by Guest » Sat Jul 24, 2010 03:30 pm
Hello,
I was approaching a four-way stop in my car, and I stopped normally when I had to. The cars to my left and right crossed the intersection, so then it was my turn along with the person across from me to go. I was making a left turn and had my left blinker on, so the person across from me waved me to go. I waved back and started to go, and the intersection looked clear. I'm already doing my turn and pretty much straightened out already when I hear a honk and then a crash into the right side of my car. Apparently, the other car was on my right side at the four-way stop and he was going straight. The operator of that vehicle was one of the nicest men I had ever met, and he had to be in his mid to late 80's. I told him right away that there is no way I am at fault because it was my turn to go at the four-stop and the intersection was clear. The police didn't have any witnesses, so the officer couldn't blatantly state that the man was at fault, but he did tell me that he wrote in the report that it appears as if my car was hit by the other guy after I had already executed the turn. The damage on my car makes it appear that the other driver probably hit my door first, and his car slid across my car and then messed up my fender. Fortunately, my wheel is OK. The damage to his car is only on his left bumper and left fender. It appears a lot less damaging than the damage on my car. Also, both cars seem to have black stains on them, probably tire marks. The ones on my car are on on my right door where the intial impact occurred, and the marks on his car from the tires are just on the corner of the bumper. Now, I am waiting for the police report.
I went to get some estimates of the damage, and it ranges from about $1600(in cash, no insurance) to $2500 at a Honda dealer. My car is a 2009 Honda Civic LX-S. What is the best thing to do? I am a teen driver, and I don't want my rates to go up for something that I know I am NOT responsible for at all. The other guy didn't admit any fault, but he could barely remember some details when the cop was asking for his story. He could barely walk, hear, or write due to his elderly age, so I think that could be a factor in this accident. He even told me that he just recently had surgery on his hip or leg, I'm not exactly sure where. Also, the body shops said that based on the damage and the pictures of his car as well as mine, it looks like he is the one responsible, but what if insurance companies think otherwise?
What options do I have now? If the police report is in my favor, what should I do? And if it offers a 50-50 blame for the accident, what do I do then? I just don't want to be punished for this because this is not my fault. A person at the Honda dealer told me to contact his insurance right away to claim damage if the police report is in my favor, but is that a good idea? Is it up to the insurance companies to determine this case, because maybe it would be better for me if I didn't even report it to insurance. The other guy says he will probably have to report it to his insurance unless I pay him for the damage to his car (which is a lot less than our car, but I still wouldn't do it.)
Thanks for the help, I appreciate it!
I was approaching a four-way stop in my car, and I stopped normally when I had to. The cars to my left and right crossed the intersection, so then it was my turn along with the person across from me to go. I was making a left turn and had my left blinker on, so the person across from me waved me to go. I waved back and started to go, and the intersection looked clear. I'm already doing my turn and pretty much straightened out already when I hear a honk and then a crash into the right side of my car. Apparently, the other car was on my right side at the four-way stop and he was going straight. The operator of that vehicle was one of the nicest men I had ever met, and he had to be in his mid to late 80's. I told him right away that there is no way I am at fault because it was my turn to go at the four-stop and the intersection was clear. The police didn't have any witnesses, so the officer couldn't blatantly state that the man was at fault, but he did tell me that he wrote in the report that it appears as if my car was hit by the other guy after I had already executed the turn. The damage on my car makes it appear that the other driver probably hit my door first, and his car slid across my car and then messed up my fender. Fortunately, my wheel is OK. The damage to his car is only on his left bumper and left fender. It appears a lot less damaging than the damage on my car. Also, both cars seem to have black stains on them, probably tire marks. The ones on my car are on on my right door where the intial impact occurred, and the marks on his car from the tires are just on the corner of the bumper. Now, I am waiting for the police report.
I went to get some estimates of the damage, and it ranges from about $1600(in cash, no insurance) to $2500 at a Honda dealer. My car is a 2009 Honda Civic LX-S. What is the best thing to do? I am a teen driver, and I don't want my rates to go up for something that I know I am NOT responsible for at all. The other guy didn't admit any fault, but he could barely remember some details when the cop was asking for his story. He could barely walk, hear, or write due to his elderly age, so I think that could be a factor in this accident. He even told me that he just recently had surgery on his hip or leg, I'm not exactly sure where. Also, the body shops said that based on the damage and the pictures of his car as well as mine, it looks like he is the one responsible, but what if insurance companies think otherwise?
What options do I have now? If the police report is in my favor, what should I do? And if it offers a 50-50 blame for the accident, what do I do then? I just don't want to be punished for this because this is not my fault. A person at the Honda dealer told me to contact his insurance right away to claim damage if the police report is in my favor, but is that a good idea? Is it up to the insurance companies to determine this case, because maybe it would be better for me if I didn't even report it to insurance. The other guy says he will probably have to report it to his insurance unless I pay him for the damage to his car (which is a lot less than our car, but I still wouldn't do it.)
Thanks for the help, I appreciate it!
Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 05:01 pm Post Subject:
Perhaps you can work out a deal with this other driver and resolve the issue if your worried about rates. The insurance companies will determine who is at fault. If there is a question of liability on his part, file with your carrier, pay your deductible and your insurance company will go after his to get thiers and your money back.
Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 09:49 pm Post Subject:
First, you need to report the loss to his carrier if you don't want to report it and file under your own policy... right? This is the only option you'd have (file under your policy or file under his). So call them and see what they tell you. If they won't address 100% of your loss then file under your own policy. If your carriers investigation determines that the other party is at fault, then they will pursue recovery. No guarantees but if the other carrier won't address 100% of your loss then filing under your own policy is financially your best choice.
You have no indication that the other person won't agree with your version.
Note: If your vehicle was "straight" (inline with the other vehicle) it's tough to still get hit on the side door and not the rear bumper.
Where was this other vehicle when you entered the intersection? Surely close enough to enter the intersection at the same time. You never saw him?
Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 02:01 pm Post Subject:
You're a very articulate young person, and I respect and honor that!
due to his elderly age, so I think that could be a factor in this accident.
While it may be a factor, as a teenage driver, your statistical risk of being involved in an accident is about the same or greater than an 80-year-old's risk. So guess what? The numbers played out in both your favors.
Where was this other vehicle when you entered the intersection? Surely close enough to enter the intersection at the same time. You never saw him?
With driving experience, you'll undoubtedly learn to be more observant, and possibly be able to avoid such collisions in the future. Again, statistically, that comes with about 10 years of driving experience (some people might refer to "age 26", but that's a misnomer).
As far as working out the details of the loss, you could approach the other driver and see if he was willing to pay the $1600 cash repair (don't know why it's more to fix when the insurance company is paying the bill, but that's what drives up the cost of all of our insurance). If he is, then neither insurance company will be the wiser.
Except that I'd be willing to bet he's already notified his insurance company about the collision.
So the advice you've been given above, to contact his insurance company, is your first course of action. If that doesn't work, then you rely on your insurance company to handle the claim. If they recover from the other insurer, they might even recover your deductible, otherwise, you could sue the old guy in Small Claims Court for that $500 or $1000.
Now you wouldn't want some teenage kid suing your 80-year-old grandfather, would you?
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