Accident caused by foreign driver
A Spanish lorry driver I was overtaking on the M4 near Reading suddenly changed into my lane. Fortunately the traffic was slow moving due to congestion otherwise it could have been much worse. He either did not look in his mirror or did but just could not see me. I swerved to avoid him and ended up taking a tumble. Other drivers managed to get him to stop and the police showed up and he gave his details. Any help with claiming would be appreciated. Thanks Andrew.
Nigel Morris, Swindon
Answer
You need to go through the Green Card scheme and claim compensation from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.
The Green Card Bureau guarantees that a victim of a road traffic accident caused by a foreign vehicle, originating from a country participating in the Green Card system, will be compensated in the country of accident. The relevant Bureau of the country of accident can then recover all the compensation paid from the Bureau of the country from where responsible vehicle originates under international agreements, in your case Spain. Not all EEA countries are required to take part but Spain is a signatory.
Responsibility for issuing Green Cards is given to national organisations – in the UK it is the MIB. However, it delegates its responsibility to insurers by allowing them to print and issue their own cards in the interests of efficiency.
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