WATCH: Whiplash scam smash caught on camera

Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - 12:00
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An in-cab camera has captured the moment a Ford Galaxy swerved violently across a motorway and smashed into a lorry  – only for the driver to claim the crash WASN’T his fault.

The wild collision – captured by a SmartWitness accident camera – resulted in four whiplash claims being filed, leaving the haulier with a potential claim of up to £75,000.

Amazingly, the occupants of the Galaxy blamed the lorry driver for the crash, even though they had driven right into his path across three lanes of the M25.

However, thanks to the clear video footage, seen below, the potential insurance nightmare was avoided with the dispute dismissed within days.

The Ford Galaxy can be seen quite clearly driving at speed past the lorry which is travelling in the slow lane of the motorway at 55mph – well within the 70mph speed limit.

Its driver reacts too slowly when other vehicles brake ahead of it, swerving violently across all three lanes and into an unavoidable collision.

Around 550,000 whiplash claims a year are filed in the UK, but insurance experts have estimated that up to 60% are bogus.

It makes the ‘cash for crash’ scam a £1billion-a-year fraud, with the UK now the ‘whiplash capital of the world’ – adding £90 to the average insurance policy.

According to the AA, there have been 60% more personal injury claims since 2006, despite a 20% drop in accidents over the same period.

Simon Marsh, Managing Director of SmartWitness, said: “This is real problem, particularly for hauliers and fleet managers who are running large numbers of vehicles and could be targeted by these fraudsters every week.

“This new video perfectly illustrates the problems responsible motorists face.

“The lorry driver was travelling well within the speed limit when the people carrier swerved directly in front of him to avoid hitting another car in the fast lane.

“The haulier was very surprised to be on the receiving end of a four whiplash claims for £75,000.

“Drivers can often feel like they are on shaky ground when they go into the back of another vehicle, particularly if there are no reliable witnesses to explain what happened.

“Blame is nearly always attached to the driver who hits the vehicle from the rear.

“However, in this case, there was a reliable witness, the SmartWitness camera.

“It showed that the lorry driver was blameless and the occupants of the Galaxy had a real cheek blaming him for what happened.

“Who knows what would have happened if these cameras hadn’t been there to reveal the truth.”

2 Comments

  1. at the very least they should be blacklisted, denying all of them any possible future no claims or other discounts and record of this be brought to notice in any future claim they may attempt to make.

  2. Hardly a cheek. That looks like a fraud attempt to me. All claimants should be prosecuted for conspiracy to defraud and given five years. If the police don’t prosecute then these claims will just keep on happening and our premiums will keep on rising.