Need advice following my girlfriends crash.

[stamford]

Sounds like she could have easily gone into shock and could have strayed.

Slightly off topic............

When my youngest daughter had an altercation with an Ambulance last year she was somewhat stressed by it. They called for another Ambulance whilst the ones in the knock looked after her. She was trying to make way on a crowded dual carriageway for the Ambulance coming through. The daft cow on her left froze and wouldn't move so my daughter (in her brand new car leaving the showroom 1/2 mile away) was forced onto the kerb but rolled back into the Ambulance. Obviously not the right time to be learning the cars bite and hold point plus playing with the handbrake as well! They were fine about it and were more concerned about her due to the situation she was put in. Sometimes I think the emergency services are asking a lot of drivers to mount pavements and kerbs when under pressure with no comeback if damage is done in the process, some roads do not have the room or lanes wide enough.

[p_b82]

I would certainly get a letter of complaint written stating your concern with the situation.

they may turn round and say "we reget doing it but we had X number to deal with and had no choice"

I which case it might be the spark needed for more funding or more patrols or the like.

If they don't have a good reason, then some-one should get the bollocking they deserve.

I am glad that she is ok, and the car held out well - I hope the person that caused her to crashes number plate has been got, as they have caused an accident, and seems they failed to stop either?

That should be reported to the police imo, as at the least it is driving without undue care and attention. the motorway cameras should be able to be used to get the reg plate of the offender....

[Skillen]

Originally Posted by p_b82

I would certainly get a letter of complaint written stating your concern with the situation.

they may turn round and say "we reget doing it but we had X number to deal with and had no choice"

I which case it might be the spark needed for more funding or more patrols or the like.

If they don't have a good reason, then some-one should get the bollocking they deserve.

I am glad that she is ok, and the car held out well - I hope the person that caused her to crashes number plate has been got, as they have caused an accident, and seems they failed to stop either?

That should be reported to the police imo, as at the least it is driving without undue care and attention. the motorway cameras should be able to be used to get the reg plate of the offender....

The person that caused it stopped. Asked if she was alright to which she said yes as she'd walked across traffic and there was no cuts etc. He then continued on his journey. I think my gf said there was a bridge with a camera not to far down.
She didn't get his plate. She said she wasn't thinking about it.

[Dan1971]

Few issues here I suppose.

If there is an allegation of a driving offence it needs to be reported to the police - and in a case such as that/this, I would have expected the police to attend. I suppose the HA felt that they could deal with the obstruction and if she said she was uninjured, could deal with this incident and they will have told the police attendance wasn't necessary.

I personally get nervous when people go "Complain" - it puts a very negative tint on the way that it is actually looked at internally by the company/organisation that you are complaining about, but on the flip side they normally have specific time targets to get things dealt with if it comes in as an official complaint. The thing about complaining is telling yourself from the outset what you are looking to achieve and is it likely. Nothing wrong with writing in to point out concerns - but you won't actually change policy or undo any damage.

I would advise asking for clarification on policy about how to look after the driver of a car involved in an accident. Point out your concerns and ask for confirmation that it was dealt with correctly.

I always treat these things like - "If I asked the guys on the forum what they think about this scenario, what would they say?" In this scenario it's clear that regular people would have expected that she was looked after and kept safe and warm, not left at the side of a motorway alone - regardless of any other calls they had to attend.

[Skillen]

Good post Dan.
As said I'm not looking to get anybody fired or told off or anything just hopefully highlight my concerns over the management.
I don't want people to get in trouble just hopefully help others in a similar situation.

Not sure about police intervention. Is it too late? What will it achieve? Will it help with insurance?
The insurance were particularly unhelpful as they hadn't updated her address despite her proof on emails of requests to do so. So they put her through to customer service following the claim discussion who tried to offer her an new quote and and hard sell to renew with them even though the car was a write off!

It's a tricky one really.

[Dan1971]

Originally Posted by Skillen

Good post Dan.
As said I'm not looking to get anybody fired or told off or anything just hopefully highlight my concerns over the management.
I don't want people to get in trouble just hopefully help others in a similar situation.

Not sure about police intervention. Is it too late? What will it achieve? Will it help with insurance?
The insurance were particularly unhelpful as they hadn't updated her address despite her proof on emails of requests to do so. So they put her through to customer service following the claim discussion who tried to offer her an new quote and and hard sell to renew with them even though the car was a write off!

It's a tricky one really.

Not too late. The earlier the better though. If they can secure CCTV - you mention that there was a camera nearby - it will help with any claim. As it stands if she cannot prove another vehicle was involved she will likely have an at fault finding by her insurance at full cost to them, which will impact on her premiums for years.

Ideal scenario - report to he police and make sure that there is an allegation of driving without due care. (She has to be honest here though and if CCTV is located and viewed has to consider beforehand if she was in the wrong at all). Police review secured CCTV and capture the incident showing the other driver was at fault. Other driver charged and found guilty. Her insurance company claim off his and then although she has an accident on her file, it was a non-fault claim off another insured party.

Bottom line after all of this is that she is OK which is a massive relief.

[peterzs]

I thought the HA were there to help people stranded on the motorways. Not just to get the traffic flowing.

Then you have to ask where they could have taken the GF, who has said that she isnt injured so doesnt require an ambulance. Nearest motorway services, but if they did and dropped her off, say she were to suddenly collapse. With the blame culture the HA could then be sued. (not saying the GF would!!) Not that I'm trying to defend their actions, just trying to see what they could have done.

Maybe sat her in the HA vehicle and arranged a taxi, friend or relative to pick her up and take her to somewhere safe.

Glad she got out OK and someone must have been looking after her, when she was sitting in the middle lane.

Something really wrong if they think its acceptable to just leave her stranded, shock can set in after a crash. I blame the A-hole that caused the crash, he felt guilty enough to stop, but not sorry enough to stay with her and make sure she was OK.

So both him and the HA have a number of questions to answer.

[Skillen]

I think it was just the initial part where she got out herself and was probably running on adrenaline she felt fine. She's been to the doctors today due to abdominal pain and the rest of the business following a crash. Shes sensible enough being a Physio too so knows when to go. The doctor said to she has internal bruising (shocker in a 70mph collision haha) and I've seen my rugby players with a head injury carry on wih a game only to collapse and become unconscious two or three minutes later.
I'm so, so relieved that there wasn't any further injury but I don't think the memory of the spinning will fade quickly. Her words of "I was waiting to die" hit home quite hard really.
But she's struggling to remember more details other than fleeting flashbacks to new pieces of it.
She remembers him indicating into her path and thinking 'I need to get on the hard shoulder' and then spinning.
Hopefully it'll all get sorted.


Funny update from the insurance company, they renewed her policy for £648 and amended her NCD to 0years and took the money out and thanked her for agreeing to renew.

A nice phone call to helpful insurance worker sorted her refund out with a profuse apology about his colleague and his oversight.
Silly admiral.

[talkingcars]

I have just spoken to a local recovery company, W&H, who we use for servicing our trucks and asked them if it was normal actions for the HA. Colin said it depends on circumstances, such as her injuries, lighting and was there a camera that the motorway control could watch her from.

[Smokey]

Originally Posted by M17TT180

Not 100% sure how it works with the HA but the police won't as they're not insured to carry passengers unless under arrest.

Not strictly true regarding police (Scotland anyway). There is a duty of care, which I'm sure the HA will have also, that means there could be a valid complaint at being left at the side of the road in such a vulnerable way.

Personally, if I was the attending person, as I have been many times in the past, I would ensure she was taken somewhere she felt safe and could be collected. Hell, I took a woman from Glenshee to Perth, got her to a hotel with vacancies (3 tries!) before making my way back to the station 30 miles away.

100 miles of fuel is worth it to ensure a lone female from out of the area is safe and assured to get home.

It's common sense really, some people are just not as bothered once it's job done.