To cut a long story short, back in February I was caught up in an incident on the M4. The driver of the Citroen had the roof cut off her car to get her out but she had no injuries.

The police took my dash cam footage at the scene and I have only just had it returned to me this week. However the driver of the Citroen and their insurance company have been denying liability from day one. The Police report which was issued a couple of months ago merely stated that the Citroen lost control but her insurance company have insisted that she must have been hit from behind....by me.

My insurance company have been unable to prove lack of involvement and told me that without the dash cam footage they would have to settle as 100% my fault. My car suffered a fair amount of trim damage and was resprayed on several panels as the shower of metal, engine components and fluids as well as underneath as the Citroen wheel and suspension ended up under me so my bill was fairly significant. The Citroen was obviously written off and there was a bill from the Highways Agency for crash barriers so would have been a significant claim.

However now I have this footage I have been able to show who was at fault - but goes to show that a dash cam is a good investment. I would also suggest taking a copy of the SD card before giving it to the Police as it has taken over 5 months to get it back.

 Current Fleet:-
2018 Discovery 5 3.0 HSE
2021 Ford Ranger Wildtrack
2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt 5.0 V8
1993 Defender 90 200TDI Pickup

Gone - not forgotten
2016 L405 4.4 SDV8 Vogue SE
2012 L322 4.4 Westminster
2004 L322 4.4 V8 Autobiography LE
2000 P38 RR 4.0 HSE (ex Clarkson test car)

Last edited by nicksaab on 25th Jul 2015 8:35pm. Edited 1 time in total

Wow.... It so obviously had nothing to do with you.
You should be compensated for the hassle the 3rd party put you through.
A dash cam is now a must have. Previously..
Vogue SE TD6
Defender 90 2.4
Defender 110 TD5
Vogue 3.5 EFI

wouldnt be without mine [front and back] it gives you a great sense of security.....


i'm glad its all sorted for you nick..  ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Wow, you were very lucky there. I can't beleive your insurance co was going to blame you, if they can't prove you weren't involved they also can't prove you were and should have at least argued the case.

After seeing that, and some of the poor driving I witness I may get one myself.

Dash cam footage can of course incriminate you should you be at fault in an incident.

Wow! Once the insurance company saw that video footage they couldn't possibly pursue you for anything. Citroen driver 100% at fault and caused the accident it would appear from lack of concentration. I'd be after the citroen's insurance company for trying blame you for the accident!

A very good reason to get camera's fitted!

What dash cams are best and easy to install

Blackvue Mick  Got - 2017 SDV8 Autobiography in Loire Blue
Had- 2008 TDV8 Vogue SE in Java black
Had - 2007 S/C in Stornoway Grey

Im quite surprised the police didn’t have many witnesses to support your case

Sad to see so many people that saw it happen just drive off. I would at least stop to see if I can help out.

Got my Blackvue installed over a year ago and the footage it gets is great. I might add a rear one too. Already has got me out of an illegal parking ticket.

Insurance companies just want the easiest option and without proof they will just shift the costs onto your premiums innocent or not. Tom

Current Drive
2011 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography - Santorini Black - Ivory Leather

Previous Drives
2004 Model Vogue Td6 (Touchscreen) - Java Black - Parchment Leather
1994 RR Classic 3.9 V8 Soft dash - Niagara Grey - Grey Leather
1972 Series III SWB Safari - Green (Hand Painted) - Black Plastic

how was it installed? i like the idea of a camera but don't want cables dangling.

I have just ordered one off amazon, to see how I get on with it. Will have to work out how to fit it permanently as I too don't want cables dangling. Thinking the idea of a fuse doubler into the glove box fuse board of the cable is long enough is a good one.

That crash is amazing! How the driver could think of trying to pin it on someone else's actions astounds me. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
Fiat 500x 1.4 multiair Lounge 2015
2010 LR D4 Commercial 2.7 TDV6

Stupid , how the hell did she think she would of got away with that claim...... and that would of been easy to catch too.....

Glad the dash cam saved the day , even if 5 months down the road.

I wouldn't be without my 2 ( front and rear) ......and have had 2 really close calls on these country roads. If it dont work.......burn it!

If the IId tool cant fix it.......burn the FF.

If the FF cant be fixed......buy a Land Cruiser!

If the LC cant be fixed..............................................BUY a horse !!

Thanks for all the replies.

Several cars behind me in the outside lane did stop to help out. From the police perspective as far as they were concerned it was an open and shut case, but the insurance company doesn't have to accept their report as gospel.

The other driver insists she was hit from behind - as the driver behind its easy for them to say I hit her first, very difficult for my insurance company to prove otherwise Even my company originally said there were marks on the rear of her car which could have come from me - i pointed out it was the crash barrier but thats my word against hers without video evidence which i didn't have at the time.

I found out that the insurance companies have to physically request the police report - only my company did - but it was only a standard report saying she lost control - wasn't enough for the other company to accept liability so had to keep pursing the return of the footage to pursue my losses

My dash cam is a Blackvue mounted behind the mirror - no cables on show as the cable runs around the top of the windscireen and down the windscreen pillar. I have a cigarette lighter extension cable wired in the end dash panel which its plugged in to. Its not permanent live as I wanted the camera to record only when the engine is running although you can set up to record permanently or based on sensors. Current Fleet:-
2018 Discovery 5 3.0 HSE
2021 Ford Ranger Wildtrack
2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt 5.0 V8
1993 Defender 90 200TDI Pickup

Gone - not forgotten
2016 L405 4.4 SDV8 Vogue SE
2012 L322 4.4 Westminster
2004 L322 4.4 V8 Autobiography LE
2000 P38 RR 4.0 HSE (ex Clarkson test car)

Glad the cam helped prove that it looks like she was driving like a maniac, not paying attention, hit the brakes, lost control and was all her own fault. Very nasty to try and blame it on someone else. Such a pity that you couldn't avoid hitting her at all, that would have made your life much easier.

The sad thing is that her own mind might have made up the false memories, a very common problem in humans.

My wife recently did a paper on Psychology of Evidence and there is a LOT of research proving that our memories can so easily be false or manipulated that it sounds like eyewitness testimony should be banned from use in court IMHO.

I will be putting my dashcam up soonest as well, especially since I'm a foreign driver in a country that does not have a great history of fair treatment. Although I do have to say, expats/foreigners don't seem to be pulled over at traffic checks !!!

Anyway, a dashcam is a great invention and should be standard equipment, together with a "blackbox" data recording unit. That should work much like an aeroplane black box recording all relevant data that can help in identifying accident causes.

I wonder when the autonomous cars have come onto the market, how long before humans are no longer allowed to drive themselves and in all honesty that can't happen early enough. I think I will start investing in a massive piece of land and build a "self driving" course with simulated road hazards where people can still drive themselves .

Anyway, I'm very glad that you ended up being cleared of any wrongdoing !!!!!! MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!