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Someone hit the rear of my car: what to do and who pays (UK)
Rear-ended in the UK? Why the driver behind is almost always at fault, what to photograph, and how to claim recovery, repairs and a replacement car.
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E-E-A-T
Someone hit the rear of my car: what to do and who pays (UK)
Being shunted from behind is one of the most common collisions on UK roads, and for the driver in front it is also one of the most clear-cut. You were sitting in traffic, or slowing for a junction, or stopped at a red light, and the car behind ran into the back of you. The good news is that liability in a straightforward rear-end shunt is normally decided in your favour, because the driver behind is expected to leave enough room to stop. The bad news is that a careless few minutes at the roadside can still hand the at-fault insurer an argument it does not deserve.
This guide explains, in plain terms, what to do when someone hits the rear of your car in the UK, why the driver behind almost always pays, the narrow situations where that presumption can be challenged, and how the practical side - recovery, an independent inspection, repairs and a replacement vehicle - is arranged at no upfront cost to you when you are not at fault.
Why the driver behind is almost always at fault
Rule 126 of the Highway Code requires every driver to leave enough space behind the vehicle in front to pull up safely if it slows down or stops, and to keep at least a two-second gap on a dry road (doubling it in the wet and increasing it further in ice). A driver who runs into the back of you has, by definition, failed to leave that gap or failed to react in time. That is why, in the overwhelming majority of rear-end shunts, the insurer for the car behind accepts liability with little argument.
The legal underpinning is the ordinary duty of care every road user owes to the drivers around them. A motorist must drive at a speed and distance that allows them to stop within the distance they can see to be clear. When a following driver collides with a stationary or slowing vehicle ahead, the burden in practice shifts to them to explain why that was not their fault. Most cannot, so the claim resolves cleanly.
There is one common myth worth killing off immediately: stopping suddenly does not, on its own, transfer blame to the driver in front. You are entitled to brake for a hazard, for a pedestrian, for a vehicle pulling out, or simply because the traffic ahead stopped. The following driver should have anticipated that the car in front might stop and left room to cope.
DETAIL
03
Section 3 of the walkthrough.
The narrow situations where liability can be argued
Although the presumption is strong, it is not absolute, and it helps to know where an at-fault insurer might try to chip away at it. Understanding these in advance is exactly why your roadside evidence matters.
Faulty or non-working brake lights. If your brake lights were not working, the following driver may argue they had no warning you were slowing. Knowing your lights worked, and being able to show it, closes this off.
Reversing into the car behind. If you were the one moving backwards - rolling back on a hill or reversing out - then the collision is not a true rear-end shunt and fault may sit with you. The point of impact and the direction of travel matter.
A genuine multi-vehicle concertina. In a chain shunt, the car that started it is usually liable down the line, but the middle vehicles can face split arguments. Photographs of every vehicle's resting position help untangle the order of impacts.
Deliberate 'brake-checking' or staged 'crash-for-cash'. Where a driver brakes hard for no reason to induce a shunt, or stages the collision for a fraudulent claim, liability and the whole complexion of the claim change. A dashcam is your best protection here.
What to do in the first ten minutes
Stop. Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 makes it a criminal offence not to stop after an accident involving injury or damage to another vehicle or property, and that duty applies to you as the non-fault driver too. Switch on your hazard lights and check everyone in both vehicles for injury before anything else. Whiplash and other soft-tissue injuries often do not announce themselves at the scene, so do not dismiss a sore neck as nothing.
Exchange details as section 170(2) requires: name, address, the registered keeper's details if different, and the vehicle registration. Take the other driver's insurer and policy number if they will give them, plus a mobile number. If the other driver drives off, refuses details or gives details that are obviously false, note the registration, make, model and colour, and report it to the police within 24 hours under section 170(6).
Then photograph. Capture both number plates, the damage to both cars, the position of the vehicles on the road, the lane you were in, any traffic signals or signs, and the road surface and weather. If there were independent witnesses - the driver in the next lane, a pedestrian, a bus or delivery driver - ask for a name and a phone number before they leave. A witness who saw you stationary when you were hit is gold.
Whiplash and the official injury tariff
Rear-end shunts are the classic cause of whiplash. Since the Whiplash Reform Programme came into force in May 2021, low-value whiplash injuries from road traffic accidents in England and Wales are valued using a fixed tariff set out in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, and many are handled through the Official Injury Claim portal rather than the old solicitor route. The tariff rises with how long symptoms last.
We are an accident management business, not a solicitor and not an FCA-regulated claims-management company. We do not handle your personal injury claim ourselves. Where you have been injured and want to pursue it, we refer you - only with your written consent - to an appropriate authorised partner. The property side of your claim (recovery, repairs and a replacement vehicle) runs in parallel and does not wait for the injury element.
06DETAILKey takeaway
Who pays for what when you are not at fault
Because the at-fault driver behind is liable, their insurer is responsible for putting you back in the position you were in before the collision. That means the cost of repairs (or the market value of the car if it is written off), the cost of recovering and storing a vehicle that cannot be driven, and the cost of a replacement vehicle while yours is off the road. None of this should land on your own policy or your own pocket when fault sits clearly with the other side.
The reason to run a non-fault claim through accident management rather than your own insurer is simple. Claiming on your own comprehensive policy usually means paying your excess up front and risking your no-claims discount, even though you did nothing wrong, while you try to recover it later. Routing the claim to the at-fault insurer through a managed process keeps your own policy and your excess out of it. Our page on who pays what after a non-fault accident, at /who-pays-what, sets out each cost head and who carries it in detail.
How CityGrip handles a rear-end shunt for you
If your car is not driveable, the first call is recovery. We arrange 24/7 collection from the roadside and secure storage so the vehicle is not racking up daily charges in a random compound or deteriorating on the street. Our accident recovery service is explained at /accident-recovery, and because the at-fault driver is liable, the recovery and storage costs form part of what their insurer must meet.
Once the vehicle is safe, an independent engineer inspects it. This protects you in two directions: it fixes the proper repair scope so the at-fault insurer cannot quietly under-specify the work, and it records any pre-existing damage so you are not blamed for marks that were already there. Repairs are then carried out by a vetted bodyshop working to recognised standards (PAS 125 or BS 10125), with the work coordinated on your behalf.
While your car is off the road, you should not be stranded. Under Lagden v O'Connor [2003] UKHL 64, a non-fault driver who genuinely cannot afford to hire a replacement car out of their own pocket is entitled to recover the reasonable cost of credit hire from the at-fault insurer, even though credit hire costs more than a basic rental, because the additional cost flows from the wrongdoer's actions. Dimond v Lovell [2002] 1 AC 384 sets the boundaries - the hire must be reasonable in rate and duration, and on a like-for-like basis. Our credit hire service is explained at /credit-hire, and the specific rear-end scenario, with examples, is covered on the dedicated page at /rear-end-shunt-claims.
How long you have to claim
Do not let the deadlines lull you into delay. Under section 2 of the Limitation Act 1980 you generally have six years from the date of the accident to bring a claim for damage to the vehicle, and under section 11 you have three years from the date of injury for a personal injury claim. Those are the outer limits, not targets. The practical problem with waiting is evidence: CCTV and bus-cam footage is often overwritten within 14 to 31 days, and witness memories fade fast. Open the file straight away.
Take action
If you have just been in a non-fault collision, the fastest way to protect your claim is to open the file with us inside the first hour. We dispatch recovery, lodge the relevant CCTV requests inside the retention window, and notify the third-party insurer for you.
We do not provide legal advice. This article is general guidance for UK drivers. Personal injury enquiries are referred only with your consent to authorised legal or regulated partners. Specific limits, retention windows and process steps may change; the position at the date of any individual collision will govern the handling of that claim.
Frequently asked questions
- I was rear-ended but the other driver says I stopped too suddenly. Who is at fault?
- Almost certainly still the driver behind. Highway Code rule 126 requires every driver to keep enough distance to stop safely if the car in front slows or stops. Braking for a genuine reason does not transfer blame. The only real exceptions are if your brake lights were not working, if you were actually reversing, or if you stopped deliberately to cause the crash.
- Will my insurance premium go up if someone hits the back of my car?
- If you handle it as a genuine non-fault claim and recover all your costs from the at-fault insurer, the impact on your record should be minimal. The bigger risk to your premium and your no-claims discount is paying your own excess and claiming on your own policy unnecessarily. Routing a non-fault claim to the at-fault insurer through accident management keeps your own policy out of it.
- My neck hurts after being shunted. Can I still claim if it did not hurt at the scene?
- Yes. Whiplash and soft-tissue injuries frequently appear hours or even a day or two later. See a GP or visit A&E so it is recorded. Low-value whiplash claims in England and Wales are valued on the fixed tariff under the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. We will refer you, with your written consent, to an authorised partner for the injury element.
- The car that hit me drove off. What now?
- Note the registration, make, model and colour, and report it to the police within 24 hours under section 170(6) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. If the driver cannot be traced or turns out to be uninsured, a claim may still be possible through the Motor Insurers' Bureau. We can guide you through it and arrange recovery in the meantime.
- Do I have to pay for recovery and a hire car myself?
- No, not when you are the non-fault driver. The at-fault driver's insurer is liable for the reasonable cost of recovery, storage, repairs and a replacement vehicle. We arrange all of it and deal with the at-fault insurer directly, so there is no upfront cost to you.
- Should I just accept the other insurer's first offer?
- Be cautious. A first offer is often pitched low and may not cover the full, properly-specified repair or the true value of a written-off car. An independent engineer's inspection establishes the correct figure. We negotiate engineer-to-engineer on your behalf so you are not pressured into a quick, under-valued settlement.
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