Rearended

[puddlemuddle]

Well, It finally happened...after 15 years of driving...my first accident. I got rear ended in my new 2008 Jetta tonight by a 16 year old who was to busy looking at his IPod to realize that traffic was still stopped at a green light....I HATE having to go through all this crap with the body shop and the insurance..although Progressive has been fantastic in the past so I don't have any reason to think that they wouldn't be again. Luckily I have a 250.00 deductible (which I was told that I would have to pay if they don't reach an agreement with the fathers insurance before the repairs on done..) The think that really makes me mad is this:
Now I am the one who has to be inconvenienced, and probably sore tomorrow (he hit me going about 25 to 30 miles an hour it seemed) and yet all that is going to happen is that his insurance will go up...He doesn't have to pay a deductible (according to progressive a deductible is only for YOUR car) and his 16 year old son walks away wit ha written WARNING!!!! What the HECK!!!
Anyway, I guess tomorrow starts the fun process......At least I was wearing my kilt at the time...Oh and my pipe case was damaged beyond repair also...it they were in my trunk..luckily they weren't damaged.
Rant over...
Cheers,
Chad

[###KILTEDKIWI###]

wow, no ticket for the muppet driving?

Weird, our insurance here, is you pay your premium, then, when its all settled, you get it back, because you didnt cause the accident.

This has happened to me beofre, the hassle of going through it all, and you don't have you vehicle, whilst its getting repaired, only good thing here, is that the clown shoe wearer who caused the accident, his insurance company ends up paying for the rental car as well...

[McMurdo]

Well I hope you are OK, that's the most important thing, I was rearended twice in a six month period, it really is not a fun experience, best of luck with it.

[Ozman1944]

Last year a drunken woman ploughed into my parked car while I was in a different Pub. Mine ended up on the sidewalk! All smashed. She tried to drive away, but her engine blew up.
Luckily we both have the same Insurance Company. As I wasn't even in the car, she had to cover all repair expenses, rental car etc. when she got out of Jail.The Court even sent me a claim form demanding I fill it out for injuries, and come to court to sue!! It took a lot of calls to convince them that as I was inside another building at the time I couldn't possible have any injuries, and certainly didn't want to sue her in court as everything was paid for.

Of course I could've done the "Whiplash" scam, as I certainly spun around quick when the bartender announced my car was crashed.

[CDNSushi]

You have my sympathies. That really sucks. At least you can take comfort in the fact that it wasn't your fault and your costs will be covered -- even though it's a pain in the butt on your part.

I've only ever been in an accident once in my 16 years of driving, and I wasn't even in the vehicle. In fact, I was renting a DVD from the local shop when some guy walks into the store and publicly announces,

"Who owns a blue Jeep pickup truck?"

I responded, "That would be me. What's the problem?"

He said, "Well, your truck just backed into my car."

"What? That's impossible!" I said.

"Take a look, he answered."

So I went outside, and sure enough, the rear bumper of my Jeep Commanche had made a watermelon-sized dent in the passenger door of his brand new, shiny, red sports car! DOH! Turns out that my parking brake had failed and the truck rolled... Whose fault? Mine, of course... Insurance covered the whole thing and my premiums didn't go up because of my otherwise outstanding record, but that was sure a lesson to be learned. Ever since then, I've ALWAYS left the car IN GEAR and used the parking brake (much the the surprise of the odd person who's borrowed my cars since then and turned the key only to stall the car immediately)... lol.

[Woodsman]

Puddlemuddle,
When I saw the title of your post I thought you were going to have an amusing story for us about being kilted while driving. When I drive kilted I often think about circumstances where I may have to get out of the car in a strange place whilst kilted. Being thrust into an unexpected situation isn't always desirable.

[David Thornton]

Well, this should make you feel better. A 16 year old has a factor that is three times what an adult pays WITHOUT an accident surcharge. For the next 3 years there will be a surcharge on the policy. Some companies surcharge the driver and his car, some bump the entire policy.

And, if the 16 year old had not been disclosed, the company may non renew which could significantly increase their costs.

So don't think the kid got off clean

David

[GreenDragon]

I hope it at least stung like crazy when the cop slapped that kid on the wrist.

[puddlemuddle]

Thanks for all the encouragement guys! Well, we think that the kid got a warning because he fathers is the owner of the local Ford Dealership, and had to come out because the kid was a minor. So, my family is really good friends with the ex chief of police, so we are checking into the fact that everyone who has been in law enforcement (including my step-father and my father in law) has said that any type of accident that causes major property damage is supposed to be an automatic citation, and the fact that his "Warning" was for "following too close"....even though he wasn't anywhere near me when I came to a complete stop!! So we think that there is a little bit of small town politics going on here...so we are checking into that. Ill keep you guys updated. Luckily...no soreness this morning except in my legs....and that's from doing squats at the gym two days ago!
Thanks again!
Cheers,
Chad

[Wompet]

As someone who's been bumped, rearended, sandwiched, and almost t-boned - I really hope the kid gets what he deserves, and that the insurance companies don't give you any problems.