What Do You Do When Someone Drives Into Your Fence?

Whatsapp

It’s not something anyone looks forward to, but it happens more often than you think. People drive into fences all the time. Sometimes it’s the perimeter fence at a commercial property that they just didn’t see. Sometimes, they slide on some ice and can’t stop before your fence.

Whatever the reason for this kind of accident, it leaves anyone wondering what you do when someone drives into your fence! Here’s what you need to know.

It Depends How the Accident Happened – and What Happened After

Unfortunately, when it comes to what you need to do when someone drives into your fence, there are many different scenarios, depending on how the accident happened and what happened afterward. Here are a few possible situations:

• If someone drove into your fence while you weren’t home or present, but they left their information with your neighbor or the police, you can contact them directly about the situation
• If you are home or present when someone drives into your fence, you should wait until the police and/or emergency services have finished their work, and then if the driver is okay, get their insurance details
• If the driver is seriously injured or requires medical attention, ask the police on the scene for the case number so you can follow up and get insurance information
• If someone drives into your fence and then doesn’t stay (a hit and run), file a police report and ask anyone in the area if they saw something or if their security cameras recorded anything

There are so many different situations when someone might drive into a fence at a home or commercial property. The important thing is to follow the proper channels to get the information you need about the driver and their insurance company.

Who Pays for Damage to a Fence?

The good news is that usually if someone drives into your fence, the onus to cover the cost of repairs or replacement falls on the person who was driving. Or, more commonly, their vehicle insurance provider.

Most drivers will have some kind of insurance for damage to property. This is intended to cover exactly this type of situation. The total value of this kind of insurance will vary from driver to driver, but it’s usually enough to cover the cost of fence repairs.

If the driver of the vehicle does not have insurance, or if they left the scene of the accident before you could get their information, you might need to contact your own home insurance company or even your vehicle insurance company. They both might be able to cover the cost of the fence repair while you wait for the police to find the driver of the vehicle, but it does depend on your insurance policy!

Finally, if you have had to cover the cost of repairs either out of pocket or via your own insurance, you should be able to take the driver of the vehicle and or their insurance company to court to recoup the costs.

How to Avoid Having People Drive Into Your Fence

Ideally, no one ever wants to be in a situation where someone drives into their property, and they have to wonder what happens when someone drives into your fence! However, it does happen fairly often.

Fortunately, the damage to fences and gates from accidents like these is usually not too severe.

One way that you could try to avoid having people drive into your fence is to place reflectors or paint posts that are close to the road or driveway a bright color. Sometimes, the reason people drive into your fence is simply that they didn’t see it!

If you have a commercial fence that is hit repeatedly – for example, by large delivery vehicles – you might want to think about redesigning your fence layout so that turning circles and access are improved.

Prevention is always better than cure when it comes to fence damage, but if it does happen, don’t panic. Gather your information, contact local fence companies for a quote, and tackle it step by step.