The car ahead of you on an expressway brakes suddenly for no apparent reason. It causes a chain collision with your car and those behind you.

Within two minutes of the accident, a workshop agent appears and offers his repair services.

Are workshop touts staging accidents to get business?

At least five motorists here who were involved in recent accidents along the expressways think so.

They told The New Paper on Sunday that the sudden braking and the "miraculously" prompt workshop agents who appear immediately have raised their suspicions that they were victims of "accidents" engineered by workshops to generate business.

Another reason to suggest something is amiss: In some instances, the other "victims" of the chain collision did not even bother to exchange particulars, even though this is the standard procedure for motorists in accidents.

A major car insurance agency here said it has been receiving two reports every month from policyholders who suspect they were victims of staged accidents.

Housewife Lydia Ong, 39, believes that she was the target of such road vultures.

She was driving her BMW along the Pan-Island Expressway on 8 Aug when the driver of the car in front of her jammed his brakes "for no reason", she said.

Extra quick response

It happened near Aljunied at about 10am. Her 8-year-old son was in the car with her.

She managed to stop in time to avoid a crash, but the car behind hers did not. The impact propelled her car forward, causing her to crash into the car in front.

She got out and tried talking to the driver of the first car. But he just shook his head and said: "No need to explain."

He then called somebody using his handphone.

In less than three minutes, a woman arrived in another car, saying she was a representative from a car workshop in Sin Ming.

Mrs Ong said the woman offered to "settle everything" for her, including the repairs and filing insurance reports and claims. The workshop would even lend her a Toyota Camry, at no cost, while it repaired her car.

Her car's hood, and front and back bumpers were damaged. As it was the first time she had been involved in an accident, she was panicky and did not know what to do. So, she accepted the workshop's services.

Before they left the accident scene, the workshop agent convinced her that taking down the vehicle numbers of the other two cars was sufficient and that there was no need to get the drivers' personal particulars.

Mrs Ong said the agent even dissuaded her from speaking to the other two drivers.

Later, the agent boarded Mrs Ong's car and directed her to drive to the workshop. The car that was ahead of hers in the accident was also parked in the same workshop and the driver was there too.

Mrs Ong said there were some other details that seemed odd, including how the other "victims" of the crash didn't ask for her particulars.

When we contacted the workshop agent, she claimed she just "happened to pass by" the accident scene that day. She declined to elaborate and hung up.

As long as one driver, in an accident that involves two or more vehicles, takes up the offer of these workshop touts, the workshop stand to gain.

They can hike up the repair costs of that driver's car and claim the amount from the other driver(s) involved.

Mr Danny Tan, 43, an officer with the Singapore Armed Forces, was one of those who declined to use such services. He was involved in an accident along the Ayer Rajah Expressway last month.

A workshop representative appeared "within two minutes" to persuade him and other drivers to use his repair services.

Another motorist, Mr Kerr Sun, recalled that in July last year, a car cut into his lane suddenly, then braked to a stop, even though there was "nothing in front of him".

The 31-year-old businessman said he had to swerve to the left, resulting in an accident with another car. Then, a workshop agent arrived "in less than a minute".

Mr Sun said: "I think they must be stationed somewhere, waiting for an accident to happen. Either that, or they travel together, at a distance, and communicate using handphones."

When contacted, an NTUC Income spokesman said they receive two reports every month from policyholders who suspect they were victims of staged accidents, but those policyholders "normally do not have evidence to support their suspicion".

He added: "It is not easy to prove that an accident was staged. The burden of proof as required by the law is very heavy and we need more than circumstantial evidence to succeed in proving fraudulent claims."

Mrs Ong has since got back her repaired car. The workshop replaced the damaged parts and did some paint work.

The total cost of repairs amounted to "more than $10,000", and the workshop said it would claim the money from the insurer of the driver behind her.

A check by The New Paper with five other workshops yielded estimates of between $2,000 and $5,000 for carrying out the same repairs.

Suspecting the whole accident to be a scam, Mrs Ong has lodged a police report about the case.

She said: "This is a very dangerous thing to do, just to earn a few thousand dollars. You are playing with lives. And my kid was in the car."

Both she and her son suffered minor bruises.

Mr Sun said: "I think everybody should stop using the services of these agents who turn up suddenly at the accident scene, so that they will have no business."

When contacted, a spokesman for the Singapore Motor Workshop Association, said it has not received "any formal complaints regarding staged accidents".

However, it has heard about "touts" who arrive at accident scenes very quickly.

The association "stands strongly" against such activities and asks motorists not to take up offers by touts.

-Elgin Toh, newsroom intern

WHAT TO DO IN AN ACCIDENT

1 Exchange particulars with the other drivers. This includes name, vehicle number, IC number, telephone number, address and insurer.

2 Take photographs of the accident vehicles, for use in the accident report later.

3 Call your insurer's hotline for a tow truck or for further advice.

4 Report the accident and take the accident vehicle, whether damaged or not, to the approved reporting centre (provided by your insurer) by the next working day.

5 Avoid all unauthorised tow truck operators

This article was first published in The New Paper on Sep 7, 2008.