Claiming Damages To Car Caused By Uninsured Vehicle When Owner Can Ill Afford To Compensate

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IT’S rotten bad luck when one’s vehicle is damaged by another that is uninsured and lacking a road tax.
Things get further complicated when the perpetrator is known to the victim. This is precisely what happened to X user natasha anuar (@_friedciken) who had her vehicle badly damaged by a careless fellow resident.

Although the poster admitted that her car was parked kerbside, it did not pose a hindrance to traffic noting that the space was wide enough for lorries to pass. Since it was a gated community, she surmised that the damage must have been done by a fellow resident and sure enough, her investigations proved her correct.
This came about as a resident in her taman claimed that the accident was due to a younger sibling taking his eyes off the road when he dropped a phone. Not only was he driving an uninsured vehicle, he also conveniently has no money to compensate the poster.

It was further lamented that it is the victim who is put out of the way. Not only is she deprived of her vehicle for three weeks but is also greatly inconvenienced by having to file police reports as well as get CCTV/dash cam footage from neighbours.
Meanwhile, the person who caused all this distress is “just relaxing at home”.

Her predicament was greeted with plenty of sympathy, with a few sharing similar experiences which include the innocent car owner having to claim from his own insurance.

One netizen noted that in such cases of uninsured vehicles, the outcome is a mere police summons for the uninsured driver.

One netizen counselled against making a police report as the poster could in turn be fined for illegal parking to which the poster confirmed that there was no action taken against her.

Take decisive action in “burn down his house and beat his mother” joked one commenter. But the poster rationalised her home would also be affected as they are neighbours.

Another suggested hiring a bomoh to put a hex on the perpetrator which would only be lifted when he pays the amount owing.

Another proposed removing the perpetrator’s kidneys to be sold on the black market to pay for the damages.

One netizen provided a more feasible solution via the small claims court. Start with a police report followed by a panel workshop estimate for repairs, preferably from Perodua itself (as her car is a Viva).
He also helpfully pointed out that the services of a lawyer were not necessary for small claims court matters.

Another commenter outlined the steps needed to issue a Letter of Demand (LOD) by filling up the small claim form the Magistrate’s Court (up to RM5,000 limit).

All said and done, it does appear that such incidents seem to cause an inordinate amount of stress and inconvenience while the person who caused the accident gets away with a mere summons.
With the fine usually being less than the cost of the road tax and insurance, it does seem to encourage even more road users to dodge the law. It seems cheaper.

Perhaps, as suggested by one netizen, heavier punishment is needed to curb this problem.

Over to you, Mr Transport Minister.… – Focus Malaysia

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