Lorry crashed into me on motorway :(

[derektrotter]

Hi All

Was just after some advice, recently been involved in a accident with a lorry, it merged into the back corner of my car causing the car to spin out and hit another car.

I've never been involved in a accident before so just wanted some advice, I've reported it to the insurers and its now with them, there were no witnesses and the lorry driver is saying hes not sure what happened, I'm hoping theres CCTV which may help, bit worried this may drag out and he may deny responsibility.
I have fully comprehensive with legal cover but do not want to be out of pocket for a no fault accident.

My insurer has said I can get a quote myself for the cost of repair to the car or get them to take to approved repairer and sort out (which will be non mercedes it sounds like), I've seen Your Mercedes-Benz is in safe hands with us which looks quite useful, has anyone used this service before?

I'm not sure whether to find the best Mercedes approved repairer myself or use the above service, also should I only use the above service once I know other party has accepted liability?, any advice of any of the above or next steps would be appreciated

 

[boxbrownie]

I am surprised as the incident was on a Motorway either the Police or the Traffic control authorities did not attend.

 

[stevehg]

For fault you need to provide more details as to what happened, and what type of merge was taking place. Inside lane of three narrowing into two/three, outside lane narrowing into two/three, junction merging etc. Which lane you were in, and who was changing lanes as part of merger - you or the lorry?

For the repair costs, you'll only pay up to your excess. If this can't be claimed from 3rd party. So in this respect, in monetary terms it doesn't make a difference to you whether you go with their recommended repairer or MB dealer (and the outside repair shop they use).

Where you need to be careful is in things like courtesy cars etc. Read your t&c's and make sure you are aware of any differences here and responsibility for cost.

cheers, Steve

 

[stevehg]

I am surprised as the incident was on a Motorway either the Police or the Traffic control authorities did not attend.

If no person is injured, and it's not causing a traffic obstruction, there is no need to contact police, or for HA cars to be dispatched.

 

[grober]

"THE LORRY DRIVER IS NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED " is as close to admission of guilt you are going to get. Most insurance companies advise their drivers not to admit liability at the accident scene as a matter of course but simply exchange details with the other driver as per legal requirements. The fact the front of his vehicle hit your rear quarter would normally be in your favour but as said above depends on the exact circumstances- lane position etc. I would favour using an MB approved repairer as insurance companies usually try to minimise their repair costs via their own approved repairer. This is no guarantee of course but if you post your nearest MB dealer forum members may be able to post personal recommendations/ experiences of repairers in your locality.

 

[derektrotter]

Thank you everyone for the responses

Circumstances were I was driving in the slow lane straight ahead, I was not performing any maneuvers etc, suddenly I hear a crash and my car is sideways towards the lorrys front, the paint transfer shows where the lorry hit, there were no lanes merging into 1 etc so not sure why he suddenly decided to come into the left lane.

I'm in Herts if anyone has any recommendations, or alternatively I can contact the Mercedes accident management as per link in first post but not sure how good they will be, maybe its better I contact a dealer directly, Watford or MK is quite close.

 

[ioweddie]

Sorry to hear of the accident, I hope its all sorted to your satisfaction.
This is another reason to fit front and rear dash cameras, the rear footage would have helped prove blame

 

[boxbrownie]

If no person is injured, and it's not causing a traffic obstruction, there is no need to contact police, or for HA cars to be dispatched.

No, quite correct........but I am still surprised after an incident involving a car and a truck that MUST have at very least both been occupying the hard shoulder that some kind of "official" was not dispatched, must have missed it on the CCTV or section not covered.

But being in the OP's place the first thing I would have done is called the police/motorway control. If only to provide a witness statement if required later.

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

Sounds like the driver fell asleep, same happened right infront of me earlier this year on the A14 travelling towards Ipswich

I was in the fast lane doddling along about to go past the lorry which was in the slow lane. Luckily (?) my phone rang and I held off the acceleration whilst I quickly glanced over at it. Eyes up and go to accelerate and the lorry has swerved towards the verge and suddenly across the fast lane crashing into/half through the middle barrier, we'd of been squished if I had stayed my speed next to him

Be careful with the driver as he could say you undertook and pulled out to early, catching your rear quarter on his bumper and spinning you infront of the truck

 

[derektrotter]

Motorway control were called who assisted, all they did is take details of everyone and pass our details onto each other, they said they cannot provide witness statements as they were not there at time of incident.

 

[219]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune , but just to be clear - you were driving along in lane 1 ( nearside lane ) , but was the lorry joining from a slip road on your left , or was he in lane two ( on your right ) and returning to lane one ?

Without witnesses or any cctv to corroborate events , it could well go 50:50 since the lorry driver could turn round and say you drifted into his lane

In such a case you may well receive a letter along the lines of ' Without prejudice , our driver claims that your driver drifted into the path of the lorry , and without any evidence to the contrary we see no reason to disbelieve him ' - in such an event , both insurers will share the burden of costs and you will still get your car repaired , but won't be able to recover your excess .

Events such as this highlight the value of having a dashboard camera recording every journey .

Also bear in mind that HGV's have a 'blind spot' just in front of the cab such that objects very close in front are not visible to the driver !

 

[Little Lofty]

I recently had a none fault accident. I initially informed my insurance company who said they would arrange for repair etc at their approved body shop. I told them I wanted it to go to MB approved bodyshop and was told I'd have to pay my excess if I done this. I then contacted my local MB dealer who put me in contact with the bodyshop who in turn put me in contact with Sytner Drive who handle the claim for you. The car was inspected and the work authorised, they also would have arranged a courtesy car but when the paper work came through it suggested a daily hire rate of close to £300, which I was ultimately responsible for if the third party insurance refused to pay for it. I obviously rejected this. Luckily, in the mean time the third party's insurance contacted me to offer to arrange the repair and a hire car, they were too late for the repair but I took their offer of a car and currently have 435d XDrive to pottle about in. I would have contacted them straight away if I'd know they would have sorted it all out for me. Maybe you could contact the wagon drivers insurance direct and see what they say about liability.

 

[Dryce]

I would have contacted them straight away if I'd know they would have sorted it all out for me.

This is where those exhorbitant charges for daily hire by accident management outfits have a positive effect on some insurers - these days in a clear cut no-fault the other party's insurer has an incentive to deal with you quickly and fairly.

 

[219]

I recently had a none fault accident. I initially informed my insurance company who said they would arrange for repair etc at their approved body shop. I told them I wanted it to go to MB approved bodyshop and was told I'd have to pay my excess if I done this. I then contacted my local MB dealer who put me in contact with the bodyshop who in turn put me in contact with Sytner Drive who handle the claim for you. The car was inspected and the work authorised, they also would have arranged a courtesy car but when the paper work came through it suggested a daily hire rate of close to £300, which I was ultimately responsible for if the third party insurance refused to pay for it. I obviously rejected this. Luckily, in the mean time the third party's insurance contacted me to offer to arrange the repair and a hire car, they were too late for the repair but I took their offer of a car and currently have 435d XDrive to pottle about in. I would have contacted them straight away if I'd know they would have sorted it all out for me. Maybe you could contact the wagon drivers insurance direct and see what they say about liability.

It is certainly worth contacting the haulage company's fleet manager since many self insure , and those who don't still pay high rates - they may , depending on circumstances , arrange to pay for the repair to avoid an insurance claim .

 

[mercedesmanleed]

tachograph on wagon can tell a story as to the way driver was driving before the accident

 

[derektrotter]

Thank you everyone for the replies and good wishes.

To clarify I was driving in the slow lane, lorry was in the right hand side faster lane, for some reason he must have decided to get back into the left lane and he hit the back of my car causing me to spin to the right, from the paint transfer I can see he hit my rear right hand side of the car, I am really surprised the insurance company does not want to investigate/analyze the damage, they just want to get it repaired, i've taken a lot of photos in any case.

My insurance company have said they will get in touch with other side insurance and go from there, I will call them on Mon to check on progress, they've said I can get a quote from my own choice of repairer and submit the quote to them, if they accept I can then proceed.

I guess the choices are
1) I can approach Mercedes dealers or
2) contact Mercedes accident management to get a quote

I'm leaning towards the latter (http://www.mercedes-benzretailgroup.co.uk/mercedes-benz-cars/service-parts/accident-management/) option as they probably have a lot more experience dealing with these situations, car is not driveable so I'm guessing they'll have to take it to give the quote.

I just need a quote and do not plan on taking a loan car at this stage, also want to give my insurance company a chance to sort out before involving any other management companies so hopefully MB accident management will offer just to give a quote to repair rather then take over from my insurance, also not sure how the other side (lorry driver) are going to respond in terms of accepting liability at this stage.

Edit - 3rd option, just found http://www.mercedes-benzretailgroup.co.uk/mercedes-benz-cars/service-parts/accident-recovery/ which I may try contacting first as a preferred option as i'm not sure about the whole "accident management" thing so the above link sounds like it may be what I need.

Would everyone agree with the above approach?

 

[Ditch]

Motorway control were called who assisted, all they did is take details of everyone and pass our details onto each other, they said they cannot provide witness statements as they were not there at time of incident.

I'm just perusing old threads having just signed up so please excuse the resurrection of some oldies.

If anyone ever finds themselves in the same situation don't fall for this ****** that Derek was fed.

Its not that they cant make any statement if requested, its just they wont.

in some instances their statement could be crucial for persons present, times, actions and behaviour once they were on scene.

The service we , the public are getting is deteriorating on a regular basis.

One point regarding the requirement for them to attend. In a damage only incident you may not get any attendance. However what they try to do is send a vehicle, be it Police, HATO or ISU to give protective cover/fend off.