Ooops!! I don't think the insurance companies are going to be too happy

I spotted this on Reuters this morning. There have been a few insurance related topics under discussion. I can see this is one of those instances where the insurance companies aren't going to be paying out. Just roll the video.

http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/261175/20111205/ferraris-crash-mayhem-10-supercars-destroyed-3m.htm

oooooooooh.

Such a shame.

Those beautiful cars

I spotted this on Reuters this morning. There have been a few insurance related topics under discussion. I can see this is one of those instances where the insurance companies aren't going to be paying out. Just roll the video.

 

http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/261175/20111205/ferraris-crash-mayhem-10-supercars-destroyed-3m.htm

why won't they be paying?

why won't they be paying?

I didn't say they wouldn't but I would be very doubtful that they do. It is pretty clear that this wasn't a regular motorway incident and some sort of "event" was taking place. It is pretty clear that the drivers were traveling together in an unsafe convoy that very likely involved some form of speed trials. We shall see.

I half saw the report on the news and said, "accident, yeah right." They'll have a job convincing the insurance company it was indeed an "accident" or maybe I'm just a sceptic...

Insurance premiums probably going to rise for old men?

Some £6k per year...

I didn't say they wouldn't but I would be very doubtful that they do. It is pretty clear that this wasn't a regular motorway incident and some sort of "event" was taking place. It is pretty clear that the drivers were traveling together in an unsafe convoy that very likely involved some form of speed trials. We shall see.

Yes you did.

I can see this is one of those instances where the insurance companies aren't going to be paying out.

It's quite impressive that you can identify a car club as driving in an unsafe convoy at speed from a different continent!

I didn't say they wouldn't but I would be very doubtful that they do. It is pretty clear that this wasn't a regular motorway incident and some sort of "event" was taking place. It is pretty clear that the drivers were traveling together in an unsafe convoy that very likely involved some form of speed trials. We shall see.

None of that is 'pretty clear' at all, you're just wildly speculating.

There isn't too much speculation about it at all. The report clearly states that the cars were traveling together. The report also suggests that one car hit the barriers and the rest were unable to stop in the distances that they had allowed themselves. That is most certainly an unsafe convoy.

Cars travelling together doesn't mean cars travelling in an unsafe convoy. It's not uncommon for multiple cars to be involved in an accident on the motorway due to the high speed nature of the road.

Unless you characterise every motorway accident as being caused by unsafe convoys, probably speeding.

Cars travelling together doesn't mean cars travelling in an unsafe convoy. It's not uncommon for multiple cars to be involved in an accident on the motorway due to the high speed nature of the road.

Unless you characterise every motorway accident as being caused by unsafe convoys, probably speeding.

I always thought that the Highway Code required drivers to maintain a distance to the car in front that allowed them to stop in an emergency. It doesn't look as though many of the drivers here were heading that unless they all suffered simultaneous brake failure. I spotted this related report

A luxury sports car outing in Japan has ended in what may be one of the most expensive car crashes in history.

Eight Ferraris, three Mercedes-Benz, a Lamborghini and two other vehicles were involved the pile up in the southern prefecture of Yamaguchi.

No one was seriously hurt, but the highway was closed for six hours after the accident.

Media reports estimate the damaged cars are worth at least 300m yen ($3.85m; £2.46m) in total.

The sports cars - driven in convoy by a group of automobile enthusiasts - were on their way to Hiroshima, reports Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun.

Police say they believe the accident, which took place on Sunday, happened when the driver of one of the Ferraris tried to change lanes and hit the median barrier.

"A group of cars was doing 140-160km (85-100 miles) per hour," an unidentified eyewitness told Japanese broadcaster TBS.

"One of them spun and they all ended up in this great mess."

Ten people received minor injuries in the crash, police said.

They said some of the vehicles were beyond repair.

"I've never seen such a thing," highway patrol lieutenant Eiichiro Kamitani told AFP news agency. "Ferraris rarely travel in such large numbers."

As other reports suggest difficult and wet driving conditions it does seem as though a degree of driving at speeds beyond that safe for the conditions may have been involved.

I cut this from Wiki.

Speed limits in Japan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The general limit is 60 km/h except for divided national highways where the limit is 100 km/h. Urban areas are usually zoned at 30 km/h. Limits in Japan are different from most countries by:

having no separate urban limit, with urban limits being set by zoning rather than statute.

even outside of urban areas a limit of 40 or 50 is common.

even for divided highways outside of urban areas a limit of 80 is common.

emergency vehicles are not exempt but have a higher speed limit, 80 km/h.

there are many lower limits set for vehicle classes other than ordinary cars and motorcycles.

Cars travelling together doesn't mean cars travelling in an unsafe convoy. It's not uncommon for multiple cars to be involved in an accident on the motorway due to the high speed nature of the road.

Unless you characterise every motorway accident as being caused by unsafe convoys, probably speeding.

So if you were driving down a motorway and the car in front stopped suddenly would you expect to pile into it?