Death of my 300

[Shude]

Uninsured drivers are the scourge of the roads, but the systems currently being put in place between police and insurance companies is making it much easier to hammer these people.

Still, at least we're not paying the authorities to crush the car, she's done that pretty well by herself!

 

[PJH]

As for the road , yes there's a bend about 100yds away , she lost it there , hit the neighbour's fence then came over for an unwelcome visit .

No chance of her getting an IAM badge.

Another car crashed there 3 days ago , about a dozen in the last 3 months , lost count over the 5 or 6 years we've been here - but this is the first one to come in our garden . Have written to MP's , MSP's , councillors , highways agency , Amey ... all to no avail . My pics will be in the local rag (again) this Wednesday .

I don't think this sign is used any more.

unless there are deaths I fear that nothing much will change.

We've had 3 cars in our sceptic tank in the last year , too

Phew! Did they want their cars back ?

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Holy crap!

I thought my wall destroying incident was bad!

So sorry for you and your Merc!

 

[GazCaff]

It wasn't Vicky Butler-Henderson filming another of her automotive "journalism" pieces for fifth gear was it?

 

[scumbag]

sounds like an ideal place to put up a safety camera!

nip down here and I can show a road where there are several cameras busy taking pictures of nothing but straight safe roads.*

feel free to take a camera and shove in the path about 200yrds up from your house.


*We have not had an accident on that road in 12 years, but it did get several speeders, and so in went the revenue generating devices. No, and this is according to our local councellor (LibDem) who got the things, speeding tickets have been issued in 12months to June 2006. therefore the cameras are working and our safe roads are now safer!

More like they are about to be removed!

 

[Rose Chap]

Sorry to hear of this unfortunate chain of events Pontoneer, like others have said I'm glad that it was just your car and wall that absorbed the force of this maurading Toyota and not you or anyone in your house!

Its good to hear that you've got a replacement in mind and I'm sure a chap of your mechanical abilities will have that replacement running better than Stuttgart intended in no time at all.

Once again, glad you're unharmed.

RC

 

[Shude]

There was a show on TV a while ago that showed a nasty, rural, blind T-junction of two roads of national speed limit. What typically happened was someone pulled out and was slammed into at 60mph, pushing both cars through some poor bloke's garden wall. This happened practically weekly. In the end he had a huge kidney-shaped wall built, about a metre high and about 5-6 metres deep which he covered with flowers. He was told that he couldn't build it because if someone hit it they would probably die but he ignored them and did it anyway.

In some ways I can fully understand where he's coming from!

 

[219]

A very interesting idea !

 

[Fandango]

Sorry to hear your plight Derek, hopefully your insurance pays handsomely and you can put the engine to good use.

I used to live in North Ayrshire too, up in the hills past Lochwinnoch. Accidents seem to happen there on a weekly basis on national speedlimit roads with little visibility. I can understand the recent talk about lowering speedlimits on some country roads.

Regards
Karl

 

[Dave Lewis]

What a terrible thing to happen. Glad no one was hurt.

Er, I hate to be a vulture , but since you're considering using the engine in a Fintail (sounds like a very cool project, by the way), does this mean you'll be keeping and breaking the car?

 

[DITTRICH]

Er, I hate to be a vulture , but since you're considering using the engine in a Fintail (sounds like a very cool project, by the way), does this mean you'll be keeping and breaking the car?

Don't feel guilty - I was thinking the same yet didn't feel able to say anything.
Les

 

[del320]

Coming in a bit late on this one - sorry to read of your grief, Derek. There is nothing worse than being sh@t upon when you're just minding your own business!

So how fast can she have been going? She lost it on the bend beyond Barry Devlin's tow-truck, rattled across an hundred yards of grass verge, through a substantial twin-leaf brick wall then pushed 1600kg of Mercedes sideways for four feet???

Am I correct in guessing you are near Crosshands? Back roads only used by locals with some long fast straights punctuated by a couple of right-angles?

If so the driver might be local - put her windows in.

Hope she's got a sore face .

 

[219]

To answer questions in order -

Yes I'm keeping the car , and I'll probably break it , but only once I'm sure I've got everything I need for my project .

I've already had two people asking about the leather interior , and I'll probably keep the alloys to use on the Fintail for daily use so the original wheel trims don't get stolen . I'll also be using things like brakes , possibly gearbox , diff etc where possible .

But there will be bits left over .

Still waiting for the assessor to come out so can't touch it yet .

And , I'm on the A737 , halfway between Beith & Dalry .

 

[Dieselman]

Ponteneer
A bit late with this but sorry to see the state of your car. Typical that it should be an uninsured driver that crashed into it, apparently they cause something like four times the accidents that insured drivers do.

You should be able to claim from the MIB for your loss rather than your own insurance.

P.s it sounds like you need a bigger septic tank to capture all those errant cars. I'm sure that after a while local drivers would hear of it and slow down at that bend.

 

[219]

Had the assessor out at lunchtime to look at the car . He confirmed it will be a cat. B write-off and they will be in touch with an offer . I reiterated that I intend keeping the vehicle to which he replied they do not normally permit this with cat B . At that I pointed out I would not accept an offer under these circumstances and that it was still my car .

Now have to wait & see what happens ...

 

[Shude]

Ponteneer
A bit late with this but sorry to see the state of your car. Typical that it should be an uninsured driver that crashed into it, apparently they cause something like four times the accidents that insured drivers do.

You should be able to claim from the MIB for your loss rather than your own insurance.

P.s it sounds like you need a bigger septic tank to capture all those errant cars. I'm sure that after a while local drivers would hear of it and slow down at that bend.

MIB will pay out for PI only, excess of £300 (IIRC)

Had the assessor out at lunchtime to look at the car . He confirmed it will be a cat. B write-off and they will be in touch with an offer . I reiterated that I intend keeping the vehicle to which he replied they do not normally permit this with cat B . At that I pointed out I would not accept an offer under these circumstances and that it was still my car .

Now have to wait & see what happens ...

They are quite miserable about it, but because the car is in your front yard rather than at a garage where storage fees apply you have some room to negotiate. The insurance company will have a contract with a breaker...
Maybe if you write a letter of intent and then provide proof that the chassis was sold to a breaker (you can keep the rest of course)?

EDIT:

MIB update, check this out!
http://www.mib.org.uk/MIB/en/Claims/UK/Uninsured/GFprocedure.htm

 

[pepper&boulou]

Sorry to hear and see the news about your w124, I hope it all turns out ok for you.

 

[Flash]

Pontoneer: sorry to hear about your car and see the pics of it in that condition...

 

[219]

At the end of the day , the vehicle is worth more to me in parts for my next project than the few hundred pounds they are likely to settle for anyway . Once I've got all the bits off that I require , I can always ebay the rest before finally crushing it .

 

[Dieselman]

MIB will pay out for PI only, excess of £300 (IIRC)

Odd that a collegue should have had his car repaired under the MIB scheme?