Staged Car Accident Scam
- Thread starter dave
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Staged Car Accident Scam
Flaw - Police investigation can tell that the rear brake lights failed to come on when the crash happens by testing the filament in the now smashed bulbs - if no glass present - the filament was NOT hot (light on) when the crash took place 
OP
OP
Flaw - Police investigation can tell that the rear brake lights failed to come on when the crash happens by testing the filament in the now smashed bulbs - if no glass present - the filament was NOT hot (light on) when the crash took place
Police investigation only happens if some one is dead or nearly dead
and that the bulb has to be smashed for this to happen
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There are a number of variants on this.
Drivers use a remote switch to disconnect brake lights - simple to unplug the switch and fit extension wires to switch & easy to reconnect after.
Ditto with reversing lights - at a junction, you come up behind someone, they switch off reverse then floor it back into you.
You cause minimal damage & the driver is OK but when the insurance contacts you, there is suddenly 4 passengers (who weren't there) all claiming whiplash & the complete rear end is mullered (because they drove the car away & reversed it into a brick wall. (or even another car using a set of plates from an identical car they also happen to own).
Another popular method is when you’re attempting to merge into traffic and a driver signals to let you in. However, the driver then crashes into your car and later denies that he ever signalled that you could move forward.
Alternatively, as you move around a corner at a busy intersection with several lanes, you move slightly into the lane next to you. The driver in that lane takes the opportunity to accelerate and sideswipes you.
I keep banging on to insurance companies, investigators, ombudsman etc etc about offering good discounts to drivers who install dash cams.
A dash cam can save your insurance a world of cash in the above instances.
OK, so mine cost just under £200 but last year it saved me the best part of £700 (I use maximum excess to reduce premiums) and my insurance company saved many thousands in payouts as everything was loaded to the other guy's company. despite this, I'm moving insurance company becauase they won't offer a discount for the camera - which saved their backsides.
Drivers use a remote switch to disconnect brake lights - simple to unplug the switch and fit extension wires to switch & easy to reconnect after.
Ditto with reversing lights - at a junction, you come up behind someone, they switch off reverse then floor it back into you.
You cause minimal damage & the driver is OK but when the insurance contacts you, there is suddenly 4 passengers (who weren't there) all claiming whiplash & the complete rear end is mullered (because they drove the car away & reversed it into a brick wall. (or even another car using a set of plates from an identical car they also happen to own).
Another popular method is when you’re attempting to merge into traffic and a driver signals to let you in. However, the driver then crashes into your car and later denies that he ever signalled that you could move forward.
Alternatively, as you move around a corner at a busy intersection with several lanes, you move slightly into the lane next to you. The driver in that lane takes the opportunity to accelerate and sideswipes you.
I keep banging on to insurance companies, investigators, ombudsman etc etc about offering good discounts to drivers who install dash cams.
A dash cam can save your insurance a world of cash in the above instances.
OK, so mine cost just under £200 but last year it saved me the best part of £700 (I use maximum excess to reduce premiums) and my insurance company saved many thousands in payouts as everything was loaded to the other guy's company. despite this, I'm moving insurance company becauase they won't offer a discount for the camera - which saved their backsides.
SG my dash cam saved my insurance co the best part of £12k in a fraudulent PI injury claim with an accident I was at fault in, but not a single acknowledgement of thanks was received considering it dropped the payout in total from £15k to only about £3k in total for damage and other costs. Soon left them when the £5k renewal came through. Went to another company and with the at fault claim on my back only paid £20 more than the previous year without the at fault claim.
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I've said it before, but its threads like these that make me want to get a camera even more...sadly I can't afford one at the moment...need to save up for one I think!
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Same here - but IF I was involved in such an accident I would start recording from my phone the moment I got out of the car... The start video is one shortcut away!! At least it would be something, plus get instant witness statements.
If you can't afford the proper cams, even using a cheaper video cam & spending a couple of seconds pressing record at the start of your journey & deleting the file at the end of the journey could pay dividends.
There are, of course, really cheap video cameras on ebay which will provide some evidence - the main thing is finding something to record as soon as power comes on & with the ability to auto record over old files.
I find it interesting that insurance people stay well away from these discussions
There are, of course, really cheap video cameras on ebay which will provide some evidence - the main thing is finding something to record as soon as power comes on & with the ability to auto record over old files.
I find it interesting that insurance people stay well away from these discussions
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Oh, I can afford it alright - just getting around to it
OP
OP
i thought only some can be used in court?
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doesn't it need to be Time stamped and dated?
Also i'd love to see a Proper System that could be built into the car
I know its been done - but for under £200
In a Nice big expensive car it would be a no-brainer - like fitting a tracker etc
Ziggy
Also i'd love to see a Proper System that could be built into the car
I know its been done - but for under £200
In a Nice big expensive car it would be a no-brainer - like fitting a tracker etc
Ziggy
If it was touch and go, no witnesses etc then maybe things would end up in court where it is hoped that the liar would break down under close scrutiny but if you were to present video evidence from your dashcam at the time of writing out your statement, your insurance company's accident investigators will examine the video to decide if the company has a case - or not.
With my claim, my written statement told things exactly as they were, the other guy's statement told an unbelievably different tale.
He was in the wrong, he knew he was in the wrong and so fabricated a series of events that made him out to be the victim.
Even taking pics with a camera afterwards wouldn't be ideal as the other guy can claim that the pics were taken much further along the road, after both cars had found a safe place to pull over.
My insurance told the other guy's insurance that his statement was way off the mark from my statement & insisted they ask him to re-visit his statement. Like a complete moron, he stuck to his guns & my insurance simply sent a copy of the video to the other guy's insurance - case closed.
You can buy the ones like they use in taxis which accept multiple camera inputs & mount a few tiny spycams at the corners of the front & rear screens. For top coverage, a couple mounted at the front of the car looking left & right would provide additional coverage in case a driver signals you to pull out then smashes into you & denies ever signalling.
Of course, the flashing of headlights has come to mean different things - unofficially, it means "I'm letting you pull out", whereas officially, it means "I'm here, look at me, do not pulll out in front of me" (a kind of warning)
Actually, a half decent system could be installed at the manufacturing stage for a fraction of the cost of retro-fitting but there are simply too many people out there who are 'anti'. They believe that the cameras could also be used against them to show up their lack of driving skills - yeah, like my camera shows their lack of skill. And the answer is...go back to basics, you were taught to drive, presumably your test was the same as mine, therefore you do know how to drive. Forget alll the sloppy ways you have slipped into.
this is becoming more than tempting.
problem is it can crucify you as well.
going aboube 70 miles per hour for 5 mins 20 mins before an accident they may claim somthing
problem is it can crucify you as well.
going aboube 70 miles per hour for 5 mins 20 mins before an accident they may claim somthing
Simple case of only providing small run up before
And any decent video editing software can slow the footage
also put the file on show irrelevant.And any decent video editing software can slow the footage
once my account picks up im going to get one i think tempted to try and mount it in the mirror if possible.
