We make better drivers and riders

Avoiding car crash scammers

Blog post posted on 15/06/16 |
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Advice

Motorists can often fall victim to intentionally staged road accidents, which force insurance companies to pay out high claims. With some useful tips from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards Richard Gladman, here’s how you can try and stay clear of fraudulent scams.

  • Be sure to stay extra alert on busy roads. Try to identify hazards early, slow down and stay back until it’s safe to pass through.
  • The best way to anticipate a hazard ahead is look beyond the vehicles in front of you and respond as opposed to react. Maintain a two second gap if traffic is flowing and at least one foot per mph in slow moving traffic.
  • Be wary of motorists tailgating you – they may be doing this intentionally to get your attention. Ignore any gestures they may be making, but if at any point you feel threatened, pull over where it is safe and legal to do so and let them pass you.
  • If you happen to be involved in a collision and don’t think it’s your fault, call the police immediately. If you can, canvass for witnesses and try to get contact details. Whatever you do, avoid getting into a confrontation.
  • Try to collect as much information as possible and take some photographs. If any images indicate a fewer number of passengers in the car you can reduce the potential of any fraudulent injury claims being made. Find out more about insurance fraud here: https://www.insurancefraudbureau.org/

Richard said: “Road rage is one of the reasons intentional collisions occur, but this can be avoided. Simply avoid reacting to another driver’s bad behaviour because this will only make matters worse. If you have made a mistake a friendly wave of apology can often defuse the situation.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

  1. Richard Gladman is IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards.
  2. IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable. It does this through a range of courses for all road users, from online assessments through to the advanced driving and riding tests. IAM RoadSmart is the trading name of all businesses operated by the UK’s largest road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and was formed in April 2016 combining the IAM, IAM Drive & Survive, PDS and IAM Driver Retraining Academy. The organisation has 92,000 members and campaigns on road safety debates on their behalf. At any one time there are over 7,000 drivers and riders actively engaged with IAM RoadSmart’s courses, from members of the public to company drivers, while our Driver Retraining Academy has helped 2,500 drivers to shorten their bans through education and support programmes.

Media contacts:

IAM Press Office – 020 8996 9777

press.office@iam.org.uk/ www.iamroadsmart.com

ISDN broadcast lines available

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IAMroadsmart    

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamgroup 

 

ENDS