Typically, saying sorry is something that both parties do to diffuse a situation in an accident. For instance, you collide with someone while walking along a crowded street. By offering an instant apology, you reduce the chance the other person gets angry and abuses you verbally or physically. You also show it was not intentional.
What works while walking does not work when driving, as car crashes have much more costly consequences, which need to be settled by a personal injury claim.
Determining negligence is critical in these cases, so an insurer may seize on your apology as an admission you did something wrong.
What if you know you did something wrong?
Few, if any, drivers drive perfectly at all times. For instance, many:
- Travel over the speed limit
- Turn around to speak to someone
- Turn off without adequate mirror checks
- Pick up a ringing phone
So, if a vehicle crash happens, you might feel it was, at least in part, down to something you did. That may be true, yet you cannot be sure what the other driver was doing. For instance, you might have looked down at your phone, but they may have been 20 mph over the speed limit on their way back from the bar having drunk five pints of lager.
Or you might have forgotten to indicate, but they were falling asleep after a nightshift and driving without the glasses their license required they wear. So they would probably not have noticed even if you did indicate.
However impolite it feels not to apologize, the crucial thing is that you get the compensation you deserve. Understanding what enhances that possibility and what reduces it will be key.