Oh S%@t moment...

[cds]

So today I was on my way home in a VY just purchased and picked up this afternoon, going around a round about the driver in front of me hits his breaks to give way to a car (when his in the round about). Following close by is me and i hit him, not massive damage but enough to scrape a fair bit a of paint off the front bar against his tow bar.

We both pulled over, he says its my fault because i hit him from behind which is correct I believe but, is that still the case when he stops in the middle of a round about to give way to cars when they should be giving way to him?

Haven't got insurance on the VY yet, was on the todo list tonight once I got home (i know, silly move) but in 5 years of driving I never thought this would happen on 1 day I would be driving this car home!

We did exchange details, I have his insurance company details, name, phone & address visa versa as well for him.

Anyone enlighten me?

[JSTCOZ]

the driver in front of you is a d**khead for stopping in the middle of a roundabout, but i suppose it is still your fault for driving into him. Much like if you go arounda roundabout near a set of traffic lights and they are red, traffic can sometimes build up on the roundabout and you may have to slam on your breaks unaware that cars are parked on the other side of the roundabout. Same kinda situation i guess, but i guess if you wanna make a case of it, maybe talk to higher ups and get him to pay for dmanage and to be at fault. Don't quote me on any of that and i hope my paragraph made sense lol

[cds]

Yeah go figure, on that. I thought that was be the case. His an old fella so I tried not to sound crude or anything and just asked him why he stopped where he did, he just said i thought i'd give way to the car because traffic was moving slowly the direction on his exit - which I have done before so i have no objection to this just more to why the sudden slam on the breaks just took me by surprise. Doh! moment i guess

[Jesterarts]

That sucks mate.

Unfortunately, this is a reason why you should keep a safe distance between yourself and the car in front. Call it a "stupid random shit the other driver might do" buffer.

So you are in the wrong. Doesn't matter if the other driver did something stupid, he's within his right to perform an emergency brake at any time and it's upto the driver behind him to maintain a safe stopping distance.

The really silly thing is that you didn't have the car insured! Scratch that, it's not silly, it's illegal!

I organise insurance for my car's the moment the previous owner hands me the keys.

This is where it might hurt your hip-pocket because even small hits can have serious underlying damage that you can't see cosmetically.

I wish you luck with it, and hope you take away 2 lessons from this:

1. All driver on the roads are idiots, give them enough room so they can do stupid things without you getting caught up in it.
2. Make sure you're driving an insured car at all times, saves alot of hassle.

[cds]

That sucks mate.

Unfortunately, this is a reason why you should keep a safe distance between yourself and the car in front. Call it a "stupid random shit the other driver might do" buffer.

So you are in the wrong. Doesn't matter if the other driver did something stupid, he's within his right to perform an emergency brake at any time and it's upto the driver behind him to maintain a safe stopping distance.

The really silly thing is that you didn't have the car insured! Scratch that, it's not silly, it's illegal!

I organise insurance for my car's the moment the previous owner hands me the keys.

This is where it might hurt your hip-pocket because even small hits can have serious underlying damage that you can't see cosmetically.

I wish you luck with it, and hope you take away 2 lessons from this:

1. All driver on the roads are idiots, give them enough room so they can do stupid things without you getting caught up in it.
2. Make sure you're driving an insured car at all times, saves alot of hassle.

Yep +1, I think this was a more a vent post than anything else ^ ^

[Cunningstunter]

Unfortunately, this is a reason why you should keep a safe distance between yourself and the car in front. Call it a "stupid random shit the other driver might do" buffer.

As a motorcycle racer/rider I couldn't agree with this more. The best advice I got when I first started out on the roads (after 15yrs dirt experience) was 'Treat EVERY vehicle as though they're out to kill you' > ride paranoid basically....this motto has saved MY LIFE sooooo many times........

The really silly thing is that you didn't have the car insured! Scratch that, it's not silly, it's illegal!

Depends if we're talking 3rd party insurance attached to your registration or Full Comp. If it was registred he had 3rd party therefore NOT illegal.
If we're talking fire/theft/full comp etc then it's not illegal to drive without it - dumb yes, illegal no.

I organise insurance for my car's the moment the previous owner hands me the keys.

My wife started making me do this a few years ago, for a trip home prior to 'her' I would not have bothered. Now, and esp after reading stories like this I'd agree, never drive without registration, 3rd party insurance AND Full comp insurance, too many ###tards around and hitting an expensive car with no insurance can cost you ALOT of pain, you could potentially be paying repairs to a Merc/BMW and just about ANY car for the rest of your life.......

[Brett_jjj]

Ive never heard of it being illegal to not have your car insured.Unless your talking about 3rd party green slip insurance.But then the car cant even be registered if theres no green slip 3rd patry insurance..Im in NSW.Is it different in other states?

[soop]

Don't stress too much mate, To get the whole bar repainted shouldn't exceed $300-350. I know that doesn't make it feel any better but it could be ALOT worse.

[cds]

Yeah I understand this, motorcycle I do take extra caution due to the nature of exposure they have on the road. I understand all vehicles on road should be treated the same but if you hit a motorcyclist at 40km/h they could seriously get injured from just the hit where a 40km/h hit to a car would just be damaged in most scenarios. I always keep more than regular distance for motorcyclists, in good conditions i keep 1.5-2seconds space just at round abouts and specifically today since we finally started having nice weather in Melbourne drove with guard down and was unlucky.

Cunning is right about not requiring insurance, in Victoria as long as your car is registered your CTP is basically covered by our TAC premium we pay when we pay our annual registration, which covers injury to the 3rd party in event of a accident on our roads. However it is very true that all drivers should at least have 3rd party fire & theft, otherwise comp insurance is recommended even for the most best drivers as its not always going to be your fault, but by law can easily become your fault. If you cant afford even 3rd party fire & theft then you shouldn't be able to afford to drive the car your driving. I was just to stupid to not collect insurance before picking up this car.

Looks like I may just get another bar, for the VY as it will be cheaper - glad no damaged was done to the other car, something to smile about and walk away learning an important lesson.

[Brett_jjj]

Depends if we're talking 3rd party insurance attached to your registration or Full Comp. If it was registred he had 3rd party therefore NOT illegal.
If we're talking fire/theft/full comp etc then it's not illegal to drive without it - dumb yes, illegal no.

This is how I always thought it was.Didnt think it was illegal.

[Reaper]

So today I was on my way home in a VY just purchased and picked up this afternoon, going around a round about the driver in front of me hits his breaks to give way to a car (when his in the round about). Following close by is me and i hit him, not massive damage but enough to scrape a fair bit a of paint off the front bar against his tow bar.

We both pulled over, he says its my fault because i hit him from behind which is correct I believe but, is that still the case when he stops in the middle of a round about to give way to cars when they should be giving way to him?

Haven't got insurance on the VY yet, was on the todo list tonight once I got home (i know, silly move) but in 5 years of driving I never thought this would happen on 1 day I would be driving this car home!

We did exchange details, I have his insurance company details, name, phone & address visa versa as well for him.

Anyone enlighten me?

Unfortunately for you, the following driver is obligated to keep a safe difference behind the car in order to stop without hitting anything should the car in front stop.

Reaper

[ClairBear]

If the other driver discovers damage to his car, he will come after you to fix it. Without insurance you will have to pay out of your own pocket.

[Wombles]

Dont the driving insturctors usually tell you to look in the mirror to see if it's "Safe" to brake?

[acarmody]

Dont the driving insturctors usually tell you to look in the mirror to see if it's "Safe" to brake?

No, why would they? You shouldn't need to look to see if some other driver is far enough away for you to brake. If you need to slam on the anchors then you bloody do it, not look around and think about it.

[Wombles]

I remember being told to look in the rear view then brake when safe to do so...

[YootDriver]

If you rear end someone in NSW then it's a "driving to close to avoid accident" or the old neg driving charge, which is 3 points and $330 automatically so you were lucky they weren't called.

Even if you have an accident without another car you are deemed to be at fault, it's a fine in the mail.

Cheers John

[Jonnii]

I remember being told to look in the rear view then brake when safe to do so...

i was told this too but wat about that truck in front of you?

[kniever]

Unfortunately, this is a reason why you should keep a safe distance between yourself and the car in front. Call it a "stupid random shit the other driver might do" buffer.

1. All driver on the roads are idiots, give them enough room so they can do stupid things without you getting caught up in it..

i agree with what you said there but also the problem i always find and it really shits me is when you do leave a safe distance between you and the car infront and some idiot thinks that spot is for them and they swing straight into that spot

[greenacc]

these threads are great cos everyone gives their opinions, half of which are nonsense.
The other car did not cause the accident. You caused the accident by hitting him in the ass.
1.5-2 seconds is an unsafe gap. If any car stops suddenly with 1.5 seconds gap in front you're going to hit him in the ass every time. Cops can fine you just for that if they want.
Luckily for you, as the cops told me,, this would be classed as a minor traffic incident because no one was injured, no cars required towing, and no other property was damaged, no one was DUI, and both drivers exchanged details. Hence it does not require reporting to the police and you should not get a fine. Check the police website on this if you like.
Unfortunately when i slammed up the ass of another car one was written off and we both needed towing, so it was a 'Major traffic collision' which is a whole different story.

[acarmody]

Actually I find 2 seconds is a pretty decent gap. on a 100km/h highway 2 seconds is 54 metres. Thats pretty decent. Especially since people will jump in front of you even if you have less than 10 metres gap.

[DevilDRake]

No, why would they? You shouldn't need to look to see if some other driver is far enough away for you to brake. If you need to slam on the anchors then you bloody do it, not look around and think about it.

Yes, that's what I saw taught, and the reason you would is so SOMEONE DOESN'T RUN UP YOUR ASS!

I always check my mirror (one inside) as i brake hard, even if it's slamming on them. Just because you're slamming on the brake to avoid the problem infront of you it creates another one behind you.

[acarmody]

Yes, that's what I saw taught, and the reason you would is so SOMEONE DOESN'T RUN UP YOUR ASS!

I always check my mirror (one inside) as i brake hard, even if it's slamming on them. Just because you're slamming on the brake to avoid the problem infront of you it creates another one behind you.

Yes but if someone runs up your arse then that is their fault, if you run up the arse of someone else because you looked around first, than that becomes your fault.

[Cúl-Báire]

The really silly thing is that you didn't have the car insured! Scratch that, it's not silly, it's illegal!
I organise insurance for my car's the moment the previous owner hands me the keys.

Explain how it is illegal?.. The OP is from VIC, where CTP is included in registration (TAC). I do not believe it's a requirement to have Comphensive or Third Party insruance.

[Jesterarts]

Ive never heard of it being illegal to not have your car insured.Unless your talking about 3rd party green slip insurance.But then the car cant even be registered if theres no green slip 3rd patry insurance..Im in NSW.Is it different in other states?

Yeah sorry, I meant to say that it's illegal to drive without having 3rd party insurance on the car.

Should have said made that clear in my post.

[Essassin]

I remember being told to look in the rear view then brake when safe to do so...

This is true. Dont know how long ago the rule came into effect, but when I was going for my license (middle of last year) my instructor told me to look in the rear view mirror every time before braking. And sure enough when I did the test I could see the assessor watching for me looking in the mirror every time. I know people that have failed the test for not doing it. So bullshit? no. ridiculous? yes. Its probably different in other states (i have no idea to be honest) but i know thats the rule in vic.