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Moral Dilemma..

12

A friend of mine had his car ran into the other day - by an 80 year old pensioner.

He does not know whether to claim the money - iif he does, the pensioner will no longer be able to afford to keep his car and will have to sell it - its his only commuication with his family.

What would you do?

Reply 1

Steve Stifler

I'm impressed the 80 year old could run. Eyesight must be on the down though if he didn't see your mate's car.

Reply 2

RetiredAccount89

18

Nightowl

A friend of mine had his car ran into the other day - by an 80 year old pensioner.

He does not know whether to claim the money - iif he does, the pensioner will no longer be able to afford to keep his car and will have to sell it - its his only commuication with his family.

What would you do?

depends whose fault it was. if it was the pensioners fault completely then claim the money - it'd be irresponsible to allow the guy to continue.
or if he really wanted he could just tip off the dvla that this guy may need an eye and reaction test (which they periodically do on over 70-somethings).
if he's not upto driving then dvla will find out fairly

Reply 3

mademoiselle84

1

depends how much money it is, maybe your mate could come to an aggreement to settle the repairs without getting insurance involved...maybe get the 80yr old man to talk to his family about it.
if it is totally the old man's fault though...he should pay for the damages no matter the circumstances.

Reply 4

Reue

20

Same thing happened to by dad, got hit by an oap who couldnt react in time to stop or something.

Basically you have to see it that its not safe for people to be out on the road if they arnt able to avoid accidents like these.

Reply 5

Nightowl

OP

12

my friend was slowing down at the time, red light and everything.. thanks for responses :biggrin:

Reply 6

Adzz

i can just hear the old folk now if it was the young lads fault :rolleyes:

Reply 7

username9303

3

hurryupandwait

I'm impressed the 80 year old could run. Eyesight must be on the down though if he didn't see your mate's car.

Loool

To the OP, I think your mate should pursue his claim because the OAP should have insurance with a nice load of no-claims-bonuses on it, so the worst thats going to happen is they'll pay a tiny bit more each month. Unless your mate is rich, he would be stupid to just let them off.

Edit: Also, it sounds like this "its my only communication with my family" stuff is bullsh*t, just to make your friend feel a bit guilty. The fact of the matter is, they shouldn't be on the road if their reactions are that poor, so its their own fault.

Reply 8

Drogue

19

The pensioner surely has third party insurance. If not, as well as being a possible danger on the road (having an accident seems to suggest this), he's driving illegally. It's sad to lose that link, but shouldn't he ask if he should be driving anyway?

Reply 9

Oziris

15

I'd claim against him, but that is partially because I don't like old people who complain about "young-uns" then expect to get off scott free because of the "sympathy" that others give them.

"Oh, they are old, it isn't their fault"....Yeah it is! If you can't drive safely..don't drive.

Reply 10

Steve Stifler

In all seriousness though, an elderly family friend of ours knocked someone over yesterday and put the unfortunate roadkill in hospital with a snapped ankle and head injuries. My Mum has been telling our friend for at least the past 4 years that he really doesn't need the car as he lives right in the centre of town near enough for any facilities and even then he can always get a cab. Literally, I went round his shack with my Dad and there were scuff marks on his bumbers and he didn't know where they'd come from. Now my Mum feels bad for not doing something (despite said gentleman being very stubborn and independent) about it earlier as she always said "the only thing that'll stop him will be either a brick wall or dangerous driving charge", unfortunately it had to be somebody under his wheels to stop him.

Reply 11

El Scotto

15

Nightowl

A friend of mine had his car ran into the other day - by an 80 year old pensioner.

He does not know whether to claim the money - iif he does, the pensioner will no longer be able to afford to keep his car and will have to sell it - its his only commuication with his family.

What would you do?

the 80year old should be insured. the money wont come directly from him.
at his age he should have protected no claims.
if not he shouldnt be allowed to drive anyway!

Reply 12

username30638

13

El Scotto

the 80year old should be insured. the money wont come directly from him.
at his age he should have protected no claims.
if not he shouldnt be allowed to drive anyway!

Exactly.

The money will almost certainly come from the guy's insurance company, so there is no reason for your friend to feel bad.

Reply 13

Tarts_n_Vicars

13

Morality doesn't come into it unless your mate is trying to fleece the old bloke which he apparently isn't. The man will have insurance and at worst will have to pay a bit extra each year for it - that's all. Accidents are unfortunate but if it's his fault then he has to pay.

Moral Dilemma..

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