Hit and Run Crash - Options?

Grillman on 28/01/2019 - 13:29
Last edited 30/01/2019 - 13:58

Long story short.

An absolute moron of a driver flew up my inside in a lane that was ending, came straight across and hit the front right of my car with back left of their car. I pulled over, they looked like they considered pulling over, but then gunned it into the sunset.

I report to police with the cars licence plate, turns out driver has a suspended licence.

What can I do from here? Is there a way for them to have to fix the damage to my car without me claiming through my insurance?

Thanks!

Hi-tech render and satellite imaging:
https://pasteboard.co/HYwPPy0.jpg

Automotive Hit and Run

Comments

    • cheng2008 on 29/01/2019 - 16:33

      I wonder, what would have he done if OP wasn't OK?

      • IamEzza on 29/01/2019 - 18:33
        +3

        They would have driven off and then hopped on the next flight out of Australia.

        • Grillman on 29/01/2019 - 19:28
          +1

          lol, sadly I think this is all too accurate.

  • Wampus on 29/01/2019 - 10:59
    +3

    Here's the thing - insurance companies will charge you excess and you may remain 'at-fault' if you can't prove who it was who hit you. If you hit a roo, you are at-fault. If you get up in the morning and someone has sideswiped your car in the street, you're at-fault unless you track down who did it.

    If the police can't give the driver's details to the insurance company, they'll consider the OP at-fault

    • orangetrain on 29/01/2019 - 18:39

      So, car insurance only works if the true at -fault person comes clean? No wonder someone said when they admitted fault and asked to exchange details, the old lady driver cried at the honesty.

    • That Guy on 30/01/2019 - 12:55
      +1

      I got sideswiped when parked in a street driver took off with no note a year ago. No CCTV in the area, my insurance deemed me not at fault.

  • kaleidoscope on 29/01/2019 - 11:23
    -1

    There is a reason why you pay for insurance. simply lodge a claim and they’ll handle the rest.

    • CVonC on 29/01/2019 - 13:07
      +4

      Ozbargain thanks you for the life tip.

      Here's one for you: read the thread. Or at the very least, OP's responses. They are highlighted with a grey box.

  • eggles01 on 29/01/2019 - 16:52

    the car may be registered to the driver,just because they were a suspended driver it does not stop them for owning a motor vehicle,

    I would go to your insurance company and ask them what options are available to you.

  • bmerigan on 29/01/2019 - 21:02

    If you tell your insurance who did it, they will chase them for the money. And they don't chase them for the excess, they chase them for the whole amount.

    • Engineer13 on 30/01/2019 - 17:45

      This…

      Make it simple for your insurance company. They will be more out of pocket getting you to pay your excess rather than claiming the full amount from the party who caused the accident.

  • Mitch889 on 29/01/2019 - 21:20

    Makes no sense not to go through your insurance, that’s why you have it. They will do all the chasing for you to recover the costs of the repair from the at fault driver.

  • abuch47 on 29/01/2019 - 21:51

    What part of minmi road OP?

  • MITM on 29/01/2019 - 22:02

    Looks like the other driver just misjudged his merge. Aren’t you supposed to give way to your right? and by the damage/evidence, he was ahead of you.
    When you pulled over, was that to the right side of the road, or to the left ?

    • abb on 30/01/2019 - 11:53
      +4

      Aren’t you supposed to give way to your right?

      Check your state's road rules.

      I think you'll find where a lane ends (with short dashed lines), the driver in the ending lane must give way to cars already in the continuing lane. In cases where the road markings just stop, the car with their nose in front has right of way. (This is the case in NSW at least, and I think Aus has pretty uniform road rules these days)

    • Grillman on 30/01/2019 - 13:52

      There was no misjudging. This person drove like a crazy reckless arsehole.

      I don't think someone speeding well past the limit up a lane that has almost ended and cutting across gives them right of way? That would surely open a can of worms.

      I pulled over to the left.

  • Kamsi on 29/01/2019 - 22:19

    All I can say that I've experience almost the same moronic driver while I was driving to Melbourne. Fortunately, I brake in time before the idiot hit me.

  • Topdog on 30/01/2019 - 08:14

    Do cops give licence status out of people? Thought that might be a bit of a privacy matter?

    • lethalmoney on 30/01/2019 - 22:37
      +1

      they should not.

  • MessyG on 30/01/2019 - 16:15
    +4

    Just ring Budget Direct back and get a different and more helpful person in the call centre and if you can't, just politely ask to speak to the team leader (I say this from my past life working a call centre - most of the time it gets a better outcome for the caller).

  • lethalmoney on 30/01/2019 - 22:36

    what state are you in ?

  • agam2104 on 31/01/2019 - 00:37

    I hardly doubt you will get driver details, police more often do not have time and resources to spend on these cases, until someone is injured in a Hit and Run case . Most probably you have to pay your excess. If you don't mind can you show how much your car is damaged?

  • Marcsie on 31/01/2019 - 10:40

    But wait, actually do you have car insurance ?

    • CVonC on 31/01/2019 - 12:04

      Read. The. Thread.

      • Marcsie on 31/01/2019 - 12:08

        I mean … Actually !
        If he does, why refuse to put in a claim ?
        Other driver at fault, he won’t pay the excess :)

        • CVonC on 31/01/2019 - 12:11

          Again, read the thread. Particularly his responses highlighted in a grey box.

  • kimba88 on 02/02/2019 - 14:38

    Same thing happened to me in March last year. I didn't have any dash cam footage, but I remembered the number plate. I was in the m4 in Sydney when someone flew up the back of me for no apparent reason. When it was safe, I pulled over to the side, but the moron sped off in his big Toyota land cruiser Ute. I checked my car out, took photos of the damage, then continued to drive to the nearest police station. That was a big mistake because I should've called a tow truck and maybe even for the police to come to me on the m4. I feel like that may have had a faster response. When I reported it to the police, they looked up the number plate and called the guy. He admitted to it over the phone and said he would meet me at the police station. He was a no show. I waited another 5 weeks after that for the police to investigate it and create a report number for me to give to the insurance company with his address. The panel beater took until early June to get my car back to me. I still have back pain to this day and ctp stopped paying after 6 months for my treatment. I was told the guy was handed a fine.. But I think it was only small. It sucks that he gets off with a slap on the wrist and I still suffer. I hope you get it sorted OP. I didn't have to pay my excess because the panel beaters took longer to fix my car than the police did getting the report together. If you need another car to drive whilst it gets fixed, contact right2drive. They gave me a car for a while, but took it back from me when they couldn't find the details of the other persons insurance company. .

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