...I wouldn't have no luck at all.

I have been hit in the rear end twice in less than two months. Both times I was sitting at a light, stopped, waiting for it to change and then, wham! I received lame excuses by both drivers. The first one was "I was tired after working all day". The second was "my foot slipped". When both of these drivers get out of their cars holding smart phones it really makes me wonder.

At least the first driver had insurance.

The second, a mom driving three kids around, has no insurance. After googling her address I can see a large home on a big lot with a work truck, a suburban, a mercedes, a boat and her range rover parked out front.

Perhaps this family has fallen on hard times but it's hard to be sympathetic when I'm picking up the tab.

Rant over.

 

IMHO, there is almost no acceptable excuse for rear ending someone. The person that hits another vehicle from behind is either following to close, not paying attention, or driving too fast for conditions.

Make sure you send a copy of the Google Maps image of the woman's address to your insurance agent. Your insurance may pick up the tab for the repairs to your MINI, but they'll want to get that money back from the uninsured a-hole that caused the accident. The boat should just about cover the cost.

And, how's your neck feeling? Little sore? You know those pesky, soft tissue injuries... Hard to prove, harder to disprove.

 

Couldn't you take her to small claims court and recover your costs?

 

Unfortunately I've learned that your insurance company (if you have the coverage) will be the ones claiming damages in court or most likely through collections.

I have uninsured motorist coverage (which I upped a month ago) so I'm covered luckily (another life lesson). But I still have to pay a $100.00 deductible. If I did not have any of the drivers info, such as a hit-n-run, then my deductible would be $300.00. This should be returned to me once my insurance company reaps any claims. I'm not holding my breath.

$100.00 sounds paltry but it's still my money not theirs. My car has enough issues I'd rather spend the money on instead of monthly body repair.

 

I'm so sorry to hear of this. Wishing you better luck in the future.

 

Thank you all for your support, expressed or otherwise.

 

That does suck. I agree with others, rear end accidents are definietly avoidable. Smart phones are nice but maybe should be called idiot phones.
Also, it scares me to think how many people are driving the streets w/o drivers licenses or insurance.

 

Isn't insurance a requirement in Washington? Here in Florida, its required, and in any accident, the police request the insurance documents along with driver's licenses. No insurance can lead to license revocation.

 

At least you saw the person. I hate the random back panel scrapes from someone pulling out of a parking spot and turning to short. I'm sure most of them don't even know they hit another car. People should have to pass a basic spacial skills test to drive.

 

Insurance is a requirement here in Washington. Another thing I've learned is that the police will not show up unless someone is severely injured or you are blocking traffic. So these uninsured jerks never get penalized.

 

Sorry to hear this. Hope you are ok.

Now, I am not a lawyer, but I did have a decent accident on the freeway about 16 years ago. I am advising you to speak to an attorney about your rights and what you should do. Here is why:

The other guy was not insured and left bogus information so they were not able to track him down.

I was injured, soft tissue, back and neck. Hampered me for a good long time. I did settle with my insurance and they sought out the other party but no luck. Ultimately, I had to sue my own insurance company for medical costs.


Fast forward 14 years. Spontaneous herniation of 3 discs in my neck. Surgery, neck is fused, suffer from chronic pain and diminished use of hands. (buy MINI cause I cant ride motorcycle any longer). Only explanation from surgeon was it started with the accident.

Since I accepted small settlement years ago there is no going back no for the pain and suffering.


I have no compassion for un-insured drivers. Take a cab. Get on a bus. Let your lawyer shake the money tree.

 

If you were hit in the rear, sitting at a light, and you did not move your car, would the police come. And if you did not move they would see the situation and should ticket the offender which you probably need to prove your case.

 

Really sorry to hear about this. Definitely agree that driving without insurance is outrageous and that woman should be penalized in some way (losing license sounds good to me). Also sorry to hear the cops wouldn't come. I was rear-ended last month and the state trooper was there in less than 5 minutes. He issued a ticket to the guy who hit me, which made me feel a bit better, but didn't diminish the fact that my MINI was totaled. :/ After going through that once, I have to admit I am a bit paranoid now. I find myself looking in my rearview mirror constantly, wondering if the person behind me will stop in time. I drive defensively, but in the end you can't control what the other driver will do.

 

I hope you don't have any bad headaches and if you do I hope they clear up soon.

 

It was a low speed impact so I don't have any obvious injuries other than a very slight neck stiffness that went away quickly. However I do know that the neck is a bit iffy when it comes to injuries. My friend had a neck injury from an accident that come back to haunt him after a year so I am aware.

I have just about every coverage known to man at this point. My agent told me she is closing the personal injury aspect for now but I can reopen the case if something happens in the near future. How long they will allow is unknown. I'll have to ask about this.

 

I work in the auto claims business. The insurance company may close the claim, because if you haven't gone to the doctor and you don't think you're hurt, there's no reason for them to leave it "open". That's not a bad thing, it's just common sense. A file can be reopen at any time, very easily. So don't concern yourself with it if they close it, it's normal procedure. The time limit to reopen is set by the state, not the insurance company. It's whatever the statute of limitations is. Depending on the state, it's typically around 2-3 years. That said, if you don't go to the doctor shortly after the loss, but go 18 months later, it may be tough sledding to have the bill paid. That's not because the insurance company is trying to get out of anything, but rather because it's hard to correlate the treatment with the loss at that point. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.

 

That really sucks man. At least you had uninsured motorist insurance. Better to be out $100 than thousands...

Also I agree with the rear-end thing. There's a couple accident types (backing into something, rear-ending someone stopped) where pretty much the only explanation is that the driver was a *******.

 

Thank you all for your thoughts. I do appreciate it. She went into the shop today and should be fixed soon.

After my faith in humanity is lost you fellow Nammers help bring it back.