Got Rear Ended but Driving Unregistered Car

Jtin on 13/03/2017 - 09:02

Hey guys as there have been quite a few car related topics I was wondering if you could give me some advice.
Before I start, I know it was very wrong to drive unregistered but I was unaware that it was out and it should be my responsibility to check. Circumstances just happened to be that the registration renewal letter goes to a PO box but the access to it was unavailable at the time.
It was unlucky that the incident happened to be one week outside of registration when this incident happened too.. lol

Backstory:
This is in QLD.
So both cars are driving in the same direction.
Front car decides to indicate to the right to turn into a parking lot and has already moved over the middle of the road.
I decide to overtake from the left as there is enough space and is safe to do so.
The front car decides to remerge but fails to check and as I am positioned just ahead of the car I am hit on the right side of the rear wheel.
They have been damaged on the left side of the front wheel.

Now normally this would be a easy win, but the other party has claimed no fault and has put through a claim via insurance.
I had only realised registration was out after this incident and I am now wondering if I fight this claim will their insurance company look into the registration of the car and will this affect the case?
What sort of fines will I be hit with if I do go to court about it?

Thanks guys.

Automotive

Comments

  • tightarse on 13/03/2017 - 09:09
    +7

    Insurance companies by design will do anything to avoid paying on claims. If they even sniff your car was unregistered, you won't get a cent. Further, if they pass the information on to police, the fine is massive and almost identical to the cost of registration (in VIC at least). Having said that, if your car's registration is now paid and the insurance company or claimant aren't aware your car wasn't registered at the time of the accident, you should be ok. Good luck.

    • Jtin on 13/03/2017 - 09:17
      +1

      So because its now registered, and they are unaware, it's unlikely to be sniffed? or do they have access to history of registration?

      • Kangal on 13/03/2017 - 10:29
        +1

        It is VERY unlikely to be sniffed by the insurance company.
        Just as long as you don't mention it, or anyone from this thread :P

        Now if they do find out, you can tell them you were driving to your mechanic/QTrans to get the vehicle registered.
        You're legally allowed to do that.

        So in other words, pursue their insurance and get them to pay!
        And for a future lesson; make sure your registration is always upto date.

        • Scrooge McDuck on 13/03/2017 - 11:18
          +3

          And for a future lesson; make sure your registration is always upto date.

          And use dash cams.

        • bdl on 13/03/2017 - 12:54

          haha - imagine future insurance quote documentation:

          Q: DO YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW USE OZBARGAIN?

    • djkelly69 on 14/03/2017 - 00:11

      Assuming the other driver is at fault, why does OP's car being unregistered stop the other driver having to pay for damage he/she caused?

      • doctordv8 on 15/03/2017 - 09:23
        -1

        Because going back to basic road law, and the insurers love this, the OP was illegally on the road, and if he was not there, the accident would not of occurred. Similar to DUI, you are automatically at fault as you are drunk.

        • djkelly69 on 15/03/2017 - 19:53

          So taking that reasoning to the nth degree, I can deliberately drive into a car and have them be found at fault if I notice their rego sticker is out of date (assuming rego stickers still exist) or if I saw them having more than a few drinks at the pub and driving home?

          Doesn't seem likely…

        • doctordv8 on 15/03/2017 - 22:30

          @djkelly69:
          No silly billy, but you can take it to the 1st degree.
          Thou shalt obey the 1st and above all other rules - No 1 Rule of the road.
          Thou shall do everything in their power to avoid an accident.

          Causing an accident in what you described is tantamount to Fraud. Alas, 2 wrongs don't make a right either. It may be a technical Point of Law, but it still the law.

          There is 'shared' responsibility in accidents too, and if you are silly enough to cause an accident - on purpose - you will loose……

          You jest…..surly!

  • oscargamer on 13/03/2017 - 09:10

    Is the car now registered?

    • Jtin on 13/03/2017 - 09:16
      +3

      The car is now registered

      • oscargamer on 13/03/2017 - 09:37

        you might get away with it then

  • holdenmg on 13/03/2017 - 09:14

    You can sign up for E-mail reminders @
    https://www.service.transport.qld.gov.au/ecorrespondencepref…

    • Jtin on 13/03/2017 - 09:16
      +2

      Good idea, I will look subscribe to that

  • wukachuka on 13/03/2017 - 09:16

    The insurance company will check the vehicles details and see the rego date…
    Unfortunately, looks like you aint getting a cent ;(

  • Master Bates on 13/03/2017 - 09:16
    +1

    Better hope they're not an OzBargainer and reading copying this right now…

  • Freitag on 13/03/2017 - 09:34

    Can you claim that you were driving it to get it registered/inspected? In NSW you can drive an unregistered car to the nearest convenient RMS or mechanic to get it inspected for rego.

    • oscargamer on 13/03/2017 - 10:00
      +2

      and when they ask for that in a stat dec???? potentially 2 years inside………..

      • [Deactivated] on 13/03/2017 - 10:58

        And the car is STILL unregistered and uninsured so no excuse for an accident there ;)

    • Jtin on 14/03/2017 - 17:35

      I think you need to have CTP (QLD is purchased when you pay for rego) and also a form for registration filled or something
      Lol I did think of that but I think I can't do it :(

  • [Deactivated] on 13/03/2017 - 11:04
    -2

    i work for your insurance company, you will get nothing.

  • Hellfire on 13/03/2017 - 11:40
    -1

    Ignoring the registration issue this sounds messy. Can you draw a diagram showing what happened? Was it a single lane road?

  • jellykingdom on 13/03/2017 - 12:43

    I know how it can go sometimes with the rego. I was driving around for 2 weeks without realising I had forgotten to pay the rego, I had only paid the CTP (ie the most expensive part of the registration process). The policeman who pulled me over was pretty nice about the whole thing, and was kind enough to not give me the customary MASSIVE fine ($1000) as long as I paid it literally right there on the spot using the RTA app

  • ShannonN on 13/03/2017 - 13:00
    +1

    You don't mention if YOUR car was insured if so let your insurance company deal with it they probably wont give a shit about confirming a rego renewal was done before that date, I guess they'd assume it was as a normal course of events

    There are so many ways to receive notifications these days you may not get far by claiming no notifications etc.

    Moving on from that, if the road where the accident occurred was a single lane the insurance may argue overtaking on the left was illegal, saying you should just wait till traffic cleared. If the rd was single lane and had an emergency marked lane, a bus lane or a cyclist lane you'd probably get done for crossing into those restricted areas also.

    If you were hit in the rear wheel it does show you were safely past most of the other care and they had to be at fault

  • vv4rhead on 14/03/2017 - 15:24

    Worth noting that in NSW at least you have a 14 day leeway period after your registration has expired.

    • Jtin on 14/03/2017 - 17:36

      Yeah unfortunately this is in QLD and I think it's different :(

    • doctordv8 on 15/03/2017 - 09:02

      Yes 14 days - but that is only to pay the rego without penalty or drama or Roadworthy inspections etc. You still should not be on the road. The due date is the due date and thou shall not drive past the due date.

      There is a leeway in Qld too, but again the vehicle can't be driven. There is also a late fee. Does not help the OP.

  • doctordv8 on 15/03/2017 - 09:20

    Sadly, to think you are partly or completely in the right on Road Law, does not help you here. Unregistered is still, unregistered and should not on the road.

    The side swipe (not rear ended) accident, makes it a whole new legal ball game, and you passing on the left (more exact info required) will prob not help your cause.

    The standard argument is: Like a DUI etc, the OP should not of been on the road, and therefore he very much is in the wrong for the accident.

    The other party - may of - (more exact info required) contributed yes, but that is pure conjecture because any legal challenge will always refer to Road Rules - back to point #1 - OP's vehicle was not allowed to be on the road.

    In nearly all cases like this, you had no valid/current insurance as vehicle was unregistered, although that is between you begging and their leeway of dates, law rules and them getting out of paying as they do, so basically - no anything.

    I wonder if the Police or the other car driver or their Insurance Co are reading all this info right now?

    Now just a thought……even though the Police did not attend as there is no mention in your opening, how will his insurer accept a claim without a Police report. You or other should of reported the accident within 24 hours, yes/no? Therefor, at some point, the Insurance and police will do their checks and find the truth and things could turn real ugly for you.

    Not picking on you as I see you understand Unregistered driving is VERY serious. But just saying in the end, you will probably end up paying for it all and then the Law may step in also.

    • Jtin on 15/03/2017 - 13:49

      I very much understand that it is in the wrong to not have it registered. If situations were different and I had received that notification for renewal, it would have been paid off straight away. Just unlucky that I had no access to the PO Box at the time.

      Just in regards to some of your points/questions.

      When I mentioned passing on the left, I was quoting the QLD Road Rules
      https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/safety/rules/road/left/inde…

      You can only overtake to the left of a vehicle if it is safe to do so and:

      • you are driving on a multi-lane road and the vehicle can be overtaken in a marked lane to the left of the vehicle
      • the vehicle is turning right or making a U-turn from the centre of the road and is indicating right
      • the vehicle is stationary
      • you are lane filtering on a motorcycle.
        They were already passed the middle of the lane and plenty of space to just pass through

      And in regards to police being called for a report, it's not necessary for them to come out and make a report unless
      https://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/roadSafety/tcfaq.htm#…

      You must stop at the scene and call Policelink on 131 444 if any of the following 'police attendance criteria' are met -

      • suspected involvement of drugs and/or alcohol,
      • a driver fails or has failed or is refusing to provide required details*,
      • a driver with an impairment or disability requires police assistance.
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