Dealing With Minor Accidents
How Do You Deal With A Minor Accident
My recent encounter in more than 35 years of driving experience suddenly dawned upon me how ill prepared I was to face an accident. There I was, a supposedly seasoned driving instructor facing the wrath of a gentleman and his wife, whose new Honda Accord I had knocked into.
For the first time, I felt rather helpless when the minor accident occurred. And this was what let me to decide writing an article, especially for those new drivers who may not know exactly what to do. This episode will hopefully prepare you for an accident which might happen to you someday.
The minor accident happened behind Parkson in Jalan Meru, Klang. The day was hot. On that day, maybe, momentarily, I admit, I was slightly careless. At a junction, I came out a little bit too fast. Or maybe, the other guy shot across my path carelessly. Or again, maybe I was too slow. (Getting old I suppose). “Boom!”, I had hit a new Honda Accord on its side.
From the front door right up to the back door, there was a dent. And my Kancil, well, frankly, I hardly looked at it.
A shouting bout then ensued. An angry young man and his wife slighted. The young man was “furious”, accusing me of being a “lousy” instructor. Obviously, he had never heard of “accidents” before. Even Michael Schumacher, the world best Formula 1 driver has been involved in accidents before. Why not me?
Even admitting it was my mistake and that we settle the case amicably failed to pacify the other party.
My asking the young man to note down my Driving School particulars, car number, its logo etc. failed to be heeded.
The other party then demanded my business card, hand phone number, I/C number and “everything under the sun”. The scene now was like Hollywood, or was it Bollywood.
People were gathering around. The crowd was growing bigger. To cut the long story short, all the young man demands were turned down.
Reason?
The only person who has the authority to see my particulars is the Police.
Now, what does one do in a minor accident such as the above:
1) Assess the damage.
2) At no time must you admit liability of the accident.
3) Like me, do not agree to provide deposit, I/C number, hand phone number etc. to the other party.
4) Best solution is suggest the accident be reported to the Balai Police. Let the insurance be responsible.
5) Unless you are willing to settle the case (for convenience sake), do not quote the amount of payment which you have agreed.
Do remember, accidents have to be made to the nearest Balai Polis in 24 hours. In my case, the young man wanted me to go to the Balai immediately. He refused to let me go off. He was acting tantamount to “detaining” me. This was wrong action. Only the Police can detain you.
In minor accidents such as mine, where no one is injured, you are permitted to leave the scene of accident. In short, please remember, do not try to detain the other party forcefully. He could get his lawyers to sue you.
What is the next process in any accidents then? Go to the Balai Polis.
At the Balai, we were promptly attended to by a couple of Corporals. Then we were directed to see a Sergeant. After a brief investigation, the Sergeant issued me a “Summon” which could be compounded within 1 month.
I was then asked to go down the Balai compound to have a photograph of my vehicle taken.
What does a person do in case of serious accidents? Briefly, we should remember:
1) Vehicles involved cannot be removed from place of accident.
2) Injured has to be attended to.
3) Wait for arrival of police to make investigation.
4) Photograph to be taken where necessary.
5) Police Report to be made within 24 hours.
After police reports have been lodged, a driver should remember to inform its Insurance Company regarding the accident as soon as possible.
If you have your own story of minor car accident, please feel free to share in the comment section below.
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Recently, I have accident, with my bike & a car, the car hit be from the back, I suffered arm slightly dislocated and bruises, initially I have made report at police station. I was not so happy what the driver did to me. And all claim should made by drivers insurances,.. Can I sue the driver separately due to negligence that make me suffered the pains. Because the driver say is a small matter what arrogance manner. Due to Insurance company play the role of claiming. I may not recovered as before. Can I sue the driver until his pant drop….? Thanks
Dear Mike Lee,
As police report has been made, you can engage a lawyer to make further claims on the driver who knocked you.
Supply particulars such as car number, place of accident, time and Police report number to your legal counsel.
‘Cikgu Yap
hi,
i was just involved in an accident with a bas pekerja yesterday…there were scratches on my car and no dent but he didnt even bother to look at his huge bas pekerja. so he merely said report to balai lah! claim insurance!
i asked : claim siapa punya insurance??
he : claim company
me : company siapa? comp A ka? (i point to the company name on his bus)
he : ya
and he just walked off…
then after much thinking i feel like not pursuing this matter as i can afford to repair the scratches on my car at my own expenses..waiting for the bus company to pay me back with their insurance would take eternity. so i decided not to lodge a police report after all.
but then people started telling me that even if im not in the wrong and if the other party went to make a police report and i didnt…i will be fined.
im not sure how true is this…and now im very worried. do you have any ideas?
thanks
From what I see, the accident is just a small problem. Your decision to repair your own car seems to be a sound decision. If you make a police report, you might end up being summoned RM300. I do not think the bus driver will make a police report over such a small matter. So do not worry.
Dear Cikgu Yap,
I read with interest your entry on ‘minor accident’ where you turn out of a junction and knocked into an on coming car and deemed as the offender.
I have a scenario whereby a car coming out of a lorong onto a three lane road was knocked by an oncoming car. Now the driver of car A coming out of the lorong said the road was clear meaning the oncoming cars were far enough at a safe distance for him to come out of the lorong. The driver then manouvered his car across the three lanes and was driving on the third lane in a parallel line to all the other cars. An oncoming car B that has been driving on the second lane suddenly knocked car A that was already travelling on the third lane. The damage on car A was at the back right side breaking two back lights and the bumper. Car B was seriously damaged on the front left side and had to be towed away. It seems the oncoming car has crossed from the second lane to the third lane and knocked the car on the third lane from behind. In this case, who is in the wrong?
Thank you for your comments.
From your explanation, it looks as if your B,, which knocked into car A from behind, would be at fault.
Hello Cikgu Yap,
Thank you for your comments. I had managed to gather two opposing views from different parties of interest.
The first view is that car A is at fault. They say that a car which came out of a lorong and got knocked by an oncoming car is always at fault. Even in this case where car A is already in parallel to the traffic flow and is directly hit from behind by car B.
The second view like yours is that, car B is at fault because it knocked car A from behind and there is no exception to this rule like whether car A has come out from a lorong or not.
Are there any rules and regulations book on how to actually ascertain who is at fault? I have read the JPJ’s Buku KPP but it doesnt tell how to determine this situation. What is your expert opinion on the above?
Thank you once again.
In any accident, there are 2 views to it. No one can determine who is right or wrong. It’s a matter of opinion. To come to a final conclusion, one actually has to be at the scene of the accident. Even then, as I said, the final answer is still an opinion only.
Dear Cikgu Yap, first of all, I’m a P holder and I almost got involved with a major accident today. It happened when a car in front of me suddenly stops at the green light (yes, until now I am still puzzled on why did he/she stops at the green light). So I decided to cut and realized there is another car coming way too fast. That car managed to brake and gave a good honking all the way. Now the thing is, am I in trouble? I’m still pretty shaken up on what just happened. Please help me Cikgu Yap. Please share your opinions on this matter. I’m very worried about my status as a P holder.