Well, my Subaru is pissed off (or how to get rear-ended on the way to work)

[Squirrel99]

son of bitch. I pull up to the three-way stoplight not more than 3 blocks from the office and I'm waiting behind a guy to turn left. Well, the jackass decides that rather than turn left before the light goes red, he would immediately hit the gas in reverse- fails to give warning he was going to back up (or check to see if another vehicle(s) were behind him) and accelerate into my front end.

It's a great view when you suddenly look up and see a black landrover slam on the gas in reverse before you get a chance to get out of the way- KABLAM! Not only is my license plate smashed up, it put it in a good set of dents on the front right bumper.

The guy gets out of his car- says he sorry- then Have a Good Day! WTF???
Well I got the plate number so get into the office 2 minutes later, call the cops to file a report and the dispatcher is pissed off at me for not finding a payphone nearby! Are you kidding me? Our office is 2 blocks away. Cop stops by to file a report- turns out the vehicle belongs to somebody in Wisconsin with Washington plates and only a PO Box address as a contact. Great, I'm sure that'll help me track down the owner to pay for my car repairs

Now I'm stuck with a pile of work in cubicleland. Not the best way to start off your Tuesday, eh?

[Below Zero]

Well, why didn't you exchange information with this guy? He just said "Have a good day" and you said nothing?

[lemon boy]

I'm confused.

Are you sure you didn't get front-ended?

sorry, bum luck.

[Squirrel99]

Well, why didn't you exchange information with this guy? He just said "Have a good day" and you said nothing?

Um, yeah, that's what I tried to do but he stopped long enough to say sorry man and see I was okay- and then drove off. It wasn't like he waited for me while I went to grab a pen/paper from the car. He stopped for a whole 5 seconds and sped off. He had no intent of exchanging information. Heck, he didn't own the vehicle- it was registered to some lady.

That's the f'd part about it. Fortunately, the damage isn't too bad, but none the less- it pisses me off.

Oh well, crappy luck, I guess.

[Xover]

call YOUR insurance agent
tell them the story and give them the other driver's license plate
ask him/her to get involved
they will (should) know what to do from there to get the moron

[Stu Gotz]

In a case like this, is the owner of the vehicle responsible for the damage caused? Even though said owner was not driving?

[Tippster]

In a case like this, is the owner of the vehicle responsible for the damage caused? Even though said owner was not driving?

Yes, that's why most insurance policies have an "Incidental Driver" clause.

What X said. You pay insurance for a reason. Make THEM do the work.

[Foggy_Goggles]

call YOUR insurance agent
tell them the story and give them the other driver's license plate
ask him/her to get involved
they will (should) know what to do from there to get the moron

Unless you make a claim, they have no motivation to get involved. First you need to convince the po po to write a ticket for leaving the scene of an accident. This will go to the owner of the car. Once they fail to pay the ticket, they'll get a bench warrant for their arrest. When the po po catches up with them (depends on the state, this could be when they re-register, get pulled over etc.), they'll get a court date. Part of their charges should be restitution to you.

Get an estimate and speak with your agent. Policies vary as to whether your rates can go up or not based on the state laws. You'll have to decide to make a claim or not.

Bottom Line - you're fucked. It's just a matter of how deep and with how much girth. The restitution angle worked for me but I didn't get my money for about a year and a half.

[grizzle6]

Why not just hire Vinnie and Guido to pack the dude in a barrel and send him to the bottom of the Atlantic?

[TomK]

Squirrel, since you're not at fault, your rates won't go up.
CALL YOUR INSURANCE AGENT. They will ask for a copy of the police report.
Let your insurance company deal with the at-fault party.
Who cares how bad the damage looks, hidden damage underneath is very common.

[Squirrel99]

thanks for the tips. after I talk to my insurance agent this afternoon, I think I'm going to go get in my yak and go for a paddle or hop on the bike and get muddy. this day will end on a better note

now about this pile of crap on my desk...if I could only make that disappear....

[Shin-to-Win]

That totally sucks dude. Classic Me Me Me society we have now. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions.

Here's what went throught that asshole's head:

1. Fuck, I just hit that car . . . that could cost me some $$$ cause it was clearly my fault.

2. Let me get the fuck out of here . . . wait I better check to see if the guy in that little furin car is OK, otherwise it'll be a criminal hit and run and I'll be on the evening news and might go to jail and get ass fucked.

3. Cool, guy is OK, now I can bail on my responsibilities and get the fuck out of here.

[Cornholio]

Squirrel, since you're not at fault, your rates won't go up.

This isn't actually true, unfortunately.

[PeachesN'Cream]

shit squirrel that sucks.

yeah call your insurance agent, the sooner the better. your insurance company will take care of the rest for the most part, or at least let you know what you need to do. as said above, you pay a shit ton of money to them every month and for the most part all they do is send you another bill. so now they get to work for all that money you have basicly just been handing to them.

good luck dood. i'd go ride with you after work but i feel a cold commin on and don't want to push it.

[shamrockpow]

This isn't actually true, unfortunately.

Tell me about it. Every claim made, they can raise your rates. This way the insurance companies can charge you up the ass in case you get in an accident, then do everything in their power to convince you NOT to make a claim. Legalized and government authorized extortion.

[freshie247]

El sucky, sucky

[StroupSkier]

Report his plate number and car type to your insurance company.

Depending on state laws, the police may not even file a report even if you called them from the scen since is was a low speed impact. As is the case in North Carolina, the police do not typicaly get involved in teh case other than to get contact info and location of the accident. In NC, police will not assign fault in a low impact case.

The insurance companies will sort it out based on the location of the damage, which is how they assign fault.

Follow Foggy Goggles advise and files a report with your insurance company ASAP. They will find a way to get in contact with the owner and/or driver and get the money.

Something similar happened to my Subaru a few months ago, when my dad was driving the car and got hit in a parking lot. He didn't get all the information though and it took me 3 months to get the money to fix the car (which I then spent on an extra ski trip and decided I would save up over the summer to get it fixed).

[sanjuanworm]

i have been in a similar situation. i got a check.

you got his plate #.
that means the police have access to the registration for the car.
on that piece of paper is the name of the cars insurance company.
call them. tell them you were involved in a hit n run w/ their policy holder.
if you have a police report to back you up. their (not yours) insurance company , will verify this through the DMV computer. then they will send an adjuster to give you an estimate. they will mail you
a check. trust me. this is how it works. they want to settle very quickly when they see the words HIT AND RUN.
you have to have a police report that says he took off.
the police will not do any of this for you. but they will speak to the insurance company when they call, to verify the report.
the insurance company will get the report from the DMV.
all you need to do is call and wait for the check.


you should have stayed at the scene of the accident.
thats what the cops like.
that could be a loophole in the report, that means they dont wanna pay.

[BENDOR]

F#$% landrovers and the people who don't know how to drive them.

[midget]

.....a nice little, hey welcome back to seattle!