Spraying a pedestrian counts as a car accident, says driving test
A Manchester woman has failed her third driving test after the examiner decided to class her driving through a puddle as a car crash.
Because the spray from the puddle hit a pedestrian standing at a bus stop, the examiner told the 31-year-old student driver that she should have treated the incident as if it were an accident, and should therefore have exchanged details with the person.
The annoyed student said, "It's ridiculous. Why should you hand over your details? What good would that do? It wasn't as though I'd deluged this pedestrian and if I'd swerved to avoid the puddle I might have caused an accident."
A spokesperson for the British School of Motoring said, "Splashing someone is not classed as an accident, but would be classed as a serious fault," he said.
"You have got to look at how it was done. If someone drives straight through a puddle without due care and attention, they may be prosecuted.
"People have been fined for similar incidents in the past, but it is very rare. Because of the weather we have had recently, you can see why it may come to light."
The woman's local paper reports that the Driving Standards Agency is examining the decision to treat this puddle incident as a car crash.
*A replacement vehicle can usually be supplied within 4-6 working hours, where there is an admission of liability from the other person’s insurance company. If this person is not known, their insurance details are not known, they are uninsured or there is a potential dispute over who caused the accident, a replacement vehicle cannot be provided.
