Well that’s compromised our holiday…

jdk62

jdk62

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So there I was toodling down the M2 near Faversham at the start of our 2 week tour round Wales… In our motorhome towing Basset (Skoda CityGo)

Slow car in front and appproaching a slip road from Faversham, I check my mirrors, indicate, let a grey van go past and then seeing plenty of space, I pull out. Having completed the manoeuvre 5 seconds later… thump! The tow car was hit from behind by another vehicle…

I managed to quickly get across to the hard shoulder and saw the car that hit us pulling behind.

The other driver stating that I pulled out without warning… Rubbish says I…. Oh and the driver advised she was an off duty police officer… I told I was an off duty consulting engineer….

She did however accept responsibility for running into the back of us.. damage she said was superficial on her car and the rear bumper on our car… Not so says I…. The A frame arm had crumpled as a result of the shunt…I also explained that I don’t know if the structural member behind the front bumper may be damaged or indeed if the tow bar fixture on the Moho had suffered any compression damage (unlikely but you never know….)

Anyway swapped insurance details etc and then had to remove the A frame and the Beauty Terrorist drove Basset to our overnight destination and looks like will be following me around Wales….

Grrrr
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Well that is a bummer! “Five seconds later” Maybe she should have gone to Specsavers :LOL:
 
So glad that you’re both ok, as that could have been a whole lot worse. The force it must have taken to bend the arm like that would have been great, it’s thankful that the car never flipped and took you with it.

Its a shame that the police weren’t in attendance as I would have liked to have seen her mobile at the time of the impact.

Try to enjoy the rest of the fabulous trip, you could even park up the car for a while and just use the van for some of it.
 
It’s something I am always wary of , drivers not seeing or expecting a car directly behind the motorhome.
I use hi vis magnetic signs “ On Tow “ on doors and boot to help attract attention .

Hope no other damage to your vehicles and enjoy your trip.

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MichaelT said:
Why do you think she may have been trying to take a picture of the indicators not working on the toad?😒
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Not quite, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had been using her phone. The police now check this detail, especially on motorway accidents.

You must have seen it yourself in the elevated position offered by the van and that’s lots of people with phones on their laps and in my experience, mostly females.
 
PP Bear said:
Not quite, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had been using her phone. The police now check this detail, especially on motorway accidents.

You must have seen it yourself in the elevated position offered by the van and that’s lots of people with phones on their laps and in my experience, mostly females.
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But you can't go about assuming that without proof can you! 😡

According to the OP she said she was a police person so I would like to think that would not be the case and as I said it may be the indicator was not working or not used or a million other reasons.
 
MichaelT said:
But you can't go about assuming that without proof can you! 😡

According to the OP she said she was a police person so I would like to think that would not be the case and as I said it may be the indicator was not working or not used or a million other reasons.
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Ok I’ll drop it there as all police are above the law.

Cant understand why you’re so angry and the angry emoji 😡

Its an honest statement that I’m happy to stand by and the proof would have been reviewing the phone.

I‘m also standing by the drivers on their phones. The only proof is a thin one and that’s me observing them breaking the law.

Now have a love day and don’t be grumpy, as I’d still stop on the hard-shoulder if needs be to render assistance if you needed it, even in the rain and the middle of the night, the same as I would the OP after his scary incident.
 
PP Bear said:
Ok I’ll drop it there as all police are above the law.

Cant understand why you’re so angry and the angry emoji 😡
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Because you are assuming without proof thats all.

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Quite an impact to bend a thick bar that easily? Might have taken most of the force and saved your MH and Toad from absorbing the energy? I wonder if they are designed to bend there in event of impact?
 
Larrynwin said:
It’s something I am always wary of , drivers not seeing or expecting a car directly behind the motorhome.
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Drivers being unaware of trailers in general is an issue. We've had drivers trying to merge in between the tow vehicle (typically a Disco) and the car trailer it's pulling several times. They seem surprised that we can't make a gap between the two for them to slot into. I'm always extremely wary when towing an empty trailer, especially a motorcycle on as they are so low and small.

Pleased no-one got got hurt anyway - it's a hassle, but property can be fixed or replaced.

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Did she have a dash cam? In my experience your insurers won’t fight hard (read at all) for your excess - 50/50 is easier. Took my daughter 2 years to reclaim all her losses after she was hit on a roundabout by some lovely young chap who suddenly decided to drive through her because he was in the wrong lane for the exit.
 
Nobody hurt which is the main thing! Surprised she admitted liability as insurance companies say it's the one thing you should never do.
 
PP Bear said:
Ok I’ll drop it there as all police are above the law.

Cant understand why you’re so angry and the angry emoji 😡

Its an honest statement that I’m happy to stand by and the proof would have been reviewing the phone.

I‘m also standing by the drivers on their phones. The only proof is a thin one and that’s me observing them breaking the law.

Now have a love day and don’t be grumpy, as I’d still stop on the hard-shoulder if needs be to render assistance if you needed it, even in the rain and the middle of the night, the same as I would the OP after his scary incident.
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I’m with you.
Also impersonating a police officer.

She’s hit you in the back so unless she’s got a camera proving you didn’t look when pulling out I’d say not your fault.
The fact she’s hit the back of the toad. The overall length of the vehicle meant she was driving without due care and attention.
But I’m only an off duty lorry driver :LOL:

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Jev88 said:
Quite an impact to bend a thick bar that easily? Might have taken most of the force and saved your MH and Toad from absorbing the energy? I wonder if they are designed to bend there in event of impact?
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She did say she was with the force :giggle:.
 
Safe distance was clearly not observed - some drivers are in the habit of tail-gating, even after they have hit some poor bugger up the backside.
Perhaps the other driver was off duty plod - I know for sure I would have called the police before I even got out of my vehicle - they need to investigate all motorway accidents.
 
You might want to tell you insurer that she claims to be off duty police. The companies will know what job she put down on her form so easy to check.

Impersonating a police officer is viewed seriously by most insurance companies and I understand can be a reason to withdraw cover.

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Grianan said:
Did she have a dash cam? In my experience your insurers won’t fight hard (read at all) for your excess - 50/50 is easier. Took my daughter 2 years to reclaim all her losses after she was hit on a roundabout by some lovely young chap who suddenly decided to drive through her because he was in the wrong lane for the exit.
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No dash cam
 
meanders said:
You might want to tell you insurer that she claims to be off duty police. The companies will know what job she put down on her form so easy to check.

Impersonating a police officer is viewed seriously by most insurance companies and I understand can be a reason to withdraw cover.
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I have advised both insurers (car and Moho)

Looks like the Moho insurers are taking the lead and their legal team will deal with it.
 
PP Bear said:
I‘m also standing by the drivers on their phones. The only proof is a thin one and that’s me observing them breaking the law.
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Hi.
From the cab of a Lorry........ Car driver reading a Map/Paper ? on his steering wheel as he passed,plus all sorts of things . First. A MALE electric shaving in the internal mirror as he passed Second. Lady applying make up in the internal mirror as she passed. As for " Flashing."...eeeer indication/ing..?... Men and women. I rest my case.
Tea Bag
 
My wife was once hit by an 'off duty police constable'. Clearly the other drivers fault as my wife was stationary at a junction. It was an absolute nightmare getting a resolution. She refused to respond to our insurers. I think we ended up making a formal complaint. It was a long time ago so can't recall exact details.
 
My guess is she was in one of the outer lanes and pulled back into the inner lane just as the OP joined. This would explain why the inner lane looked clear in the mirror but still there was a collision.

In France at motorway junctions there is a closely dotted line between the first two lanes to warn drivers about changing lanes at this point.

Too sensible to catch on here. :)

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