What happens when someone drives into the back of you towing....

[Tim M]

These were taken by a friend after someone drove a Jeep into the back of him whilst he was towing his sailing dinghy home from uni. The boat went straight into the back of the car and the towbar ended underneath the car. The front of his car ended up in the boot of a Jag that was in front. Boat, trailer and car were all written off That's going to be a nice insurance claim for someone!
Amazingly the police told him to drive home after the accident.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Tim M

Amazingly the police told him to drive home after the accident.

Christ. If a police officer told me to drive that mess home I'd have taken his badge number and reported him.

Hope your mate was ok!

[Richard B]

Ouch.... what a mess

Originally Posted by Tim M

The front of his car ended up in the boot of a Jag that was in front.

Ahhh... unfortunately I believe that the usual procedure is that he will be liable for damage to the car in front. Tough, but that's life.

[JABS]

The way it worked when this happenned to me was that the chap at the front went after me. My insurer teamed with his and the two of us went after the chap behind who went into me.

It sounds a bit cynical, but this case seems easier since it is a write off. In my case, I had to find a car repairer, a trailer repairer, a boat mender and an engine specialist! It took fifteen months before it was sorted out! Meanwhile, I lost my no claims!

I hope he has motorists legal protection!

It is such a shame that a moments negligence by someone takes such a heavy toll on innocent parties, both interms of finance and in time to sort it all out. And everyone is a loser.

Tony

[Stoo]

I was rear-ended pulling my last RIB. Sitting at a red-light, on a straight, dry roadway, a woman skidded 160' and ploughed into the back of my boat. The good news is that by the time she hit me, she wasn't moving too fast.

When she hit, the boat was jammed forward and the bow tube was torn open on the trailer winch. The lower unit of the prop opened up the hood of her van like a can opener, but other than the prop, it was OK. The trailer itself got bent up a bit, but was repairable...

The good news in all of this: The insurance company knew nothing about RIBS. The adjuster asked me who could asses the boat, so I directed him to the Hurricane dealer in Toronto, who just happeneed to be a friend of mine. He promptly declared the boat a write-off due to the 3' tear in the tube. (It was Strongon, and therefore couldn't be repaired properly...) The dealer then offered to buy the boat for salvage, which he was able to do for $500 (including engine and trailer!) He promptly repaired the tube and sold the boat back to me for $1000. In the mean time, I picked up a cheque for a $13,000 claim (on a boat I paid $9000 for!), then sold that boat for $8000 to another friend. I used the proceeds to buy my current boat for about 1/2 it's regular price, since that was also an insurance claim. (It had been owned by a local Police Marine unit, which flipped it in Lake Ontario, then abandoned it!)

So, the next time you complain about your insurance premiums, just think of me!

Incidently, 10 years later, my "written-off" boat is still running strong, 10 years later!

[ADS]

Thats a shame Tim, what was the sailing dinghy?