Got in my first car accident!

[Lithium381]

UGH!!! Well i'm only 18 and got one on my record now.....this sucks.....i hit him, sided him....nobody was hurt, my car is probably totalled, his car has the side dented in.......most of it's a blur in slo mo. I thought i had green, so did he......insurance is probably going to put me at fault cause i'm younger and the fact that i hit him....

 

[Yzzim]

So you're planing on having more?

At least you're optimistic about it.

 

[Freejack2]

Could be worse. I totaled a car when I was 16. Went off the road and nailed a couple of trees.
May not be a bad idea to take a defensive driving course. If you're lucky they won't put you in the risk pool. :/

 

[m2kewl]

Were there witnesses?

 

[Viper GTS]

If you were both convinced you had green, have they checked the lights to make sure they're functioning properly?

Viper GTS

 

[lawaris]

congrats !

 

[777joee]

<< UGH!!! Well i'm only 18 and got one on my record now.....this sucks.....i hit him, sided him....nobody was hurt, my car is probably totalled, his car has the side dented in.......most of it's a blur in slo mo. I thought i had green, so did he......insurance is probably going to put me at fault cause i'm younger and the fact that i hit him.... >>



Well if you both think you had a green light then somebody is wrong. let's hope it was the other guy.

 

[Lithium381]

Hrm, no witnesses...first guy that came came from behind me where i was originaly comming from(my car got turned around 90 degrees to the right in the impact) and busted out his cell phone and called the police. The thing is, i saw the red light and was slowing down for it...then it turned green so i began to accelerate, then see a single frame of a car in front of me, thought "hey, he's not supposed to be there" tried to brake, but that didn't really help.....he says it was his green.....so it's word against word unless somehow someone saw it and comes forward somehow...police didn't take statements though, just took my DL and insurance card....then made me walk, heh, told me to take a bus or call a taxi. Right, I walked the 3 miles to work(where i was originally heading) and called my mom.....she's taking it well considering it was her truck...a toyota 4runner, the other guy was in a little nissan.......

 

[cressida]

sorry.

 

[Angrymarshmello]

Your can insist you had the green and it was the other guys fault to your insurance company - knowing the pricks who run them they won't let the other guy's insurance make them pay for it. (This @-hole trucker clipped my sister on the highway - started bitching at my sister and my little sister too - clearly his fault but the trucking companies insurance refused to pay for it saying it wasn't their responsibility)

 

[csiro]

Could be that guy ran the red, if you did really get a green..

 

[Nutdotnet]

Yeah you TRULY had green then be firm in your stance........doesn't matter if you are young or if you hit him, if he ran red then it is his fault....even if you cannot prove it all that well still hold firm that you had green.

 

[ChinamanatNCSU]

I don't think the insurance co. will base their decision on your youth and who impacted who. Usually, if its a rear end, its always the person in the back's fault. Since this was a side end (is that what you call it?) its up to what the police report says. They'll draw funny little diagrams indicating what car was where,and where they were after the hit, and make a judgement call based on that. If you think you had green, definitely say so and stick to it, don't be wishy washy about it. and hope the police report goes your way...
I was in a 5 car pileup on the highway when I was 16- 3 weeks after getting my license... I was the second car from the front. The police report split it into 2 separate accidents: me hitting the person in front of me, and the other 4 cars hitting me. I was found not guilty of hitting the car in front since she had little or no damage, and since I was in front of all 4 of the other cars, none of those were my fault . I think they said something bs like the last car rammed the next into the one in front, and so on and so on. Anyways, gl with the report.

 

[Wolfie]

First.. Don't admit to ANY accident. Weather you think it was your fault or not. Let the Insurance company take care of that.
Glad your ok. So far (knock on wood) I have not been into an accident. I have driven at least 500,000 miles in the last 5 years. I have taken defencive driving courses (required for my job) and it does help. Always check intersections before going threw them. Even if you do have the green light. Always know where other cars are and where they are going. You may have had the green light. But the person that you hit may have HAD the green light and tried to beet the red. From what I have heard anyways...

Good luck..


Wolfie

 

[StageLeft]

If you're a male this is part of growing up.

 

[rh71]

Based on your description, you had the right to go since you saw green (assuming you didn't jump the gun)... which also means that his light just turned red but he decided he could make it in time. This is exactly why I give my green lights an extra second before I go through them... if I'm not already stopped at the light. In other words, if you're assuming it'll turn green by the time you get to the line, it means it JUST turned red on the other side... and we all know people who run yellow/reds.

It's a shame that it happened to you... think of it as a lesson learned. Let's hope it will only take one for you to learn... and that nobody was hurt this time. I've been in 2 accidents based on inexperience on the road (situations like these) and I decided it was enough.

 

[i3rYs0n]

hmm least your 18 i had a wreck back in aug. and i'm still 16 now. I was sittin in the turnning lane at a stop light, decided i wanted to continue on down the highway (since both straight-a-ways were still green) pulled out from the middle, tried to stay in the lane closest to me (it was clear), but didn't (over-steered) so i moved into the next lane. The person hit me in the side and then she and i went colliding into a used car lot (omg!).

Totaled her (1992 centra), my (1990 maxima), and the 1 in the lot (1986 cady).

Chiped some paint off a corvette sittin beside the cady (whew!)

That was fun
LaSt

total dammage - around 10,000~11,000
total insurance payed for - 6500 (part to the girl and part to the used car lot)