There are several things you can do to protect yourself from the car insurance fraudsters involved in this new spate of staged crashes and below you will find the Insurance 4 My Car guide to keeping you and your car safe...

The best thing you can do is to be vigilant. If you see a car moving slowly, especially if the driver is being extra observant or may be using an old, battered car then steer clear as they may be looking for their next pray. This is especially true on the areas around sliproads off quite roundabouts, where there may not be any eye witnesses around to provide any statement.

If you do feel like something may be up then keep your distance. Often they will slow down to get close to you and if they do either slow down yourself or look to get to a built up area with lots of people and eye witnesses around to ensure there are impartial people around to explain to Police what may have happened.

If a crash does happen you must stay calm and remember your rights. Take as many details down as possible, such as how many people there are in the car, their sex and how they were dressed. Give all of this, no matter how insignificant they may seem, to your car insurance team.

Do not be bullied by them either. The best thing to do is call the Police before you get out of the car and inform the driver of the car involved that the Police are on their way before anything else is said. That way they may think twice about bullying you.

When the Police arrive get them to check the brake lights of the car you hit as if they can prove they were not working you may have a stronger case against them.

>> For more car insurance advice call the Insurance4MyCar team on 0845 3714498