What's wheel-y going on? Driver accused of ‘insurance scam’ after bizarre crash

A bizarre road incident caught on video shows a van driver suddenly changing lanes and braking, leaving people wondering if it is an attempted insurance scam.

In the incident at the beachside Melbourne suburb of Sandringham on Wednesday the car following subsequently hit the van in the rear.

The following driver's dashcam camera captured the incident and the video was shared on the Dashcam Owners Australia Facebook page.

The driver of the van suddenly swerved into the other lane and stopped abruptly. Source: Facebook / Dashcam Owners Australia
The driver of the van suddenly swerved into the other lane and stopped abruptly. Source: Facebook / Dashcam Owners Australia

Immediately after the collision the man in the van gets out and starts yelling at the driver who hit him.

The man can been seen pointing to his car while talking to the other driver.

The owner of the car that hit the van said the van driver's attitude quickly changed when he was informed the incident had been recorded on a dashcam.

On the Dashcam Owners Australia's Facebook page, people were quick to describe the incident as an "obvious crash for cash attempt".

The driver with the dashcam hit the car claiming he didn't have enough time to stop. Source: Facebook / Dashcam Owners Australia
The driver with the dashcam hit the car claiming he didn't have enough time to stop. Source: Facebook / Dashcam Owners Australia

"When I informed him I had a dashcam he changed his story and claimed he was attempting to avoid a dog (there is no dog)," the man said of the incident.

"I called the police and he jumped in his van and took off without giving me his details. Please note the pre-existing damage to the vehicle. If anyone knows this person I'd be keen to pass his details onto the Sandringham Police.

"FYI my vehicle is just over a week old and has only minor damage to the powder coating on the bullbar."

Several Facebook viewers of the footage labelled the incident an "insurance scam" attempt.

The man got out of his van and yelled at the other driver for hitting him. Source: Facebook / Dashcam Owners Australia
The man got out of his van and yelled at the other driver for hitting him. Source: Facebook / Dashcam Owners Australia

"Looks like an insurance scam. Saw (the) driver's bullbar in his rear vision mirror and thought it was pay day. Haha.. it will cost him," one person said.

"Change lanes without indicating, stopping in moving traffic and failing to provide details, plus damage, and his insurance will deny any claims," the person added.

"Looks to me like he has damaged the side of his van previously and was looking for an accident to happen so he could blame them and have his vehicle repaired by some other person's insurance," another person commented.

Some believe the driver with the dashcam had time to brake harder to avoid the collision.