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I can't believe I walked out without...........

by HeySal
13 replies
  • OFF TOPIC
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A scratch.

Monday I got hit by some imbecile on a cellphone -- who had the audacity to pass me on the left while I was turning left. He was doing around 80 (and, yes, 80 legally was speeding). Anyhow, because the road I was turning onto ran into the road that I was on at an angle I didn't really need to "turn" but just drift over to it so when we collided we deflected each other (he had this huge industrial truck - all metal and speed) and I was just sent off to the right and he to the left. Had I been making a right angle turn like at most left turns, I'd most likely not have survived the impact. As it was -- I wasn't even jarred that bad at impact - but the front paneling of my rig was caught on metal of his rig and ripped right off.

Anyway - got all my initial insurance stuff done -- and they say "no way we're accepting fault on this one" so it looks like things are going to be okay. It will only be about 48 hours before I know if he's going to counter the claim - and he's a fool if he does that. I'm assuming that since he got a citation, the company will fold their cards and fix my rig. If I have to go to court, he's going to be lunch because I'm going to add costs for down time, and the cost of getting that rig back home.
  • Profile picture of the author PaulSch
    Glad to hear you escaped without injury. It's a pain to go through all the paperwork but it could have been a whole lot worse.

    Don't you just love it when an imbecile drives and talks on a phone at the same time?
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    Glad it was not worse and you are okay. I hope they throw the book at him and you have no insurance hassles.

    I had a near head on with a drunk in May. East of town, by the water treatment plant on the frontage road. She did get the DUI charge, etc. There is; however, a rehearing in December. The letter from the DA does not say why there is a rehearing. You bet I will at least submit another Victim Impact Statement as she has a long history around here of drinking. This might have been the first time she was caught. She could not even walk. She was likely around here when you lived in this area.
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  • Profile picture of the author Slate ORM
    Good luck to you! I remember when I was 17 years old I got into a single-car accident in my new Scion xB "box" car. Sneezed and went onto the shoulder of the road. Hit a downed, cut-up log and went airborne. The car landed on the drivers' side with my arm slightly out the window and slid for a good 30 feet, putting a nice gouge in the asphalt.

    Car was totaled, I was sore for a LONG time, but I was happy that a) I got out alive, b) I was wearing my seatbelt, c) the windows being down allowed me to escape, d) I knew the road well enough to sprint a half mile to the nearest house without my glasses, e) my parents didn't murder me, and f) the people at the nearest house were nice enough to let me use their phone to call Mom and Dad and 911.

    Good luck with the insurance end of things. I'm sure it's a pain.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Good that you didn't get hurt. Could have been so much worse.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joe Mobley
      First of all, like many others here, I am glad you are not hurt.

      Secondly, do I understand correctly that you still have a drive-able vehicle?


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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    LOL. Drive-able? No. The front grill/bumper is in the back seat along with the front driver's side panel. All the electrical is ripped to heck and back. The right front wheel rim is pushed into the tire, which is actually creating pressure and the tire isn't flat - but it's not sitting square so I'm not sure if the axle is bent or what. The hood is crumpled, and it won't start - or even engage at all. For all I know until an examiner gets out here, it could be totaled.
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    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

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    • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      LOL. Drive-able? No. The front grill/bumper is in the back seat along with the front driver's side panel. All the electrical is ripped to heck and back. The right front wheel rim is pushed into the tire, which is actually creating pressure and the tire isn't flat - but it's not sitting square so I'm not sure if the axle is bent or what. The hood is crumpled, and it won't start - or even engage at all. For all I know until an examiner gets out here, it could be totaled.
      Ohhhh, it's gonn'a be totaled. I think the guidelines are that if repair is 25% of value or more, it gets totaled. Repair work is very expensive, very fast. You probably don't want it repaired because it likely won't be the same again.

      My car was totaled, but still drivable. Driver side doors and rear panel crunchied.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      LOL. Drive-able? No. The front grill/bumper is in the back seat along with the front driver's side panel. All the electrical is ripped to heck and back. The right front wheel rim is pushed into the tire, which is actually creating pressure and the tire isn't flat - but it's not sitting square so I'm not sure if the axle is bent or what. The hood is crumpled, and it won't start - or even engage at all. For all I know until an examiner gets out here, it could be totaled.
      "totaled" or not, it IS totaled! With what you describe, it sounds like the frame would have to be BENT, and it is best, in such a case, to sell it as JUNK. It has been my experience that the simplest of bumper damage today costs upwards of $1000. If the grill is damaged, the radiator likely is, or the frame around it, and EITHER could increase costs a LOT. Any material damage to the electrical will easily cost into the hundreds of dollars, just for the harness and parts. ALSO, the hood crumpling indicates frame problems, etc... I would be shocked if the damage were less than $5000, and it is probably more.

      I hope you have good insurance. I think MY car ended up better than yours, and I got maybe $2000 over blue book, for the old used car. Cars have increased in price. The jetta that I bought in 1991 now costs TWICE as much. It looks like a nicer car, but STILL. What I got for my old car was little more than a down payment for my new one. Oh well, outside of the smaller engine, the new car is a lot nicer. SO FAR it looks like I can only keep a car for 13 years! My first just suffered structural fatigue, and a blown head gasket and injectors. My second suffered a bad universal joint, and a bad head gasket. My third ended up hitting a car a careless driver drove in its path.

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Well Heysal,

    I'm glad to hear you are fine, etc.... Although it sounds like it MAYBE didn't affect YOU, it IS incredible how stupid some things are. One thing HERE is that they just made a portion of a road where you have to drive on the LEFT hand side of the road! They put an island in the road and send the two sides to the other side and, after driving a block or so, they switch sides AGAIN! I am waiting for people to DIE, though I have heard stories of, and have been in, close calls. IMAGINE! Less than a year ago, for DECADES, people drove straight through. NOW, everyone is expected to turn, watch lights, and switch. If you should fail, or the timing is off, you end up driving perhaps 50mph into oncoming traffic.

    One dangerous turn has NO light, and may mean that traffic may be stopped, so some BLITHERING IDIOT came up with the idea of a short detour. This allows a delay of any sort to create two lanes that may be going at who knows what speed, and the sides must realize that the road may have moving traffic, or stopped cars, and the "detour" may have a car about to crash into you. I almost get tempted to try to block the detour, and kind of edge back, but I probably would STILL get hit.

    It is HARD to believe that they have ANYONE thinking about these roads. WHY does the DMV, BMV, or whatever you call it test you for some sign recognition, including YIELD and SLOW, and yet they come up with ridiculous things that they could never test, etc. Then again, what do you expect from a place that has a sign 20 feet in the air and about 70 feet away that in SMALL print at the bottom says "no turn after 7PM"(ONLY in english), and cites a person for making a turn at 7:04PM? What would they do if the person didn't speak english? They don't require drivers to know english though so many signs are only in english.

    HECK, I was actually in an area where you had to make a left hand turn from the RIGHT lane! Unless there is NO traffic, or you are familiar with the area, GOOD LUCK KNOWING THAT! A sign, on the right, AGAIN IN ENGLISH ONLY, less than 1/2 block from the cross street says you have to drive onto this street that turns you around till you are driving across the street you were just on, and effectively turning left.

    Don't get me wrong, studies show that more languages slow reaction time, but what of people that DON'T speak english? I guess THEY are allowed to ignore the signs that others may miss, but be cited for missing.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
    Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

    Monday I got hit by some imbecile on a cellphone -- who had the audacity to pass me on the left while I was turning left.
    Yikes. Must have been one helluva cellphone.

    Seriously, sounds like a close call (no pun intended). Glad you got out okay.

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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Yeah, they get some screwy construction here and there. This wasn't, though - this was a straight two lane, paved road with a road to the left running to it. Simple - straight forward design. The other rig just seemed to have a screw loose behind the steering wheel.
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    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    Negotiate with their insurance company until they give you a Jeep with the 707 horsepower Hellcat engine. LOL
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  • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
    Glad to hear you walked away unscathed. It'll take a lot more than a dickhead on the road to knock you out.
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