CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A trend in South Africa of people jumping in front of slow-moving cars to get compensation payouts for injuries drew a warning Tuesday from the government’s national Road Accident Fund.
In a statement, it said the phenomenon of people intentionally getting hit near intersections and stop streets was becoming a significant problem, while it acknowledged that some cases might have been driven by poverty and desperation at an expensive time of the year.
“We acknowledge road users may be faced with socioeconomic challenges,” the fund said.
The RAF allows people to claim compensation from a national fund if they are injured in car crashes.
But it warned that it was clamping down on bogus claims after identifying the new trend. It said people were waiting for vehicles to “slow down enough that they don’t get killed” before throwing themselves in front of or against the cars to fake an accident.
“The RAF does not compensate someone who intentionally causes a motor vehicle accident, even if this results in serious injuries,” it said.
The fund didn’t say how many cases of people intentionally getting hit by cars it had recorded but said it had rejected nearly 50,000 claims in the period between February 2022 and February this year, some of them because they were fraudulent.
“The RAF said that on average more than 1,500 people are killed in road accidents in South Africa during the holiday period between the start of December and Jan. 11. Around 40% of those fatalities are pedestrians, it said.“
Holy shit that’s a lot of people in a 1 month period.
Best investment I ever made for my car was a dash cam that records not only what’s in front of me but what’s behind.
I only wish I had it when I got rear ended after slamming on the brakes when an oncoming car swerved into my lane then took off after cutting me off…
Where I live, the victim needs to send the bill for their physical treatment to the insurance company of the person driving the car. It is required by law to pay it (with some help of a government fund) if there is an official insurance claim. After that it’s up to the victim to decide whether or not they sue for more, and the insurance company whether or not they want to get their money back because they think the driver was endangering others (mostly trough court).
This makes it so:
- the victim will ALWAYS be reimbursed for physical treatment
- the victim can’t scam for profit
- the victim can still sue if needed
It is still possible to fake hospital bills and stuff, but then it becomes fraud which can get you in jail. And it most likely wouldn’t even work.
I find it weird that it is even possible to make money off this stuff in some countries.
