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grant.libby

Hi,

I was recently in an accident where I was struck from behind by a van while stationary on a roundabout (due to a blockage ahead). It was a low-impact crash, resulting in (expensive) denting of the right rear corner of my corner of my vehicle, but no further damage.

I expected the driver of the van to stop and swap details after we exited the roundabout, but they kept driving. I was able to get the business phone number from the side of the van, and I called that number, expecting to get insurance details, but they flatly denied that it was them, and sent me a screenshot of their GPS system showing no 'harsh braking' events for the day.

Given that I saw it happen with my own eyes, I can only believe that the GPS is somehow mistaken. The van had started from a stationary position, and had traveled less than a quarter of the way around the roundabout when it struck me; between that and the minor damage, it was clearly going fairly slowly on impact - could it be that the deceleration was too small to trigger the alert, or something like that?

I suspect that the driver told the owner there was no crash and that I'm making it up, and that (thanks to the GPS system) the owner sincerely believes them; I don't think I'm going to get those insurance details unless there's some doubt as to the GPS' reliability in this situation.

Anon

Hi there,
It might be that the speed was too low for the unit to record the impact, also it might be that the brakes were not applied heavily that might also have a factor in the recording of the impact. I recommend visiting the business and looking for the vehicle and noting the damage, any paint rub off whether from your vehicle or theirs. I don't believe that the fact that no records of the impact is grounds for them to refuse to consider that their driver actually damaged another vehicle. The GPS tracking should also show the vehicle was in that exact location at the time of the crash.