Not at Fault Car Accident - Didn't Get Other Parties Address For Insurance

Laninchris on 13/10/2022 - 11:01
Last edited 13/10/2022 - 11:15 by 1 other user

Hi all, Apologies I’m advance if this sort of question has been asked and answered. I’d be appreciative of a link to any previous post(s) that may answer my question ☺️

Yesterday I was in a scary car accident, where my car was hit by a man who tried to overtake me- while I was turning RIGHT. The car is intact, and reasonably ok- hopefully just superficial damage that can be repaired easily enough.

The scary part was how the man acted afterward.(I had my little boy in the car with me, and he stayed in the car after we both pulled over) He got out of his car and let loose with the expletives (I work in mental health, in the public system, and I was raised in country WA pubs, if that gives you any idea of the language I’m used to ha ha ha), properly abusing me- “You f-ing bastard”, “You’re a f-ing liar”, “My f-ing car- you f-ing bastard”.

He was a confident, older, Caucasian male, grey hair, approx 6ft late-60’s to mid-70’s, white Mercedes, Rolex (genuine?), athletic build etc etc etc - so, not your typical 70yr, out tonking along in his car. He was striding around and waving his arms, pointing at me etc etc etc. My son was really scared, but tried to be brave.

A lovely older lady stopped to give me her details and bravely said, in front of the man, that she saw the whole thing. She said that my indicator was on to turn etc and also said that he had just overtaken her before he hit me. Anyway, he stopped swearing after she said that, and he wrote down his name (hopefully it’s right) and phone number, and I did the same.

I know that I should have asked for his licence, but I was so bloody intimidated by him and my son looked so nervous/upset, I didn’t want to risk provoking him back into abusing me. But, when I got home and rang my insurer, they said even though I wasn’t at fault, because I don’t have his address I am still liable for my insurance excess of $600. (Because of the type of accident, I went to the police station to report it before I went home- but they just told me to report it on line, and they won’t get involved because it is a ‘civil’ matter).

Basically, I live in WA and need to ask if there is any way that I can get his address, using his mobile number/rego/name? (Because I don’t think it’s really fair that I should have to pay to get hit by another car, and then abused and intimidated)
Thanks so much 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Automotive Car Insurance Insurance

Comments

  • Unorthodox on 13/10/2022 - 11:12
    +17

    Police here are better than in the US but they can be really lazy and pricks.

    If you are comfortable, text the person and ask for their licence details. You need to be assertive and make it transactional.
    Hi xxx
    My name is xxx, and the driver of the vehicle xxx. I require your licence details for insurance purposes etc etc, could you please send to me as soon as possible. Please confirm you've received this message.
    If you do not provide your details etc etc I will be required to visit the police to make a statement and you ignoring this request.

    Etc etc

    No response ->

    I would try to back to the station and try talk to someone more compassionate, state the facts and that the older gentleman was aggressive and you didn't want to escalate at the time with your son there. Say your insurance needs the details and has referred you to the police and you'd appreciate if the police officer could either assist with calling up the person or getting a police reference number for the statement and letting the insurance company obtain the deets if needed.

    Also, not everyone has their licence on them at all times.

    • whatwasherproblem on 13/10/2022 - 11:20
      +2

      Also, not everyone has their licence on them at all times.

      That's (unfortunately) true, but it also would have been embarrassing for the older gent if the police had shown up to the scuffle (had it escalated) in that case, since it's the law in WA to have your licence on you when driving. Probably a safe guess that the older gent had his licence on him.

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 13/10/2022 - 11:36
      +2

      Don't believe they're requirred to provide their licence details/number. Just name, address and registered owner name of vehicle (if different).

      Happy to be proven wrong if different in WA.

      Police won't help you get their address. That ship has sailed.

      • Quantumcat on 13/10/2022 - 11:49

        Police won't help you get their address. That ship has sailed.

        Would police assist the insurance company at least?

        • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 13/10/2022 - 13:54

          Why would they?

          Police can't/won't hand over the other guy's address. If OP alleges details weren't exchanged, the guy will just deny. Won't end up anywhere. OP likewise doesn't appear to have provided their own address either.

          • Quantumcat on 13/10/2022 - 14:09

            @Typical16-bitEnjoyer: Hmm. Why would anyone ever provide their details? They can only be used by insurance to get you to cough up money and the police don't care if you don't provide details?

            • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 13/10/2022 - 20:30

              @Quantumcat: That's why you call the cops on the spot at the incident. Police can't hand over the info, all they can do is slap a fine on someone. From experience, common tactic is for the cop to ID a driver and read out their details very slowly and loudly so the other driver can listen and note down ;)

              • Unorthodox on 14/10/2022 - 15:40

                @Typical16-bitEnjoyer: Doubtful that the police would attend the scene tbh… Maybe in WA given its not as populous but even a semi aggro person would probably not warrant police to arrive with any rush.

      • Tleyx on 13/10/2022 - 13:51
        +1

        You dont need to provide licence number as that can be used for fraud

    • Laninchris on 13/10/2022 - 12:43

      Hi @Unorthodox
      Thank you for replying. I will try to message him later on today- not sure how it will go, but have to be brave lol

      • [Deactivated] on 13/10/2022 - 13:09
        -3

        A crap post revealed

      • 82norm on 14/10/2022 - 08:13
        +1

        Don’t say if you don’t provide details I will report it to the police. If the guys agro during the confrontation, then he’ll take offence. Reword the msg to say. Just mention you have spoken to the police already and are aware of the accident… leave it at that. You’re not fibbing as you have spoken to the police, although they were unhelpful.

    • HeWhoKnows on 14/10/2022 - 15:27
      +1

      Unfortunately OP should have taken down as many details as possible

      Drivers licence - You must carry your licence by LAW when driving.
      Car registration number
      photos of both cars and accident damage
      Time and place of accident
      Any witnesses

      Without all this information the other party can fob you off and/or deny everything, including placing you at fault!
      And without this information you cannot obtain his address!

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 13/10/2022 - 11:33
    +5

    WA yeah?

    Their name not completely generic?

    Physically go to WAEC office and inspect the electoral roll. Take pen and paper.

    If you find multiple matches, CALL the bloke, read out all the addresses and ask him which address is his as your insurer will be posting stuff to him.

    • Quantumcat on 13/10/2022 - 11:52
      +3

      As an intermediary step if you get multiple matches, is to Google search the name, phone number, address combinations and see what matches you get. If you get a lot of pictures of someone who obviously isn't the person who crashed into you then you can cross that one off the list. Maybe you might even whittle it down to one possibility before having to call him. If the addresses aren't far from you you can also do a drive-by and see if you can spot the car in question.

    • ThithLord on 13/10/2022 - 12:58

      Good sleuthing. I will keep this in mind.

  • Love a bargain on 13/10/2022 - 11:43
    +4

    Text the guy and if he doesn't respond with a reasonable amount of time, ask the cop to track down the guy for you as he failed to properly exchange details with you after the incidence.

    https://www.police.wa.gov.au/FAQ?faq=What-details-do-I-need-…

    You've his rego number, and with a witness (did you get the old lady's contact), the cop should be convinced enough to help.

    Remember, you're not asking them to adjudicate/ handle this matter for you, but to simply get the guy to provide sufficient details so that you can proceed with your civil claim through your insurer.

  • Ocker on 13/10/2022 - 11:49
    -4

    Is it not a case of that as you were changing direction, the car going straight ahead has right of way?

    • Quantumcat on 13/10/2022 - 11:57
      +7

      You don't have to give way to someone who is behind you! The guy that crashed into OP went into the lane of traffic going the opposite direction to overtake.

      I feel extra sympathy for OP as a number of years ago I lived in a country location and rode a motorcycle. Multiple times when I would slow down, with my right indicator on, to turn into my driveway, the person behind me would overtake on the right and nearly wipe me out. All they needed to do was slow down a bit for a few seconds until I was far enough out of the lane that they could drive past me (the road was narrow with a rough shoulder so they couldn't just go around me on the left). It got bad enough that if there was anyone behind I started to ride a extra 500m-1km out of my way where there was a driveway I could turn left into, so I could turn around and be able to turn left into my driveway.

      • Ocker on 13/10/2022 - 12:54
        -4

        In Vicotoria and from Vicoads site
        "You must give way to vehicles in the lane or line of traffic, when you change from a lane marked with lines, to another.

        This rule applies when crossing over any broken line on the road showing that the lane ends, e.g. merging into freeway traffic."

        Maybe depends on whether there was a marked dividing line for the lanes

        • Quantumcat on 13/10/2022 - 13:13
          +6

          What do you think the situation is? This is my understanding of the situation: https://ibb.co/Hpc4qqF

          I can't see how the green car should be expected to give way to the red car. You should only have to worry about cars coming the other way, not people coming behind you who don't want to wait for you to complete your turn.

    • Muzeeb on 13/10/2022 - 13:51
      +1

      has right of way?

      WARNING : TRIGGER ALERT

      @pegaxs

      • pegaxs on 13/10/2022 - 14:13
        +2

        :D

        I give up and usually stop reading at that point. People dont seem to want the truth, just what confirmation bias suits the masses.

  • lordra on 13/10/2022 - 11:51
    +2

    "rang my insurer, they said even though I wasn’t at fault, because I don’t have his address I am still liable for my insurance excess of $600."

    This is true. When you do find him, your insurer will send him the bill for your excess. When he pays them, they'll pay you back. It's really shit, I know. This will happen all the time, even if you have all his details, as they need to investigate and decide who is 'at fault'.

    • TrustNoBody on 14/10/2022 - 18:13

      when i’ve had an accident i didn’t have to pay my excess unless i admitted fault but if i didn’t they just took the time to decide who was at fault and then if i was proved at fault then u pay .

  • Leanne59 on 13/10/2022 - 11:52
    +4

    WA law mandates that drivers involved in a crash must stop and supply their name and address. Where the driver is not the vehicle's owner, they must provide the owner's name and address. If they refuse, call the police. If a driver's injuries prevent them from supplying a name and address, this may be used as a defence for not providing these details at the crash site.

    In addition to a full name and address, you should also collect other contact details, including phone numbers, email addresses, and driver’s license numbers of all parties involved in the crash, for example drivers, passengers, vehicle/property owners and witnesses.

    In QLD you can attend the Police Station and they will provide you with the name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle if you have the registration number and make and model of the vehicle.

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 13/10/2022 - 13:43
      +1

      Geez really? QLD is still archaic. Thank F Victoria stopped providing details to the public as it just helped all the shonky parking operators issue "invoices/fines".

  • [Deactivated] on 13/10/2022 - 11:58

    … my car was hit by a man who tried to overtake me- while I was turning RIGHT. The car is intact, and reasonably ok- hopefully just superficial damage that can be repaired easily enough.

    You're fortunate that you & your son weren't injured. Where is most of the damage to your car located?

  • AndyC1 on 13/10/2022 - 12:14
    +3

    1) Ring the guy up and get his car repo and driver license details.
    2) Go into a police station and file a report for dangerous driving for the other driver. You will need a police report as the other person did not give you his details.
    2) Call your insurance company and let them deal with the other driver and also get them to get the car fixed asap.

  • Bignudge on 13/10/2022 - 12:34
    +4

    I've been in a similar situation… one guy changed lanes into me in an attempt to avoid getting stuck at a red arrow. Got out… 60 year old caucasian male in a vintage ford hotrod ute throws all kinds of colourful language at me (I was 17 on my red P's). We exchanged names and numbers… but he refused to give me his address.

    Anyway, I got home and called up my insurer (NRMA)… and they said I had to pay excess until I could find out the other driver's address. Luckily for me, NRMA ran up his number plate and he was also insured through NRMA. So I got away with paying excess by pure luck.

    • MondaySleeper on 13/10/2022 - 15:36
      +5

      if the other driver is not giving the mandatory details, you can call police as this Constitutes "Failing To Stop And Give Particulars". the main thing is you keep cool.

  • apple2016 on 13/10/2022 - 12:36
    +3

    You have his phone number, call him and ask for address.
    You dont need his license details. Insurance also only needs name and address.
    If he refused to give the address, you can then report this to cops and would be an offense that cops can follow up.
    The witness is only needed if the other person changes his story.

  • netjock on 13/10/2022 - 12:44
    -2

    He was a confident, older, Caucasian male, grey hair, approx 6ft late-60’s to mid-70’s, white Mercedes, Rolex (genuine?), athletic build etc etc etc - so, not your typical 70yr, out tonking along in his car. He was striding around and waving his arms, pointing at me etc etc etc.

    This doesn't fit with…

    He got out of his car and let loose with the expletives (I work in mental health, in the public system, and I was raised in country WA pubs, if that gives you any idea of the language I’m used to ha ha ha), properly abusing me- “You f-ing bastard”, “You’re a f-ing liar”, “My f-ing car- you f-ing bastard”.

    Confident people don't do this…

    properly abusing me- “You f-ing bastard”, “You’re a f-ing liar”, “My f-ing car- you f-ing bastard”.
    He was striding around and waving his arms, pointing at me etc etc etc.

    Call him up or text him and ask for details you require to complete your claim. Be polite. If people want to be barbarians they get what they deserve.

    • [Deactivated] on 14/10/2022 - 00:21
      +3

      Confident people don't do this…

      yes, they do… everyone has the capability to lose their shit, especially confident. a confident person is more likely to lose their shit in front of others than a shy person.

      • netjock on 14/10/2022 - 10:41
        -2

        So you telling me billionaires on stage under pressure is going to use the f word 3 times in a single sentence.

        People who need to f this and f that in front of other people to appear confident just means you've rough as guts and probably a barbarian.

        Rain in Melbourne starting Wednesday and I saw a confident driver in a Ford Fiesta run straight into back of a big delivery van on the right hand side lane because following too close and thinking they are more skilled than they are. It is what confidence gets you. By your standards they will jump out of their car and f this and f that. People have no f'ing idea what they are talking about if they are trying to f'ing describe it. f'ing doesn't actually make sentences more clearer. It is like instead of using f word you say "Jesus Christ" obviously the item / person you are saying it to isn't Jesus and it doesn't make them understand more clearly what you want.

        • Sleeqb7 on 14/10/2022 - 13:37
          +2

          So you telling me billionaires on stage under pressure is going to use the f word 3 times in a single sentence.

          Billionaires? Because of a rolex and a merc? lol
          But the answer to your question is yes, absolutely, hell I used to work for someone who fit this description to a T. Had maybe a mil or two in assets, cared more about his appearance than his language, drove an overpowered merc, routinely getting speeding fines, and had a nice watch. Colossal f*wit.

          • netjock on 14/10/2022 - 13:43
            -1

            @Sleeqb7:

            Billionaires? Because of a rolex and a merc? lol

            No re: rolex and merc. It is example of very successful confident people don't need to swear.

            But the answer to your question is yes, absolutely, hell I used to work for someone who fit this description to a T. Had maybe a mil or two in assets

            Answer is NO. Plenty of people have $1m to $2m in assets and don't need to swear to get it. It is just a waste of hot air. I think I might have $1m+ in assets. I didn't have any meetings at all yesterday, and don't feel like I need to have a meeting or talk. Certainly don't need to swear in meetings to get things done.

            cared more about his appearance than his language, drove an overpowered merc, routinely getting speeding fines, and had a nice watch. Colossal f*wit.

            You know if Donald Trump stay under the radar and put his money in the S&P500 he would have a few billion more than he would have now. The f word doesn't guarantee success neither does it "get things done"

            Article

            • Sleeqb7 on 14/10/2022 - 13:48
              +2

              @netjock: You're really stuck on OP using the word 'confident', when really they could have simply meant 'full of themselves'. Acting confident enough to sell their BS about being in the right is still the appearance of confidence.

              What you said is that wealthy people don't use foul language and I'm telling you they do. Just because you don't curse like a sailor doesn't mean other people don't.

              What a weird series of comments you're making here.

              • netjock on 14/10/2022 - 14:13
                -1

                @Sleeqb7:

                'confident', when really they could have simply meant 'full of themselves'

                You are just reinterpreting to fit your own argument.

                What you said is that wealthy people don't use foul language and I'm telling you they do. Just because you don't curse like a sailor doesn't mean other people don't.

                I'd hardly call your old boss wealthy. Funniest part is you worked for them which means you are even worse off.

                What a weird series of comments you're making here.

                It really isn't if you actually have an education.

                Acting confident enough to sell their BS about being in the right is still the appearance of confidence.

                Only works if the person you are trying to fleece is less educated than you are, there are less and less of those people around. People who are still trying to survive on that bag of tricks is just surviving like your old boss.

  • FoxJump on 13/10/2022 - 13:09
    +9

    I was at home once, enjoying a nice afternoon of WFH, when suddenly I remembered I had to mow the grass.

    so off I go on the line trimmer first.

    while doing the front of the house i see a tow truck carrying a car moving very slowly between two parked cars on a bend on the road. so i stop line trimming to enjoy the spectacle.

    when suddenly.

    one of the parked cars the truck was navigating in between .. shoOk!

    so i ran toward the truck with my line trimmer and yelled at the truckie that he'd hit the car. the truckie kept driving but then parked a bit further away (closer to my home)

    I saw the damaged car and took pics, door knocked nearby, people didnt know whose car was that got hit.. Went to the truckie and told him he should at least leave a note. Trucky was on his phone to the boss..

    i take a pic of the back of the truck (was the trailer unfortunately)

    I keep line trimming and later see truckie walk towards damaged car.
    i go inside to get the mower
    I go out, i see the truckie walking back to his truck.
    truckie leaves.

    i think.. hmm let's go check out the note … AND THERE'S NO NOTE!

    later that day, a neighbour comes door knocking saying that i witnessed it (he heard from other neighbours of his that i was door knocking)

    so i email the neighbour photos of truck, photos of damage, not sure if i had a photo when he was navigating the parked cars too. gave him my contact details, etc.

    A month later the police call! to get my witness statement.

    . so .. the police do something eventually. if someone has dash cam footage that may be enough to ping the entitled white male.

    I hope you enjoyed reading my tale.

  • Euphemistic on 13/10/2022 - 13:42
    +1

    If you message or ring him, he may have calmed down by now so you can reason with him and get the address. Seems unlikely given the description of the person and situation but you never know. Adrenaline can do weird things at times.

  • Porker on 13/10/2022 - 14:22
    +1

    Did you get the vehicle number plate? Or did the other witness get it?

    Name and number could easily be wrong. ie. you could send the message and you'll never get the response having never known if it was received etc. At that point you'll probably need to call the number.

  • Laninchris on 13/10/2022 - 15:16
    +2

    Thank you, everyone, for your responses 🙏🏼
    I will call him when I get home, hopefully I get the info. Think that I will have to make a police report too, I’m so sore in my right neck and shoulder today 🥺
    Thanks again guys- really appreciate the help ☺️

    • kerfuffle on 13/10/2022 - 16:23
      +1

      Have you not gone to the doctor to get checked out yet? Wtf.

      • Laninchris on 13/10/2022 - 17:14
        +1

        I didn't say that I hadn’t seen a doctor or sought medical attention.
        I said I would need to make a police report now- because I am feeling pain today, that I wasn’t feeling yesterday.

  • AustriaBargain on 13/10/2022 - 15:27
    +1

    Shame your insurer didn't offer to call him themselves to fish his address out of him.

  • Sterio on 14/10/2022 - 08:31

    Me thinks the phone number he gave you is not his.

  • hazzad on 14/10/2022 - 09:25
    +2

    You should be able to feed all details you have to your insurer with your version of the story and they will chase it up. If you were in the right and the details he has provided are correct(rego should link correct name to car assuming it was his), then they should be able to extract repair costs from his insurer(assuming he has insurance).

    Accidents are scary and if you've never been in one, you can easily forget what details you need.

    My wife and daughter were involded in a red light run in melb about 4 months ago. My wife and another car were both doing left and right turns onto a major road and a vehicle ran a red light to hit my wife's car. Thankfully impact was at the front and they were unharmed for the most part. But the daughter of the at fault driver(who was elderly), went off at us with a feral mouth assuming it was put vehicles fault. Anyway police report clearly identified their car was at fault and we claimed successfully though out insurance, but it didn't stop the other party from trying to shift the blame back to us after our claim had gone through.. There are some real pieces of work out there

    • kiitos on 14/10/2022 - 16:12

      Yes, very easy to forget to get some info even if both parties are trying to remain calm, let alone if one of them is raging.

  • Series4Episode10 on 14/10/2022 - 12:38
    +1

    Years ago I had an accident and forgot to supply some details, a cop rang me on behalf of the other party and obtained them, she had a child also, go to police station and look overwhelmed while holding your child.

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