Fleet Risk Consultants

Last week I attended the scene of a minor collision within the confines of a car park. The incident was caused because the driver of one of the cars had failed to apply the handbrake in accordance with the instructions provided by the manufacturer.

The trouble with modern cars, which generally are now fitted with disc brakes at the rear, is that when the vehicle is parked with hot brakes and the handbrake applied without being fully tightened, when the brakes cool down the handbrake then releases and the vehicle will roll freely.

This is what happened in the case last week, the lady had parked her car facing down a small slope and it rolled down into another vehicle. It was obvious after the incident that the handbrake was still applied, but obviously not correctly. The really silly thing is that it was an easily avoided incident.

As I explained to the lady, if she had left it in gear (Reverse in this case) the car would not have rolled down the hill at all as the gearbox would hold the car stationary. This is the case will all vehicles and is why I always leave my car in gear, just in case.

As we are always saying here, read the handbook and know the rules.

Nigel Grainger
Senior Consultant

Fleet Risk Consultants

For years the problem with collision has been one of evidence, it has always been a case of ‘he said’ and ’she said’ not dis-similar to a playground argument of who was at fault. More than that though there has been a lot of ‘I wasn’t there or ‘my 3 friends were in the vehicle and now have whiplash’.

Things are now a lot better if you have the sense to use the technology available to you in the shape of the majority of mobile telephones. Mobile phones now have built in camera’s which will provide you with the evidence you might need to protect yourself in the event of the third party trying to claim something different to the actual event.

It is important to make sure that you let the insurer know about your photos so they can get them from you if they think they need them, especially if you feel you are being dis-advantaged.

If it really serious you might want to call in a professional collision investigator, like the ones in our team, but only if it is a life changing injury or fatal collision. In the case of these types of collision you really should make sure that your interests are protected.

Nigel Grainger
Senior Consultant

Fleet Risk Consultants