Got rear-ended this AM

TD said:

So I sort of blocked him out.

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Sorry you have to deal with this mishap, but...a sign of maturity is understanding those things which one cannot change or shouldn't bother wasting their energies on, and one of them is line breakers. I certainly understand your anger with these individuals but your acting on it has now cost you inconvenience and possibly dollars. You were partially at fault, had you not acted you'd have no damage now. Maybe that's why you're not as upset as you thought you might be.

P.S. What if he'd had a gun and a problem with road rage.:yikes:

Re: Re: Got rear-ended this AM

johnlew said:

..a sign of maturity is understanding those things which one cannot change or shouldn't bother wasting their energies on, and one of them is line breakers.

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100% in agreement! I gave up worrying about what the others were doing to "cheat the system" along time ago(at about, ohhh, 30!)

Re: Re: Got rear-ended this AM

johnlew said:

Sorry you have to deal with this mishap, but...a sign of maturity is understanding those things which one cannot change or shouldn't bother wasting their energies on, and one of them is line breakers. I certainly understand your anger with these individuals but your acting on it has now cost you inconvenience and possibly dollars. You were partially at fault, had you not acted you'd have no damage now. Maybe that's why you're not as upset as you thought you might be.

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But the one thing one does NOT want right now is a lecture. And, actually, something being my own fault would only make me more angry not less.

Actually, I suspect my lack of extreme anger comes from the fact that the bumper had a few scrapes on it from before I bought the car. Now I'll get a new freshly painted bumper at someone else's expense. My only cost is the time and effort involved in getting it fixed.

Does that make me a bad person?

Re: Re: Re: Got rear-ended this AM

Ripsnort said:

100% in agreement! I gave up worrying about what the others were doing to "cheat the system" along time ago(at about, ohhh, 30!)

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Since I'm only 30, does that give me a pass?

Ripsnort said:

When you say you blocked him, did you mean your car was in a stationary position before,during the rear end? If so, you pass. If you moved (gave it gas) to make the blocking movement when you saw what he was doing, you failed!

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City streets, turning right.

Other guy tried to turn right from center lane. I was in the right lane. I maintained my path onto the cross street without slowing to let him in. He got in behind me and, I have no idea if it was deliberate or not, promptly rear-ended me.

Not that I'm looking for your approval... And, frankly, I'm surprised that you feel so compelled to argue against me.

Not argueing against you, just re-affirming Johns post. If you saw it coming, and you acted, you make a choice. If you saw it coming, and you chose not to act, you make a choice. Whether you did the former or the latter is to be determined whether you acted knowing you might create an accident. Insurance company will determine that. Usually if your stationary, and your rear-ended, 99.9 % of the time it turns out not to be your fault.

TD said:

This looks like either just a re-paint OR replace the bumper cover and re-paint. I'm quite sure it'll be <$1000.

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Yea, it sounds like you just got tapped. It won't be anywhere near 1K. My fist one was so expensive because I got hit pretty hard by a Bronco (his beeper went off ) The bumper shocks had to be replaced, the trunklid was slightly deformed, but still opened.

Here's what you do.

TD said:

Only bumper damage.

The guy was trying to turn from a non-turn lane, effectively cutting a long line waiting to turn. So I sort of blocked him out. So he rear-ended me.

Fortunately, he accepts blame. DC police won't do accident reports for "fender benders" so if he changes his story when his insurance company calls him (GEICO), I may be out my deductible ($250 through my insurance, State Farm). I've already called GEICO and have an adjuster appointment for 7:30 am tomorrow.

On a positive note, the rear bumper did have touch-up paint on it from a few license plate screw marks made prior to my owning the car. Now I'll get a freshly painted bumper.

Still, seeing repairs like this through to completion are always a PITA.

(I'm actually surprised that I'm not more pissed than I am. Hmm...)

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After that kind of an accident, your car will never be the same. It will always be there, deep in the back of your mind, eatind away, eating away... The only real solution is to sell the car and get a new one.

Being the kind of guy that I am, I'd be willing to take her off your hands for, say, $25k. You could then begin the healing process.

You can thank me when I pick the car up...

Re: Here's what you do.

ARCHER said:

After that kind of an accident, your car will never be the same. It will always be there, deep in the back of your mind, eatind away, eating away... The only real solution is to sell the car and get a new one.

Being the kind of guy that I am, I'd be willing to take her off your hands for, say, $25k. You could then begin the healing process.

You can thank me when I pick the car up...

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LOL. I got the damage assessed by the guy's insurance this AM (GEICO) and they put it at ~$350. So it's really not bad but definitely needs to be fixed.

The problem is that the guy is now contesting fault so GEICO has to investigate before they can pay me. Grrr...

Re: Re: Here's what you do.

TD said:

LOL. I got the damage assessed by the guy's insurance this AM (GEICO) and they put it at ~$350. So it's really not bad but definitely needs to be fixed.

The problem is that the guy is now contesting fault so GEICO has to investigate before they can pay me. Grrr...

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$350 isn't bad. You knew the guy would contest.

Good luck.

Re: Re: Here's what you do.

TD said:

LOL. I got the damage assessed by the guy's insurance this AM (GEICO) and they put it at ~$350. So it's really not bad but definitely needs to be fixed.

The problem is that the guy is now contesting fault so GEICO has to investigate before they can pay me. Grrr...

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Not sure about DC, but in many states the driver that rear-ends the other driver is (by statute) automatically at fault; the theory is that if you hit another car from behind, you must have been negligent in either not controlling your vehicle or not leaving an appropriate stopping distance (I guess this would be a negligence per se claim based on statutory codification of res ipsa loquitor).*

FWIW, I think it's non-sensical that DC cops don't take a police report. WTF do we pay them for? How is GEICO going to "investigate" if the police haven't ascertained any facts? Is GEICO going to depose you? The other driver?

*Std. disclaimer: Please note that this does not constitute legal advice; if you have questions talk to an attorney, etc. etc.

MD cops won't take a report, either.
My Mom had an "accident" where some woman claim that my Mom cut her off and caused her to rear end her (no damage, no marks, no accident, unless you count 50 ft of skid marks on a road with a 35MPH speed limit, trying to avoid hitting a car moving at 30MPH and accelerating). This woman screamed at my Mom for 45 minutes, and called the cops time and time again until they finally got annoyed enough to send a cop. He copied their insurance information and handed it over.
State Farm thankfully told her insurance company to go to hell.

:dunno: :dunno: :dunno:

There are some dumb asses out there.

I'm not sure what the law is called, or even referred to, but in VA (at least, not sure about DC), drivers that are rear-ended can be ruled to have some fault (anywhere between 1%-100%, although I have no idea how a judge/jury would determine specific percentages) in a rear-end collision.

I had always thought that any driver who gets rear-ended is totally NOT AT FAULT, as the driver who does the rear-ending is negligent for 'following to close to stop,' or whatever that law is. Nevertheless, a good friend of mine was called for jury duty in Alexandria several weeks ago, and as he (and the other potential jurors were in the jury box going through voir dire), was being questioned, one of the questions (don't recall which side's legal eagle posed it), had to do with whether or not the jurors could accept the fact that somone who got rear-ended could share "some of the potential liability and/or negligence" associated with a rear-end collision. Who knew?

Mention the E46 M3, he foams at the mouth.

Mention the E65, he pulls out a gun.

Rear-end his bimmer, and he just sighs.

TD ... The man, the enigma.