Avoiding non-fault accidents

[davgen7]

Hi guys,
I was recently involved in a minor fender-bender; not my fault (I don't think?) but so easily avoidable that I'm still pissed off at myself for not reacting appropriately. In the end, I could have sworn the other party was paying attention, but he wasn't - already a mistake to be honest.
I looked for CCTV the next day but couldn't find any, so I gave the bloke the money he wanted to fix his bumper so it didn't go on the insurance, because when there's no evidence or witnesses it always ends up as a 50/50 from what I can tell, which would have royally fked me over given my age and the fact that I'm in my first year. Annoying, but st happens.

However, I am also of the belief that there is no such thing as fate, and everything is cause and effect (fair or unfair). This leads me to today's productive question of if anyone has any tips to avoid these annoying little bumps, even if it isn't your fault.

Most of these will probably be small little bits of advice that can make all the difference. For example, a couple of my own:

- Start braking early and gradually, because the sooner the brake lights come on, the sooner the driver behind will notice that he also has to slow down, to minimise the risk of getting rear-ended
- Try not to be side-by-side with anyone on a roundabout in case they decide to straighten at an inappropriate time
- Always leave a sizeable gap between yourself and the car in front when stopped at a red light, just in case the reverse lights of the car in front come on (happened to me a couple of times)

I expect that a lot of these will be common knowledge to more experienced motorists, but to a youngster like myself, I suspect that these little tips could add up to make me a much better driver.

My incident, and riding a motorbike, has opened my eyes to the fact that not causing an accident yourself is only half the game, if that; the rest is avoiding other people's errors.

I don't suppose anyone else has any little nuggets of advice?

Thanks.

Edited by davgen7 on Tuesday 6th December 18:44

[mybrainhurts]

Observation and anticipation.

Comes with experience.

[vonhosen]

Concentrate & keep as much space around you as possible. It'll free your eyes up so that you can look where you need to in order to identify & anticipate problems early & it will also give you the time to be able to avoid them. If you aren't close to something it can't hit you.

[davgen7]

Thanks guys. My own experience would reinforce the old advice that you should "drive as if everyone else on the road is an idiot" - I didn't, for just a couple of seconds, thinking that the guy looking directly at me from the window of his stationary car had seen me, and we'd reached an agreement that he was going to stay where he was - and found myself with an unpleasant repair bill. Lesson learned...

Anyone else got any advice they've come up with from experience?

Thanks.

[Nigel Worc's]

I'm sorry, but largely this is just down to experience, and sadly we can't pass that onto newer drivers.

Just remember that we all make mistakes, even us "advanced" types, and we all rely on other peoples skills and experience when we do.

[benjijames28]

We all make mistakes on the road, a mate of mine is a very careful driver yet he managed to get involved in a little bump pulling out of a parallel parking space. His view was limited due to a badly parked 4x4 behind him, he's edging out of space, didn't check his blind spot enough and some bloke in a ford fiesta had decided he wasn't going to stop for this car emerging, very low speed bump, from the pictures it looked like he scrapped his own car and slightly bent the other blokes bumper.

He dealt with it away from insurance, cost a few hundred quid to repair each car. I rekkon insurance would have gone 50/50 on that too.

[dvenman]

davgen - I'd look at RoSPA or IAM. Little tips and tricks are great but if they don't form part of a bigger picture of your driving, then they'll be wasted.

[davgen7]

dvenman said:

davgen - I'd look at RoSPA or IAM. Little tips and tricks are great but if they don't form part of a bigger picture of your driving, then they'll be wasted.

Funny you should mention that - I've recently signed up to my local IAM group and it has been immensely helpful thus far. Still feeling a bit st over the incident to be honest but hopefully I can use it to make myself better than I was before...

Aside from the IAM and RoSPA, are there any other groups I should look at? As I've said before, I want to get so good that I can even avoid people hitting me! Unlikely but certainly worth trying...

[dvenman]

davgen7 said:

Aside from the IAM and RoSPA, are there any other groups I should look at? As I've said before, I want to get so good that I can even avoid people hitting me! Unlikely but certainly worth trying...

IAM is good, so's RoSPA. Similar aims, slightly different mechanisms to achieve them but in the end systematic safe driving. Keep eyes out for Young Driver Days or similar advertised here round about February time.

[Bennet]

Exactly like you say, there are situations when a collision might not technically be your fault because ultimately they pulled out on you, or whatever, but you could have avoided in hindsight.

I've found it greatly beneficial to keep a notebook in my glovebox. Any time I am involved in a near miss or just fail to predict something that was predictable in hindsight, I draw a quick diagram. Then I review it every so often when I'm sat waiting in the car for some reason. I've found it very useful.

[SpeckledJim]

When passing stationary vehicles, the front wheel will give you the first/best clue of anything you need to pay attention to. I try to keep the relevant front wheel front-of-mind and in my peripheral focus (if you know what I mean) when driving down a tight street with parked cars.

[watchnut]

I am not sure what happened here....could you explain what you did, and what the other driver did....and the resulting damage to both cars? Also why you agreed to pay him?

To stay on the side of the insurance companies, when you next get a quote they will ask you if you have had any accidents/incidents in the last 5 years..........don't lie to them, you will still have to disclose this "shunt".

This is because the other driver may still try to make a claim against you. Then your insurance company may chase you up to find out why you did not inform them you had had an accident an not informed them.

Follow the guide lines your insurer requires of you (and that of the law)

Why did the other guy show an interest in settling without going through the insurance companies?....was it because he was uninsured?

I am just trying to get you think of the wider consequences of trying to avoid insurance companies....they can make life very difficult and expansive if you think you are cleverer than they are!

[henrycrun]

Indicate everything, lights on everywhere, cover horn, cover brakes and finally - Dutch Reach on exit.