Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Guys,

i need some advised here.

Just got back from the road...

I was stopped at traffic light + jam on Williams Rd x Flinder Lane, then got hit from back by a stupid taxi driver.

Lucky, car only suffer minor damage on the rear left bumper, everything else seem to be fine.

However, my insurance has expired and was planning to renew it end of the month...

I've got all detail for the taxi driver (full name, address, driver license number, ph number, rego, taxi depo contact), took pic of both car (lucky i left my SLR camera in the boot).

Friend told me I would need to seek for a lawyer to claim for the repair, or what should I do now?

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/330701-what-should-i-do-now-need-advised/
Share on other sites

Laws in Australia might be different, but if your insurance is expired, I'd say the best hope would be that the Taxi company doesn't sue you as an uninsured motorist for repairs to the taxi. As long as they don't take any action your best bet may be to fix your car without involving insurance and get some coverage ASAP to prevent the same situation from happening again.

Not too sure about Aussie law, but if you got hit from the back, chances are the taxi is at fault and you should be claiming insurance for repairs on your car from the taxi driver thru his 3rd party motor vehicle insurance.

If you are not at fault, there shouldn't be any claim against ur insurance. So I don't think there is any issue with your insurance expiring although u better get it renewed ASAP! :)

your insurance doesn't have to know about it, and they won't do anything for you anyway

Call the taxi driver. He needs to put a claim through his insurance. Get the name of his insurance company and his claim number and you can deal with the insurance company from there on.

If he refuses to put a claim through then you'll have to fix the damage and sue him for what it costs you. The laws pretty clear, person from behind is at fault.

Alternatively if he doesnt want to go through insurance but would like to pay for the damage , then get some quotes and sort it out between the two of you

Edited by LiQuid IcE

Go to your nearest Police Station and lodge a "Late Accident Report" (this is your insurance incase the taxi driver gets difficult). Needs to be done within 48 hours of the accident (I think or could be 24 hours)

Get a quote for repair.

Contact taxi driver and see if he wants to pay you directly for the repair or go through his insurance (as he is 100% at fault if he hit you from behind).

If refuses to be helpful return to the Police station and see if they can help getting the correct details.

He will have to pay but you will have to do the leg work instead of your insurer.

Good luck

Not too sure about Aussie law, but if you got hit from the back, chances are the taxi is at fault

He's saying that he doesn't have insurance. I figured this would move fault from the taxi driver to him since he shouldn't even technically be driving the car (It wouldn't have been there to be hit from behind). Once again I have no idea about Australian Laws. Hopefully the OP works it out

You're legally allowed to drive a car without insurance in Australia, so long as it's registered. Part of the cost of registering your car is for compulsory third party insurance and public liability.

Go to your nearest Police Station and lodge a "Late Accident Report" (this is your insurance incase the taxi driver gets difficult). Needs to be done within 48 hours of the accident (I think or could be 24 hours)

Get a quote for repair.

Contact taxi driver and see if he wants to pay you directly for the repair or go through his insurance (as he is 100% at fault if he hit you from behind).

If refuses to be helpful return to the Police station and see if they can help getting the correct details.

He will have to pay but you will have to do the leg work instead of your insurer.

Good luck

Andy65b is correct. Actually, the best thing you could have done next is to get the details of the next driver to act as a corroborative witness. Otherwise it's your word against the taxi driver's. Generally the law errs in favour of the car in front, however. Generally, all the insurance company does in cases where the other party is at fault (demonstrable, hence witness is good) is act on your behalf in dealing with the other party or their insurance company. If there's no insurance company working on your behalf, the onus falls to you to do the footwork. Suggest you put the fear of God into the taxi driver by suggesting that if he doesn't cough up you'll make it formal through your insurance company (he doesn't have to know) and he may lose his licence as a result.

Thanks everyone for your quick response.

I'll be reporting to the nearest police station first thing tomorrow and contact the taxi depo/taxi driver to see their response in regards of repair my car.

Andy65b is correct. Actually, the best thing you could have done next is to get the details of the next driver to act as a corroborative witness. Otherwise it's your word against the taxi driver's.

I have my girlfriend as the passenger would that count?

Also it happened right in front of a car-park entrance/exit so my best guess there would be some CCTV/video recording if the taxi driver being dodgy.

Friend of mine had similar issue back in Dec last yr on Kings way....his lawyer did mentioned the rego fee we pay every yr does cover the third party insurance

Mate, i've been through this numerous times. You do not have to do the leg work. Just take it to your repairer of choice and they will handle the claim on your behalf at no cost to you.

In fact even when you DO have insurance, you can still do it this way when its not your fault.

Friend of mine had similar issue back in Dec last yr on Kings way....his lawyer did mentioned the rego fee we pay every yr does cover the third party insurance

Third party insurance with your rego ONLY covers, injury to people.

If you hit someone with no Car insurance you will be up for the damage out of your pocket.

My advise, at a minimum get Third Party, property and theft insurance. This is cheaper than comprehensive but does no cover damage to your vehicle.

Your laws in Aussie are prob very similar to NZs.

If you get struck from behind, ie, nose to tail accident, the rearmost car is almost

always held to be at fault as they have failed to stop in the clear distance ahead

So unless someone comes up and says that you were reversing back up the road , you should be in the clear there

You do need to report it asap to the Police

If the Police prosecute the taxi driver, I am guessing they may be able to ask for reparation to cover your damage

so its worth asking them about that and if they can ask for reparation, get a quote asap to give to them

If the taxi driver says he has no insurance coverage, the company he works for may have some coverage

Once the taxi company's insurance firm see's that you have no insurance

they wont give you a cent and will fight you for any damage on the taxi.

I have been in the same situation myself and its not nice.

They will fight you if you try and make a claim against them

Because they know all your court costs(and maybe the taxi companys costs aswell) will be coming from your own pocket.

I wouldn't push to much or it might end up costing a lot more than you think.

And sorry to say the witness wont count because you know her and will classed not being impartial.

Im sorry to post this bad news but I have been down this path myself .

I have also just read another post telling you to try and bluff them into thinking you have insurance

I would say dont try this at all or you will be facing even bigger costs.

Once you make a claim againt them they will ask for your insurance company's details and when they

see there isn't any they wont just leave you alone.

Also the "person at rear is at fault "law does not exist in Australia and hasn't for about the last 10 years ever since the

introduction of roundabout laws.

Do a search on the law and find out the true ruling

Edited by Cra-Z-Boy
Once the taxi company's insurance firm see's that you have no insurance

they wont give you a cent and will fight you for any damage on the taxi.

I have been in the same situation myself and its not nice.

They will fight you if you try and make a claim against them

Because they know all your court costs(and maybe the taxi companys costs aswell) will be coming from your own pocket.

I wouldn't push to much or it might end up costing a lot more than you think.

And sorry to say the witness wont count because you know her and will classed not being impartial.

Im sorry to post this bad news but I have been down this path myself .

I have also just read another post telling you to try and bluff them into thinking you have insurance

I would say dont try this at all or you will be facing even bigger costs.

Once you make a claim againt them they will ask for your insurance company's details and when they

see there isn't any they wont just leave you alone.

Also the "person at rear is at fault "law does not exist in Australia and hasn't for about the last 10 years ever since the

introduction of roundabout laws.

Do a search on the law and find out the true ruling

Dont think so...............Australian Road Rules 2009 state............

"Part 126 Keeping a safe distance behind vehicles

A driver must drive a sufficient distance behind a vehicle

travelling in front of the driver so the driver can, if

necessary, stop safely to avoid a collision with the vehicle"

Clearly states that this is an offence provision, ie should be punishable by Law

Australian Law and NZ Law are very similar in many respects as they are both based on Crown Law

even though both Countries have now moved on from being Commonwealth countries

If someone is stopped for a traffic light and is hit from behind, this is an entirely different proposition from being in a roundabout

Edited by rayh1

called up the taxi company this arvo, apparently their car arnt insured either!!

so the guy just ask me to go to their preferred panel shop in moorabbin and they will cover all cost for repairing

anyone has experience with "Master Panel"

Dont think so...............Australian Road Rules 2009 state............

"Part 126 Keeping a safe distance behind vehicles

A driver must drive a sufficient distance behind a vehicle

travelling in front of the driver so the driver can, if

necessary, stop safely to avoid a collision with the vehicle"

But where does it say that the driver at rear is at fault.

There is no straight forward law as there are many factors in all collisions.

The law does not exist.

My mate is a cop and has just confirmed by SMS that there is no such law but a set of rules

that must take in all factors of the law.

So you make that what you will but there is still no straight forward rule

stating the driver at rear is at fault.

called up the taxi company this arvo, apparently their car arnt insured either!!

so the guy just ask me to go to their preferred panel shop in moorabbin and they will cover all cost for repairing

anyone has experience with "Master Panel"

They cant hold a commercial taxi licence without every car in the fleet having insurance

But this still might work in you favour if they want to stay outside the insurance route.

I hope this all works out and they fix your car

JapaV

How long over due was your insurance? Usually what happens is you will receive your renewal and you have a certain time frame to pay it in, if you have an accident within that time frame you are ok as all you need to do is tell them that you were intending to pay it if they say anything and then put the claim in, then obviously pay your insurance.

Because you were hit form behind you are not at fault, the taxi driver is, if they say it was you then the claims consultant has no idea what they are talking about and are trying to get out of paying. Also, becuase you have the details of the driver you will not need to pay your excess, they may ask you to pay but then need to pay you back as they have details which means they will either be able to subrogate aginast the taxi driver or his insurer.

I used to work for a major insurer in Brisbane and am an insurance broker and deal with these issues all the time.

If you need a hand or more info, let me know.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • I have been being VERY quiet about what you're alluding to, as it is something that ticks me off... The number of cars from factory that run coil overs is HUGE! Most of them these days do... The other part that annoys me, is people saying "Well all the incabin adjustable suspension is illegal by blah blah blah"... If that's the case, then why can I buy a car brand new that can do it if, FULL STOP in cabin adjustable suspension is illegal...   Also, I could just chuck some aftermarket shocks in my car, throw the stock springs on, after my blue slip, dump my super low springs back in. Same shock and spring style setup... Hell, they could also be the same colour springs etc.     I'm voting, BlueSlipper didn't want to touch the above car for some reason. Whether it be some sort of bias against the car, the owner, them maybe having previously done dodgy shit and now they're being super careful in case they get slapped in the face by the Gumbyment again... Find a new blueslip place.   And can confirm as you had said, yes there are holy bibles of vehicle heights, and all sorts of other suspension stuff. Heck your run of the mill mechanic, and tyre shop has access to all of that stuff. It's how they do wheel alignments...
    • Funny story Heading to Sydney this morning on the HWY there was some slow traffic, so I gave it the beans and midway through my overtaking "power run" I lost all power It seems that I missed a hose clamp,  and the MAF and filter went WiFi To make this more problematic, the little tool kit that lives in the boot, is sitting in the sun room at Goulburn......LOL Luckily for me I found a bit of steel on the side of the road that could be used like a rusty and bent flat head screw driver to tighten it up enough that it got me into Sydney, it is now all tight like a tiger with the aid of a 8mm socket Note to self: Use my brain and double check stuff, and always keep that little tool kit in the car for when I have a brain fart
    • Oh, and as for everyone with their fuel economy changes, I switch between E10 and 98 in the company car. Even do when I had personal cars that could run on E10. You know what changed my fuel economy in any noticeable way? How I drove, and where I drove. Otherwise, say on full tanks of just back and forth from work only (So same trips, same sort of traffic), couldn't notice a difference that I can correlate to the type of fuel in use. In the current vehicle, that's over 42L of USABLE fuel. While 98 is all "more energy dense", it also has higher knock resistance as it takes more energy to get it to ignite too. The longer hydrocarbons, typically more tightly bound. So running the same ignition map, can also produce less power, if there isn't enough time to get it all burnt through properly, as yep, the flame propagation speed is different from lower octane fuel to higher (Higher has a lower flame propagation, due to the more tightly bound and harder to self ignite funs. This is also typically where, a vehicle that is designed purely to run on 91 (Whether it be E10 or normal 91) usually sees absolutely no real world difference in fuel economy for the normal man, woman, or dog.
    • We've got some servos around me that have 91 with E10, 91 (no E10), 95, and 98. At those stations the change from 91 E10 to 91, is typically around 8c/L.   But lets not get started on the price of fuel in Oz. It's ridiculous. All the service stations around me, bar one, the price of fuel has been over the $2 mark per litre for the cheapest, 98 being around $2.45. That one service station is a CostCo, fuel from it comes from the same refineries, and makes no pitstops, it runs great, including the 98. In fact, I've had no issues on CostCo fuel, but plenty of issues at other stations!. The CostCo fuel, was $1.65 roughly this week for 94 with E10. $1.88 for 98. Servos directly across from it, $2.10 for 91 E10, and $2.48 for 98. The part I had to laugh at? If I drive multiple HOURS away from Brisbane, say out near Nanango, or Kingaroy, or even out to Goondiwindi, the price of their fuel, is the same as what it is at the CostCo... Oh, and that BP servo at Goondiwindi is HUGE and goes through epic turnover of fuel, so it's not sitting there for weeks going to shit. And what blows me away, my mate is one of the people who drives the Fuel Tanker all around QLD, delivering to all those places. At the same company his previous role was doing the "local haul" deliveries... Same truck, same driver, same pickup point it all comes from. So you tell me, how the hell it is 60c/L CHEAPER for fuel, when nearly all else is equal, except they require a B-Double to drive half a day out of Brisbane, and half a day back, every second day, compared to the delivery that can be under 30 minutes drive from the fuel pickup point... Not to mention, go five blocks down the road, and Ampol to Ampol will vary 30c/L... And I've had this conversation with my mate... The way it's priced, is just typical, pure and utter rubbish... He also does runs from Brisbane, to all over QLD, down to Newcastle, Sydney, Nowra, Melbourne, Geelong, and even out to parts of the NT depending on the companies needs. His main stuff is all the longer distance away from home for a few days at a time, then when he's back, he loves to just pickup extra shifts wherever he can in whichever truck, hence all the weird different places.   Oh, as for getting E10 into all the fuels in Australia... It was very quickly highlighted, that we don't have enough biomass available to use to make E10 sustainably like they require, and it would dramatically cut into our, and the worlds food chain supply...   I vote we all just start running on liquid methane gas... Plenty of that just getting tapped off at tips from underground decay... (Note, this is pure just stupid commenting. I could very easily highlight the reasons its not a good idea especially on scale...)
    • Am I correct in assuming that the R35's are getting the classic skyline haircut off the odometer?  Quick search on carsales, there are 33 08 and 09 GTR's for sale, only 2 of them have more then 100,000km's on them (116,075 and 110,000 respectively).  And somehow there are about 25 for sale with around 60,000kms? Looks like the classic skyline haircut to me =/
×
×
  • Create New...