Rear ended AGAIN!!

[RavensGryf]

It's either just my luck, or else there are too many drivers crowding the roads out here!

I was rear ended in July. This is October! I was in a different car today, but still, same person. Wth?! :52: My dad who is elderly (but a decent driver :54 was rear ended earlier this year too in the car I was driving!!!

Both times I was coming back from the gym. I think I'm going to take the bus to the gym from now on!!

No one was hurt. What's my point here? I just wanted to vent :17:

 

[Kalidasa]

That sucks! Bet dollars to donuts they were texting. Nowadays that's the number 1 cause of rear ending. Hope you're okay and it's totally covered.

 

[RavensGryf]

That sucks! Bet dollars to donuts they were texting. Nowadays that's the number 1 cause of rear ending. Hope you're okay and it's totally covered.

Actually, I saw his face right before it happened... He was looking straight at me (glazed over). He was just thinking about something else (other than driving obviously :31. I was surprised because I thought he for sure saw me right there!

It was not a straight on rear end. It was more of a diagonal, where he grazed the corner of the rear bumper.

I do spot tons of people on the road driving and texting .

 

[Sunset_Chaser]

That would be extremely frustrating! Nowadays people are so busy with their phones or just off in "lala land" that they aren't paying attention to what's going on around their vehicle. I once saw a lady driving down the road with a big sandwich in one hand and a soda in the other DRIVING WITH HER KNEES! At least you weren't hurt, it could've been worse!

 

[thekarens]

OMG Julie! I think I might have to smack someone! Hello! Wakey wakey people!!

 

[Kiwibird]

Oh Julie, I'm so sorry. Glad no one got hurt, but still, how irritating! I guess at least you get a new bumper out of it and maybe it was a wakeup call for dumdum so he will start focusing on driving instead of daydreaming off in lala land before he seriously injures someone.

 

[Scott]

Glad you're unhurt, Julie. IDK if there is a message, but hopefully you and your dad can "check the box" for auto incidents for a long while!

 

[Allee]

Julie, I'm so glad you weren't hurt. Some people fail to engage their brains when they start their cars. Who knew the gym could be so dangerous?

 

[Christinenc2000]

Julie I feel your pain !. I have been rear ended twice this year. Once waiting at a drive thru. Dummy behind me just took his foot off the break. SMACK just a little tap no damage
Next was driving on HWY 17 5 cars ahead of me all stopping I hit break the guy behind me did not see in time he locked up his breaks the cars head of me could see what was happening and all started pulling off the road so I could move ahead a little. Funny how things seem clear when you need them to. Anyway I did mange to pull ahead some and despite all the rubber he left on the road he only tapped me . Scary. Both were just young guys and I never filed a report. No need . yeah some said I should have at least given them a ticket but when a kid is standing there crying I did give a small preaching and let them go.
Hope they learned.
Glad you were not hurt ! Its getting scary to drive . I wish cell phones could be disabled when the motor is running . You want to make a call pull over

 

[Dopey]

I'm glad that you are okay.

Accidents happened long before we had cell phones...just saying. Not trying to start a debate. Jeez the walkers around here with their cell phones are horrible.

 

[RainbowRose]

wow that's nuts, but I guess really the important thing to remember is that the positive still outweighs the negative. You are both okay, BOTH times. Don't even try to imagine otherwise, cause that's worse than just the accident itself! I know it sucks and it's like what are the odds?! But I'm just glad you guys are okay.

You can always replace a car, you can never replace a life.

 

[Terry57]

Julie, I am so sorry this happened again to you! I am so thankful that no one was hurt, and hopefully this will be the end of any kind of accident for a long time to come. How frustrating to have to deal with, though:

 

[Scott]

And then there's the world of insurance!

Living in California, the party responsible pays the damages, though at times both are at fault and a percentage is calculated. Many states in the U.S. have a "no fault" system. AFAIK each party pays for damage to the vehicle/property/people, but not sure how financial penalties are sanctioned in the form of increased policy premiums. California has flirted with a "pay at the pump" system whereby a base premium is collected per gallon (liter in most of the world!!) and additional coverage can be purchased by the consumer; thus far it has garnered little support.

Since the forum is truly international, I'm curious to learn how auto insurance policies are designed in other nations.

 

[RavensGryf]

Should be fairly straightforward. No major damage like last time. The guy offered to pay out of pocket to fix the scrape on the bumper. Being a young man, his insurance rate might go up substantially, so he didn't want his insurance company to know (if possible). Well, he seemed like a decent enough guy aside from not paying attention (!!), so I went to get an estimate. Even a simple scuff on the bumper added up to $1200. They still would have to remove the bumper, take out a small dent, labor etc. and it added up. Labor alone is half of that. Don said it would probably be up near $1000 no matter where we went. The guy said no way he can't pay that much and understood we had to take it up with our insurance companies.

 

[Scott]

Should be fairly straightforward. No major damage like last time. The guy offered to pay out of pocket to fix the scrape on the bumper. Being a young man, his insurance rate might go up substantially, so he didn't want his insurance company to know (if possible). Well, he seemed like a decent enough guy aside from not paying attention (!!), so I went to get an estimate. Even a simple scuff on the bumper added up to $1200. They still would have to remove the bumper, take out a small dent, labor etc. and it added up. Labor alone is half of that. Don said it would probably be up near $1000 no matter where we went. The guy said no way he can't pay that much and understood we had to take it up with our insurance companies.

It doesn't take much body work to add up quickly! And when there's an airbag deployment the bill will skyrocket. In fact, the threshold for an insurance company to "total" the vehicle is fairly low as their benchmark is roughly fair-market value. Thus, repairable autos are frequently totaled, refurbished to a lower standard, and sold with "salvage" titles. In the U.S, salvage cars are frequently available on very legitimate sites with the caveat of full disclosure.

 

[RavensGryf]

Yes, it is very expensive. I'm sure it doesn't take much for a car to be considered "totalled". He literally just barely grazed my bumper very lightly from a diagonal direction at the speed where you enter a driveway to a parking lot. Still $1200.

That would be tempting to get a repaired wreck for a great price, but then there's such a good chance that problems would surface, I'd be concerned about it. Same with police auction cars.