jsut watched the insurance thing on channel 4, and it was on about people that claim for bogus accidents, and they said that the faulse claims put peoples insurance up by £30, why the hell is it so expensive for a learner then ffs!

It shows how people try to claim for fakes accidents, and also how they cause accident with innocent drivers so that they can claim, W4nkers!

...people try to claim for fakes accidents, and also how they cause accident with innocent drivers so that they can claim, W4nkers!

I think i followed someone trying to do this on the way to uni once - the guy was driving a BMW M3 (old-ish shape) which had no brake lights...

I mean they were there...there were 4 of them - the 2 in the clusters, one in the rear window and one on the spoiler, but none of them worked. I know this because at one point i almost crashed into him when he came to a complete standstill...

I know that he could have just not known about having 4 broken bulbs, but wtf are the chances??!!?

People like that need locked up for using innocent people as tools to make money - if i'd have hit him i'd have probably lost my car, no claims, been in a lot of pain due to not anticipating an accident, and he'd have probably made a lot of money and got another car. Grrrrrrrrr.

Anyway, sorry didn't intend to hijack...I was gonna watch that prog, but i thought it was on tomorrow...gash.

Edited 31 January, 200818 yr by Wiggy

If none of the brake lights were working then his brake light switch was probably fucked! Most people dont know they have brake lights out until someone tells them, because strangely enough they are pretty hard to check by yourself!

There not that hard to check tbh.

If your clever you can do it on a daily basis. When you go past shop windows in a town centre where traffic is slow moving tap your brake and look in the windows reflection. If it turn on, it works, if it doesn't, needs a new bulb

eeeeeeeeeeeeeexactly

i reflect mine off peoples regestrations / windscreens when in traffic. i tap the brake as well so the lights come on and off and some of the faces i get.

I have a white garage door and park in the driveway

Your actually suppose to do checks on any car water/oil/brakes/all lights should be checked on a regular basis and if you can prove he had no brake lights you could have him in court with your insurance company and battle it against his insurance company! You would have a good case aswel.

Hmm...I did consider telling the Police at the time, but a couple of weeks earlier my car got egged at about 70 on a dual, so i got that cars plate, went to the po po and they said there was no crime comitted so they couldn't do anything....?!??! So i figured going to the police was a waste of time...

I have a white garage door and park in the driveway

Snap!!

I've had the same problem last year in my R5, going had a steep decline in the morning on the way to work and roadworks were being just set up and made the traffic back up.

The woman in front came to a sudden halt but her brake lights were out, by the time I realised the car in front was at a standstill it was too late

Slammed the brakes on, wheels locked, gently glided for about 5m and then bump! £350 quid's damage to hers euro box.

TBH she was ok about it, but I didn't realise till I replayed it in my head that the brake lights were out!

And the most frustrating part was everyone was like 'typical teenager' which really pissed me off because I knew I was driving safely and paying 100% attention.

This left me with no choice but to claim on my own insurance because I couldn't afford to pay for it at the time and subsequently my insurance rocketed £500 on renewal time!

Tis not a fair world I tells you!!!

Yeah you're meant to check that your car is full roadworthy before every drive, but I don't know anyone who does.

You can also tell you have a bulb out by your indicators flashing faster than normal.

Yeah you're meant to check that your car is full roadworthy before every drive, but I don't know anyone who does.

You can also tell you have a bulb out by your indicators flashing faster than normal.

^^^^ Your indicators only flash faster than normal if you have an indicator bulb out. Nothing happens to the flash speed if your brake lights are out.

I followed a cockhead today who had no brake lights - well, that one in the top of the screen was working, but the ones which are a legal requirement were out. I find that it's usually those cars that are less than 3 years old that are the biggest culprits, because they're the ones that don't get these faults picked up by the annual MOT.

I find that if you're in front of a bus at the traffic lights, then that's useful because the reflection of your car in the flat front of the bus allows you to see if there's a problem. Failing that, I can see them in the front window of my house when I reverse down the drive.

Was it by any chance a Focus with both normal brake lights out? I think there is a wiring problem with them or something, I've seen so many Mk1 Foci (like what I did there? ) with only the high level brake light working.

Hmm...I did consider telling the Police at the time, but a couple of weeks earlier my car got egged at about 70 on a dual, so i got that cars plate, went to the po po and they said there was no crime comitted so they couldn't do anything....?!??! So i figured going to the police was a waste of time...

can you find out where the registred keeper lives by the reg. plate

Not if you are the general public, otherwise I'd probably have been round to a few people's houses with large pieces of metal

I find that it's usually those cars that are less than 3 years old that are the biggest culprits, because they're the ones that don't get these faults picked up by the annual MOT.

likewise

Hmm...I did consider telling the Police at the time, but a couple of weeks earlier my car got egged at about 70 on a dual, so i got that cars plate, went to the po po and they said there was no crime comitted so they couldn't do anything....?!??! So i figured going to the police was a waste of time...

can you find out where the registred keeper lives by the reg. plate

Unfortunately not. I spent hours trying to though, but with no luck.

Was it by any chance a Focus with both normal brake lights out? I think there is a wiring problem with them or something, I've seen so many Mk1 Foci (like what I did there? ) with only the high level brake light working.

Actually no - not this time. It usually is - but this time it was an Octavia.

Also, now that the ford-based X-type jag is starting to get a few years old, has anyone noticed they're starting to develop the old Ford 'Christmas tree light' wiring fault/bad earth/short circuit in the rear light clusters? I was behind one the other day, and he braked and indicated at the same time, and tail lights, brake lights and indicator were all flashing in turn!! And why does this always happen to Fords???

Just watching it on 4oD now

OMG they are f**king p***ys

"put that camera down, theres some school kids coming"