Car Crash Advice Needed

[tartan pixie]

Some good stuff in this thread, thought i'd add something dull but useful about insurance before Callum gets his car valued.

If the wreck of your car is sitting outside your house then someone from the insurance company will come round to value it and will probably try and give you less than it's worth. Make sure you know exactly how much money cars like yours change hands for and if you have a friend with some good relaxed sales patter it's a bonus to have a friend helping you out in any dispute.

Also if you can be friendly with the insurance person they may give you good tips on how to avoid paying too much when insuring your next car.

Read your insurance contract and any relevant forums, insurance companies are crooks and having a good idea of their methods can mean money in your pocket.

Although almost certainly irrelivant in this case it should be noted that forum posts can be used in court so be careful what you admit to.

Dull stuff over, any young drivers get yourselves out on the skid pan, race track or at minimum an advanced driving course cos it's soooooo much fun.

[RobinJI]

The problem with that is in this country if you were spotted late at night using the handbrake at every possible oppertunity and countering it you'd get done for dangerous driving.

you can become a good driver in a short ammount of time but it requires you to have dealt with alot of different situations and usually unless your out driving all the time you won't come across these things to often

robin getting an iam membership will be one of the most fun things you ever do. last year I spoke with one of the guys who trains the police and is also an iam advanced instructor, I persueded him to take me for a drive and show me the tricks of the trade and give me an insight into advanced driving and he showed me how to make a running commentry on the road ahead (in rally style pacenotes working gears) some of it was incredible he showed me about the importance left foot braking, bgol, bsol, it was great you'll learn loads and it costs very littleand may save yours or someone elses life one day.

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. Only problem is you do it in your own car, and I cant pick mine up till friday, and even then, because of buying the audi I cant afford to do the IAM thing untill next month.

But yeah, should be good fun and well worth it.

[Callum Trialsin]

thought id update, police not doing anything just got to hear from council, cheers for all the coments and the mini will be rebuilt soon.

[Tony Harrison]

i will admit i was driving faster than needed

im a young driver who has basically only just past my test like 1 week ago.

i fell im a very good driver but

Says it all really. You're an idiot. Why is it than 95% of 'just passed' drivers thing they're 'good drivers'? As my dad said... "Son, well done, you've passed your test - now you need to learn to drive". So true.

Too often it's people thinking they're better than they are, and then making a silly mistake like not adjusting their driving to the weather conditions. Yes, you may have passed first time, but I know five people who, within a year of passing (first time) had written of 3 cars. So that's 15 cars in total.

My problem here is this: I am confident in my own ability to drive. However, what scares me is that some idiot will f**k up like this on the opposite side of the road and take me with them.

Sorry - no sympathy whatsoever. And you posted this in public, so you'll just have to accept my viewpoint.

[poopipe]

I'm disgusted at the level of prejudice in this thread.

It's not just the younguns who get all smartarsed. I'm an old driver who's only recently passed his test (5 months ago or so) and i was equally guilty of thinking I was clever cos I passed first time.

What shocked me into a real sense of my inability to properly control a ton and half of metal at 70mph was nearly clouting the central reservation on a motorway with the missus and the baby in the car.

I wasnt driving like a twat at all - I veered right while carefully checking my mirrors to make absolutely sure it was safe to move back into the middle lane after overtaking something.

Anyway - my point is that I'm backing up those who've said you're shit till you've been driving a long time.

bad luck on the stack - as long you didn't damage anything belonging to somebody else adn there's no evidence you were doing anything naughty you'll be reet.

Edited February 1, 2008 by poopipe

[anzo]

At least he admitted he was in the wrong! Usually its 'But I wasn't speeding' or 'but it wasn't my fault'.

I'll admit that I do speed a bit. Although recently its took a bit of a shaking. 4 people I know died in a car crash the other week, head on at 100mph on a country lane. The car moved literally a few yards from the actual collision...so you can imagine the stopping time from 100 to nothing.

Anyway, he was driving like a twat, no doubt...but for the sake of your life and 3 of your mates, it simply isn't worth it. Unfortunately we read a lot about crashes and we all think 'f**kin ell, I'll slow down a bit after reading that'...which tends to work for about half an hour. But as it stands, it seems to be you have to have friends/family in a crash for it to take any impact.

Edited February 2, 2008 by anzo