no outcome leh... not sure is it still in progress or did the workshop/insurance company representing me get the compensation already never update me...

Hi, Some cases do drag on for quite a while. I am still closing case that are in 2008 ! For property damage the time bar is 6 years ! For injury 3 Years.
In my opinion we must also put ourself in the shoes of the police. If there is no video cam on the road and no other concrete evidence nor witness and the other party stick to his words despite interrogation by police sometimes it is indeed difficult to have a conclusion. For many hit and run cases that i handle there is rarely a conclusion unless there is a witness / video recording etc.

So our best bet is to install a camera in the car to protect ourselves ?

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:38:46 GMT

wanderlust-alm — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:38:46 GMT

atrecord:
wanderlust-alm, just wondering whether you would know whether can any claims drag on for more than 3 yr, if both insurance companies cannot agree on extent of compensation? 37 mth ago, someone hit my rear and until now still no outcome leh... not sure is it still in progress or did the workshop/insurance company representing me get the compensation already never update me...

Hi, Some cases do drag on for quite a while. I am still closing case that are in 2008 ! For property damage the time bar is 6 years ! For injury 3 Years.
In my opinion we must also put ourself in the shoes of the police. If there is no video cam on the road and no other concrete evidence nor witness and the other party stick to his words despite interrogation by police sometimes it is indeed difficult to have a conclusion. For many hit and run cases that i handle there is rarely a conclusion unless there is a witness / video recording etc.

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:49:52 GMT

MMM — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:49:52 GMT

jtoh:
I'm curious about the in-vehicle cameras. Where in the car are they installed and are they turned on all the time? I would assume so as you won't know when an accident may occur right? Is it troublesome to install and where can I get it done?

We recently got ours from a video camera place in Bedok Reservoir at $138 (saw an ad in newspaper). But.... we saw the same model but diff brand (Hoseki) in Esso. Having promo now at $89... Note that sd card is excluded. The model we saw can use up to 32GB card and it comes with a screen.

You can try to shop around. The most expensive we saw so far is Eureka? that cost around $1k. But we are not very impressed as quite bulky, etc...

You have to put it at the rear mirror portion so that it can record what happens infront. It starts to record when the car is moving and save the video in parts so you can retrieve it if required. Otherwise it will usually override. I know some are also motion activated type. We got \"creative\" and wanted to explore a camera that can do 12 hour recording so that it can record what happens infront of our gate. But it is not possible without draining the car battery. Some people whose car get vandalised also install that at the front and back of their car.

You can choose to power the camera using the charger in the car (lighter part?). But we found that messy as it's dangling from rear mirror down and went to a workshop where they help us to connect and hide all cabling at $25 (think official price).

Dh got it done at $15 as he ended up buying incar TV system and seat screen from the same shop so they gave him a discount.

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:55:07 GMT

h530251 — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:55:07 GMT

cherrygal:
pinky:
[quote=\"h530251\"]
But can the driver just hit and run and without stopping ? Can he do that ? Even if you get the other person vehicle no, you cannot do anything ? The police will not do anything ?
I am questioning this too :nunchuk: hope it doesn't imply that action will only be taken if injury/death happened as a result of the hit and run?

I am afraid so. Coz this is not hit person and run. This is hit something and pretend dunno anything. Plus no witnesses, no horning, no on the spot confrontation etc.

We were in a similar situation with an SMRT bus once. The bus cut into our lane from his bus lane without warning and DH had to jam the brakes so the bendy bus could pass. He didn't even bother to check if there were vehicles in the next lane and cut in just becoz his bus lane had road works. DH, like you, didn't have time to horn. I complained to SMRT and guess what, SMRT said they asked the bus driver and he \"insisted\" he saw no other vehicle around when he changed lanes. He also said no one horned. Then I asked SMRT if they were insinuating we were lying about their bus driver and they ignored us after that. :stupid: :mad:

Just lucky that no one was injured... make sure you horn like mad next time. I personally am a more aggressive \"horner\" than DH.

Yah, your repairs sound expensive. The headlamp only abt $100 - 200 depending on your make lah. The dent on bumper and spray paint at most $500 - 700 bah coz that was what a repair shop quoted a car that had suffered roughly the same damage as yours (I know becoz that car hit DH car). I tell you, DH is an accident magnet. [/quote]Like that also can ah.. then next time if I hit someone.. I just act blur and drive off la.. since it is not against the law right ?

And ifsomeone hit me, I will horn, follow him until he stop etc is it ?? Won't it become road rage later ? hmm...

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:22:01 GMT

cherrygal — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:22:01 GMT

Ultimately, as drivers, we should all practise defensive driving at all times. Keep a safe distance always. Horn to warn if you see other cars veering too close for comfort. Many drivers do not check their blind spots so they just cut in. Many also think they are kings of the road esp lorry and taxi drivers. So be extra careful when driving behind or beside them. If you kiss the behind of a taxi, be prepared to pay for his rental, loss of income etc. Very messy. So never follow a taxi too closely coz he might jam brakes any time when he sees a customer. Sound advice from my parents.

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:10:23 GMT

cherrygal — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:10:23 GMT

pinky:
h530251:

But can the driver just hit and run and without stopping ? Can he do that ? Even if you get the other person vehicle no, you cannot do anything ? The police will not do anything ?
I am questioning this too :nunchuk: hope it doesn't imply that action will only be taken if injury/death happened as a result of the hit and run?

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:34:58 GMT

Strparent — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:34:58 GMT

Pinky,

he can feign ignorance, said he did not realise you hit him that hard, rushing to do delivery, you did not confront him, etc etc if no witnesses, his words against your words. :sad:

based on yr damage description, the workshop quote seemed rather high.

Have you done the repairs ?
What is yr NCD now ? is it worth sacrificing ?
Yr insurance is comprehensive or 3rd party ?

You shld have confronted him on the spot, in Singapore should be ok, wont advise you to do so in Msia.
Cant be helped, he has been 'advised' by workshop, etc, and now will not admit liability. Worse case is he claims against you for his damages ( real or not ).
Thinking back, yr insurance is right, police just for serious stuff, they wont do a report finding so soon, if at all. Should liaise with a workshop that you can trust. Is this insurance appointed workshop ?
Anyway, the most important thing is that both yr DS and yrself are fine. It's only a car, just see your best option and move on.

errrrr................... got buy yr car and lorry licence plate number ? :evil:
maybe heng heng make back 2k :rotflmao:
paiseh, a bit inappropriate, but cannot resist :oops:

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:28:47 GMT

pinky — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:28:47 GMT

h530251:
wanderlust-alm:
You are most welcome : ) Just sharing my experiences. As for the forms it is an ideal situation if both can sign but realisstically from my reporting experiencs then , less than 10% of clients are calm and amicable enough / has enough time on hand to fill in the form at the spot hence the insurance decide to scrap the form as it did not achieve the intended function after a while as it was \"NOT COMPULSORY\" then to fill in the form - only a good to have practise so with tiem noone fills in the form

But can the driver just hit and run and without stopping ? Can he do that ? Even if you get the other person vehicle no, you cannot do anything ? The police will not do anything ?

I am questioning this too :nunchuk: hope it doesn't imply that action will only be taken if injury/death happened as a result of the hit and run?

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:25:08 GMT

h530251 — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:25:08 GMT

wanderlust-alm:
You are most welcome : ) Just sharing my experiences. As for the forms it is an ideal situation if both can sign but realisstically from my reporting experiencs then , less than 10% of clients are calm and amicable enough / has enough time on hand to fill in the form at the spot hence the insurance decide to scrap the form as it did not achieve the intended function after a while as it was \"NOT COMPULSORY\" then to fill in the form - only a good to have practise so with tiem noone fills in the form

But can the driver just hit and run and without stopping ? Can he do that ? Even if you get the other person vehicle no, you cannot do anything ? The police will not do anything ?

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:52:00 GMT

pinky — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:52:00 GMT

thank you all for your comments/advices. I would like to make some additions/clarifications to my explanation earlier:

1. The lorry cut into my lane so abruptly that it was diagonally across the front of my car and I was actually too shocked to honk at him. I was travelling slowly on the roundabout as the traffic lights has just turned green. I actually stopped the car but the right side of the lorry's back rammed into the left side of my car. Upon inspection, I saw the left headlights had a huge crack across, a dislodged front left bumper and a dent on the left side of the car where the impact was felt.
Base on actual inspection and 'location' of the damage, shouldn't I be at a more favourable situation?

2. The workshop quoted me about $1700 for repairs.

3. It took more than 14 days due to the lack of updates from the traffic police, the workshop and insurance co and I had to check on them a few times a week just to get feedback on the status as the 1st was uncontactable, the 2nd standard answer: will update you when the other insurance co call me and the 3rd: the workshop should be the one to advise you on the next step and not us :stompfeet: :stompfeet:

4. Yes, I was thankful that my son and I were OK and especially for my son who was actually sitting at the back of the car on the left side. The lorry hit the front left side of my car. :nailbite:

5. I am still :frustrated: :stupid: over this incident and how unfair it was to me, imagine the other party hit and run and still have the cheek to deny his wrongdoing and stated very clearly 'he is not going to pay a single cent'. Just wait till he get into another hit and run accident and I will be the first to stand up and testify against that bloody murderer :nunchuk:

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:04:20 GMT

jtoh — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:04:20 GMT

cherrygal:
jtoh:
I'm curious about the in-vehicle cameras. Where in the car are they installed and are they turned on all the time? I would assume so as you won't know when an accident may occur right? Is it troublesome to install and where can I get it done?

I think you can get it from most car audio shops. I saw some while I was there changing my MP3 player.

Thanks. I wonder where in the car it's installed.

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:28:33 GMT

cherrygal — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:28:33 GMT

jtoh:
I'm curious about the in-vehicle cameras. Where in the car are they installed and are they turned on all the time? I would assume so as you won't know when an accident may occur right? Is it troublesome to install and where can I get it done?

I think you can get it from most car audio shops. I saw some while I was there changing my MP3 player.

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:25:52 GMT

cherrygal — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:25:52 GMT

pinky:
Hi to all, I need advice from you people.

1 month ago, I was driving at a roundabout when a lorry from the extreme left cut into my lane without any warning and the back right hand side of the lorry knocked into the left side of my car resulting in a cracked headlight and dented fender. I immediately honked at him but he sped on without stopping. However I managed to take down his vehicle no. and made a police report.

That's where the nightmare started:
1. until today, I was unable to contact the inspector assigned to my case
despite leaving messages with his colleages/answering machine. The last straw was when I called again today and the voice mail was full.
The advice given by his colleagues was it takes 2-3 months to complete the investigation and the office will post the results to me. I was told that my insurance co should be the one calling them and not me. When I told my insurance co, they said they do not have access to traffic police report.

2. the insurance co and the workshop played taichi against one another whenever I called to enquire on the status. Finally today the insurance co guy told me the other party actually file an insurance report to his own
Insurer stating that I WAS THE ONE WHO KNOCKED THE BACK OF HIS LORRY BUT HE DID NOT KNOW MY CAR PLATE NO and he refused to pay anything.

3. the 'advice' given by my insurance co is
a. pay for the repairs from my own pocket
b. file a 3rd party claim by engaging a solicitor on my own

:stompfeet: :stompfeet: :slapshead: :mad: :rant: :nunchuk:
has anyone gone through a similiar unpleasant experience like above and what happened after that?

I have handled a few claims for DH (coz the cars are under my name) so I am quite familiar with such things.

It will be hard to claim against the lorry coz u hit the back of the lorry. No matter how dangerous these drivers are cutting into your lane etc, the police will say you didn't keep a safe distance, or else you wouldn't have hit the back of the lorry. The fact that your left headlight was broken also disadvantages you as it could also look like you rammed into his back. It's your word against his word since there are no witnesses.

If his front hit the sides of your car, it would be more obvious he's in the wrong. The lorry driver is making use of this loophole to counter your argument. Tough case really.

The repair costs don't seem very much (a few hundred?) so I wouldn't advise you to get a lawyer to sue him. Too expensive and not worth it.

Since there were no lives lost nor injuries sustained, the police also wouldn't put this as a top priority. In their eyes, it's really a minor accident. I know how angry you are but sometimes we gotta resign ourselves to bad luck and thank God no one was injured.

Your insurance co's advice is the best solution to close this case. Have some closure and enjoy the new year! Dun spoil your mood becoz of this incident. Perhaps the lorry driver will get punished some other way? You can pray he lose lots of money while gambling during CNY? :evil:

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:00:14 GMT

jtoh — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:00:14 GMT

I’m curious about the in-vehicle cameras. Where in the car are they installed and are they turned on all the time? I would assume so as you won’t know when an accident may occur right? Is it troublesome to install and where can I get it done?

Reply to Advice needed regarding traffic accident on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:15:44 GMT

atrecord — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:15:44 GMT

Interesting post here.

Indeed it would be difficult to make a case if it’s your front and somebody’s rear. 12-13 yr ago, I had one such experience though. A tipper truck was on the left-most lane when it braked (together with many other vehicles in front and behind it as someone in front braked) in slightly wet weather. I was in the middle (there were 3) lane far behind it, with clear traffic in front (my lane). I was not going too fast (maybe about 70-80 in that condition, but was getting near since the vehicles on the left lane all jammed braked. Then just as I was approaching the tipper truck’s location (we were still on different lanes), it skidded with its tyres locked due to jamming brake, and it skidded to its right, coming out onto the middle lane in front of me!!! I jammed brake too, and unfortunately my car too skidded, but it skidded in front and hit the truck’s rear right… My insurance company claimed for 2 yr before telling me my NCD was reinstated in full (after claiming my own vehicle’s for the repair).

wanderlust-alm, just wondering whether you would know whether can any claims drag on for more than 3 yr, if both insurance companies cannot agree on extent of compensation? 37 mth ago, someone hit my rear and until now still no outcome leh… not sure is it still in progress or did the workshop/insurance company representing me get the compensation already never update me…