WHEN A CRASH IS NO ACCIDENT

This article is reprinted from the Daily Telegraph. It discusses a new crime wave that is targeting innocent motorists. It begins by describing an incident where a car driver found that the driver of the car ahead of him seemed to be doing everything that he could to cause a collision with his own car. The driver ahead would slow down and speed up for no apparent reason, and veer out into the middle of the road to prevent overtaking. Eventually, there was a minor rear-end collision at about 5mph. A few weeks later, the driver of the erratic front car had a threatening solicitor's letter sent to the other driver, claiming thousands of pounds of compensation for alleged damage to the car and injuries to its occupants. However, the driver of the rear car was a policeman, and started an investigation, having heard of similar cases affecting other victims. When the case came to court, the judge rejected the erratic driver's claim. One member of the firm of solicitors, which represented the policeman, now devotes most of his time to fighting fraudulent claims like this, and finds that such 'staged accidents' are rapidly spreading through the UK and becoming an industry for collecting money from insurance companies. The article ends by describing how such a criminal and his 19 accomplices were caught and brought to justice.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03091430
• Corporate Authors:

  THE INSTITUTE OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEER ASSESSORS

  STOWE HOUSE, NETHERSTONE
  LICHFIELD, STAFFORDSHIRE  United Kingdom  WS13 6TJ
• Authors:
  • GREEN, J
• Publication Date: 1999

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 24-5
• Serial:
  • JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEER ASSESSORS
  • Volume: 33
  • Publisher: THE INSTITUTE OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEER ASSESSORS
  • ISSN: 0309-1430

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crashes; Crimes; Drivers; Insurance; Legal documents; Loss and damage; Offenders; Penalties; Police; Rear end crashes; Speed; Variables
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• ITRD Terms: 1547: Case law; 1631: Collision; 1614: Damage; 1772: Driver; 1568: Insurance; 1516: Offence; 1508: Offender; 1502: Penalty; 1522: Police; 1620: Rear end collision; 5408: Speed; 8119: United Kingdom; 9086: Variability
• Subject Areas: Law; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00790336
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Apr 11 2000 12:00AM