minor car accident, advice please.

[bilko2]

Just on my way home from work comming down London Road to the Elephant and Castle roundabout. I was in a normal driving lane and a bus pulled drove down his lane and then pulled out infront of me or started to at least. He wasn't indicating. I stopped and he stopped then he continued and i hears this mangling noise as he basically mangled my offside mirror.
I hammered the horn whilst swearing my head off and he stopped again.
We both pulled over and he came over and said "what do you want to do?"
Now iv'e never been in an accident and was quite sure he wasn't going to dole out £50 whilst driving a bus so i agreed to exchange details.
Basically i didn't get any witnesses so it is my word against his now. He didn't check the bus for any signs of damadge and neither did i as i have only just thopught of it. But i would think there is none.

I am regretting giving him my details now as i know hes not going to own up to liability to his boss and very doubtfull i will get the cost of an electric mirror off anyone. I just get the feeling that if i contact the bus company they will try and claim something against me which will ruin my no claims bonus.

If they phone up should i just deny any damadge to my vehicle or try and claim off them?
I know they have a company that deals with their insurance.

Any advice for now or future accidents ( i hope not ) would be greatly appreciated.

I got his number and registration etc but just get the feeling i should leave it.
Car is a Polo btw.

[mcflurry]

Phone up the bus company, they will have a dedicated department for such a thing..

[GKP]

Bus companies are usually pretty good at coughing up for minor prangs.
Get a quote to fix the damage and send 'em a copy along with accident details etc.
With luck they'll bung you a cheque without fuss.

[bilko2]

will i loose my no claims though even if my insurance company makeas a claim against them?
There were no witnesses and the driver told me that he had right of way there. Although that still doesn't excuse him pulling out infront of me.
I'll try and call them.

[likesbikes]

Don't know about bus insurance, but our firms (HGV) policy has an excess of £25k. If the bus company's is similar, they might think the cost of a mirror isn't worth arguing that hard about.

On the other hand, a car recently lost its mirror when he clipped the side of me. The driver admitted responsibility to me and as there was no damage to the truck he said he just wanted to buy himself a new mirror rather than go through insurance. My boss contacted the insurance anyway, apparently concerned the bloke might change his story and suddenly go for a mysterious shock/whiplash type claim.

I'm only presuming most transport managers think the same way but it might be worth speaking to your insurance (and theirs) before something nasty drops onto your doormat?

[bilko2]

likesbikes said:

Don't know about bus insurance, but our firms (HGV) policy has an excess of £25k. If the bus company's is similar, they might think the cost of a mirror isn't worth arguing that hard about. On the other hand, a car recently lost its mirror when he clipped the side of me. The driver admitted responsibility to me and as there was no damage to the truck he said he just wanted to buy himself a new mirror rather than go through insurance. My boss contacted the insurance anyway, apparently concerned the bloke might change his story and suddenly go for a mysterious shock/whiplash type claim. I'm only presuming most transport managers think the same way but it might be worth speaking to your insurance (and theirs) before something nasty drops onto your doormat?

God, I was thinking the same thing.
But if i call my insurance company won't i loose my no claims bonus?
Just phoned their depot and there is no answer.
I'll keep trying.

[bilko2]

also, silly question i know but is it illegal to drive a car with a only one wing mirror?
The reason i ask is i'm sure it's ok with 1 wing and your rear view mirror.

[likesbikes]

bilko2 said:

But if i call my insurance company won't i loose my no claims bonus?

Might be worth a trip back to the scene to check out the road layout/markings to see if the drivers claim to right of way is valid. I'm not familiar with the area you're talking about so I can't really comment but it sounds to me like this bus driver, along with most, mistakenly seems to think that little 'please let buses pull out' sticker on the back gives him right of way regardless. The truth is some bus drivers think the mirror-signal-manoeuvre rule doesn't apply to them. If you're not at fault there's no reason why it should affect your no-claims.

[R988]

bilko2 said:

also, silly question i know but is it illegal to drive a car with a only one wing mirror? The reason i ask is i'm sure it's ok with 1 wing and your rear view mirror.

most cars only had the driver mirror up until the last 15 years or so, so it shouldn't be that much of a problem I would think, you'd be extremely unlucky to get done for that if it is illegal in this country.

[A911DOM]

bilko2 said:

also, silly question i know but is it illegal to drive a car with a only one wing mirror? The reason i ask is i'm sure it's ok with 1 wing and your rear view mirror.

You must have the drivers side mirror for MOT purposes, but passenger side mirror is not essential as long as there are no spiky bits sticking out for pedestrians to mangle themselves upon

If I were you mate, I'd go and get a new mirror and forget it ever happened. If you hear anything from them (which is frighteningly unlikely) just say there was no damage to the bus so you fixed your damage yourself. All you are likely to get is a load of hassle if you chase their insurance for a mirror - but good luck to you if you do

[bilko2]

A911DOM said:

bilko2 said: also, silly question i know but is it illegal to drive a car with a only one wing mirror? The reason i ask is i'm sure it's ok with 1 wing and your rear view mirror. You must have the drivers side mirror for MOT purposes, but passenger side mirror is not essential as long as there are no spiky bits sticking out for pedestrians to mangle themselves upon If I were you mate, I'd go and get a new mirror and forget it ever happened. If you hear anything from them (which is frighteningly unlikely) just say there was no damage to the bus so you fixed your damage yourself. All you are likely to get is a load of hassle if you chase their insurance for a mirror - but good luck to you if you do

Thanks for the input guys.
It's an unfortunate fact but i think you are right. A bus can bust up your property but then you have to pay.Well stupid me for putting off paying for protected no claims eh?
Isn't there a law that says you have to report such incidents within a certain time to the police?
you just know that their insurance company will contact mine and mine will contact me and then what do i say? " i forgot?"
I can't believe this, because of him no looking or just being a bully i could get in the shit either way. Can't even get throught to their depot as the phone just rings.
Even when i was giving the driver my details a voice inside my head was saying " stop!" just take the piece of paper off him and walk away. Now i have a fortnight of doormat watching and worrying grrrr n

[_Dave_]

Call the bus company, they will sort it out.

I had my van pranged by a bus a couple of years ago, got a quote from bodyshop and cheque from bus company next day.

Don't buy a mirror from main dealers if you get a new one, your local motor factors will get you one for half the price and they are a doddle to fit.

[heebeegeetee]

I wouldn't involve my insurance company for anything under £500 at least. These things have a way of biting back, IME. I've just paid £400 odd for damage done by a 4x4.

I'd call the bus company though. If you speak nicely to them they may cough up. (I know you shouldn't need to, but thats the way of the world).

[tyke]

A few years ago a bus hit my saab 900, it had already had something hit the front os wing in a car park, and thats ezactly where the bus hit it. With a witness ON the bus.

I took it to their assessor at SYT sheffield, who basically authorised repairs at their expense.

No loss of NCB, No excess, and no premium increase ..... result.