Well that’s my five month holiday gone for a burton,

[Jimbohorlicks]

The driver didn’t appear inebriated to me, and as I was breathalysed I’m sure he was too,
I was busy clamping off a ruptured fuel pipe on the Megane that was pouring fuel into the rear of the motor home, after I had helped my wife over the crash barrier to relative safety I took the chance to isolate my rear battery, all scary stuff
I take my hat off to the emergency services, they where there in twenty minutes, but watching heavy trucks approaching while a good portion of my vehicle was sticking out into the slow lane is very unpleasant to say the least,

Looks as though his front wheels were over your towing bracket/ bumper bar. So he was firmly stuck Into you. No wonder you were pushed into the fast lane and then and then had to drag him into the first..the chassis must be bent seeing the position of the tow bar.Best of luck with the insurance.

 

[ivorantony]

Is it ok to use dash cam footage in france?
Not 100% sure you can. I would check first.

We are in Spain,

 

[ivorantony]

That looks really scary, you did well to get to the roadside safely. Glad that no one was injured & hopefully the insurance claim will be sorted quickly for you and you can get back on the road.

Sad to see 1 less Vision around though.

Yes we love this motor, it’s exactly what we wanted and have had her since 2010, we both shed some tears when safely in the garage compound,

 

[Diabalo]

Thats terrible and bought back a lot of memories for me.

Some of you may be aware that back in 2007 that our first motorhome a Bessacarr E435 was written off with under 300 mls on the clock, our insurer Caravan Guard were superb and replaced it with a new Bessie on the X250 fiat chassis which cost £3000 more than I paid for the original.

The accident occurred due to the other driver being unconscious due to an epileptic fit and running into our rear end at 80 MPH which resulted in a 3 vehicle collision, our insurer was unable to claim against the other party as they would have not been able to prove negligence and I lost my no claims bonus, access and sundry associated costs.

I did take legal advice from various sources but they all said it would be a waste of time persuing it.

At least everyone walked away from it.

I hope you get it sorted out quickly.

 

[martin2603]

It is best that you get it repatriated, once back home you have control of the situation. It will make settlement a lot easier. No doubt due to its age it will be written off. Do not leave any small portable accessories in the vehicle, they tend to go walkies!

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[gus-lopez]

t I hope it all turns out well for you, going forward.

Ditto fromme & glad you are both ok.

I wonder what the penalty is for saying "I fell asleep" rather than "I was fiddling around with my phone".

Far cheaper. fiddling with phone is 600€ & 6 points off licence automatically

 

[ivorantony]

Yes unfortunately I’m aware of that possibility, needless to say she is full of personal stuff at the moment, I will endeavour to travel back with her if possible,
I will strip out the garage today to see how extensive the damage is to the chassis while I’m waiting for the insurance to contact me,

 

[carolyn]

I’m glad you are both safe. You were incredibly quick thinking to do all that with the fuel line. Most of us would have been too shocked and would have just got out and away from the vehicle as quickly as possible.

I hope the insurance outcome is as satisfactory as possible without too much more grief for you both.

 

[Landy Andy]

Yes unfortunately I’m aware of that possibility, needless to say she is full of personal stuff at the moment, I will endeavour to travel back with her if possible,
I will strip out the garage today to see how extensive the damage is to the chassis while I’m waiting for the insurance to contact me,

If not drivable possibly get yourself a hire van, so you have room for everything.

 

[Widge]

Is it ok to use dash cam footage in france?
Not 100% sure you can. I would check first.

Dont quote me on it, I think that would be illegal to post publicly, but can be used as evidence for the police/ gendarmes, as far as insurance companies i am not sure, i would certainly get a copy to your insurance.

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[The Wino]

Would you want it back though, that’s a lot of damage?

If you buy another van how would you know it's not been in a similar accident and professionally repaired?

 

[jongood]

What an absolute pita! Ruined motorhome and ruined holiday. However, thankfully nobody was injured.

 

[Go_buddy_go_]

Bloody hell! Glad you’re both ok and here’s to a positive outcome

 

[Brains]

Far cheaper. fiddling with phone is 600€ & 6 points off licence automatically

Not in the UK

Fiddling with a phone my be a big fine and lots of points, but it's "driving without due care and attention"

Falling asleep is a ban, plus fine, plus points, and possibly time inside as it the more serious offence of "dangerous driving"
You will also need medical approval to get a licence back after the ban and release from prison.

 

[stewartwebr]

Oh that’s terrible, I know it doesn’t make things any easier when people say, “At least you are okay” but it is true. Really feel for you when you have so many plans and it all changes in an instant. Hope you get back home safely and the insurance sort things out promptly and to your advantage. Hope you’re back on the road soon.

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[Widge]

Dont quote me on it, I think that would be illegal to post publicly, but can be used as evidence for the police/ gendarmes, as far as insurance companies i am not sure, i would certainly get a copy to your insurance.

I have been having more of a search, and it is all a bit vague, apparently there is no applicable law specifically regarding dashcams, but there are privacy laws, technically you are only supposed to take images of other people with their permission, as there is also a grey area regarding door cameras.

But apparently the gendarmes have used dashcam footage as evidence, but depending what you read the interprétation is different regarding use, although there is currently no regulation on the sale of dashcams or door cameras in france, I have them on my car and camper.

 

[CazPaul]

If you buy another van how would you know it's not been in a similar accident and professionally repaired?

Checking thoroughly is the answer, there would be tell tale signs, paperwork too, plus what’s the chances of another van you’re buying suffering that damage and you buying it.

 

[jongood]

Checking thoroughly is the answer, there would be tell tale signs, paperwork too, plus what’s the chances of another van you’re buying suffering that damage and you buying it.

I think so too Paul. That amount of damage would be very difficult to repair without any evidence remaining. Another reason for not buying sight unseen.

 

[Just smiffy]

Normally my comment is t-cut will sort that but not on this occasion, that must have been scary, well done for getting it under control….

Unfortunately the age of the van means it’ll probably be scrapped as the insurance will add the cost of repatriation to the bill and as we’ve all heard on here can sometimes be as much as the repairs…

Having a van 10 years would be like losing a family member to me….

Good luck ….

 

[Debs]

Yes we love this motor, it’s exactly what we wanted and have had her since 2010, we both shed some tears when safely in the garage compound,

I know they're built like tanks but it looks like alot of damage, assuming yours has the alko chassis the same as mine? Heartbreaking.

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[PaulW2]

Far cheaper. fiddling with phone is 600€ & 6 points off licence automatically

So the Spanish position

Not in the UK

Fiddling with a phone my be a big fine and lots of points, but it's "driving without due care and attention"

Falling asleep is a ban, plus fine, plus points, and possibly time inside as it the more serious offence of "dangerous driving"
You will also need medical approval to get a licence back after the ban and release from prison.

And the British one.

Really interesting to have two different views on the moral weight to attach to things incorporated into the law of two countries in different ways.

This probably isn't the thread for the discussion, but there is a concept of "moral luck" (coined by Bernard Williams, also worked on by Thomas Nagel) which explores how people are judged for events or consequences that are to a degree beyond their control. This may be a "live" example of where different countries resolve such questions differently.

 

[Bill-H]

If you buy another van how would you know it's not been in a similar accident and professionally repaired?

plenty of companies on-line will do a thorough check and sell you a report proir to purchase, listing among other things, accident/insurnace claims history.
Got a basic £9.99 one for a car I've just bought which listed it as a cat N including date of accident (seller had already told me this anyway)
Wouldn't buy another vehicle without getting a report now.

 

[Happy Jack]

If you buy another van how would you know it's not been in a similar accident and professionally repaired?

If you buy any van in the first place how do you know?

 

[The Wino]

If you buy any van in the first place how do you know?

Exactly my point. From a private seller you could actually just ask if there's any accident history if they had it from new anything from a dealer who knows what the history is. If you have an accident and get it repaired at least you know what was involved and who did the repair.

 

[The Wino]

plenty of companies on-line will do a thorough check and sell you a report proir to purchase, listing among other things, accident/insurnace claims history.
Got a basic £9.99 one for a car I've just bought which listed it as a cat N including date of accident (seller had already told me this anyway)
Wouldn't buy another vehicle without getting a report now.

I think that only applies if there's bad enough dammage to be reported and if it goes through an authorised repairer.

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[nicholsong]

ivorantony

I also endorse those who are pleased you two are OK.

Is your insurance covering the repatriation incorporated into the vehicle insurance or is it a separate policy? I have a reason for asking.

Geoff

 

[Lenny HB]

Normally my comment is t-cut will sort that but not on this occasion

Yep, probably need a bit of cellulose putty as well.

 

[The Wino]

Yep, probably need a bit of cellulose putty as well.

Or duct tape

 

[gus-lopez]

Dont quote me on it, I think that would be illegal to post publicly, but can be used as evidence for the police/ gendarmes, as far as insurance companies i am not sure, i would certainly get a copy to your insurance.

similar in Spain.Illegal to publish but ok for police in accident or incident use.

Not in the UK

Fiddling with a phone my be a big fine and lots of points, but it's "driving without due care and attention"

That would just be the start. Similar to the Uk quite a lot more offences could be added

If you buy any van in the first place how do you know?

"Car vertical " report . Not cheap but trawls the world for any report using vin number. If ever Damaged, mileage not rising correctly, any type of finance on the vehicle , any manufacturer recalls not done,registered keepers number plate changes, details of every sale , usually with images,etc;etc,etc.

https://www.carvertical.com/en

 

[Roger S]

I have an amount of motor trade experience so have a bit of an idea what to look for regards previous damage etc but I still wouldnt buy a vehicle that costs £6,000 or above without having an HPi check which you can buy inexpensively online, it will show up any previous total loss claims, if the vehicle has been stolen or if there is any outstanding finance owed. If I didnt have knowledge or confidence I would pay someone perhaps a local garage to check over a potential purchase.

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