- Feb 24, 2000
- 78,942
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This is long, please bear with me.
We were pulling out of a shopping center parking lot onto a busy city street. The Toyota 4Runner in front of us inched forward until half the truck was sticking out onto the street, while he was waiting for an opportunity to turn. He was ready to turn onto the street but no cars would let him in. What did he do? He DID NOT LOOK BEHIND HIS TRUCK he just backed up, we were 6 inches or so behind him and I had no time to react but to instantly slam on my horn.
CRUNCH!
Images of the front bumper dangling onto the parking lot filled our heads.
He didn't immediately back up to park or get out of his truck so I was worried he was going to flee. So my wife and I were memorizing his Florida license plate number. Fortunately he did get out. Started cussing and swearing, blaming it on me, etc. I was still in shock that I just got into a car accident and was extremely pissed off but held my cool. If he hadn't gone off, I probably would have.
Fortunately his truck had a trailer hitch, so other than losing some rust his vehicle was not damaged at all.
No one was injured, other than flaring tempers.
I wanted to play this by the book, so I had my wife call 911 to get a police car out there to file a police report. They told her since there are no medical injuries they won't send any medical or police personnel.
After I wrote down his name, address, home phone, cell phone, VIN, license, drivers license # and insurance info he apologized for flying off the handle. He also admitted that he is 100% at fault for causing the accident and says he had no right to curse and swear. I told him if I weren't in such shock I'd probably going ballistic but my head was just spinning. He wrote down my info and insurance details as well. He doesn't own the truck, it's his parents car and he confirms it is insured.
Since our Honda Accord is financed, we have FULL COVERAGE (comp and collission - if we had to use it, we could less our $500 deductible I'm assuming)?
When we got home I took some pics of the car and called our insurance agent's emergency cell phone number. He says they will notate (for their own records) that the accident happened but assured me that this will not affect my history or policy with them. He said this is a personal policy he chose to do with his insurance agency, it's not a company wide policy. He told me to call the other guys insurance agent tomorow morning explaining what happened. Assuming the assholes insurance policy is still good, paid current and he tells the truth there should be no problems.
I would go to a local police precint but I do not want this to show on my DMV driving record (regardless of fault).
All I want is our Honda Accord to fixed to original factory standards without this showing in my driving history.
The asshole said he'll look at the estimate and depending on the amount he may just pay it directly without filing a claim.
Questions:
Pic of our damaged car
Your advice and support would be greatly appreciated.
UPDATE 1 - Thanks to rbV5 for this link to the Oregon DMV's web site "Your Responsibilities in an Accident"
Read the third line, "If you have a traffic accident or collision, you must:"
This was a parking lot incident and did not occur in traffic. Furthermore, 911 says no police report needed to be filed.
UPDATE 2 - I now have a claim number. I called the other persons insurance company who asked me "what happened" I told them in vague legalese what happened. The insurance agent said it doesn't look like I need to file a DMV report because it happened on private property (parking lot not a city street) and not in traffic. Also no one was injured or killed.
Good news. The insurance claims person put me on hold, called the other guy who corroborated (sp) the events and accepts full liability/fault.
I called a few auto body shops which said an estimate should take about 15 minutes. I'll get an estimate tonight which should be under $1,500 (hoping). Drop the car off Monday, get a rental, car should be done by Tuesday or Wednesday. As long as the repairs are under $1,500 and no one files a DMV report I _think_ everything will be ok.
We were pulling out of a shopping center parking lot onto a busy city street. The Toyota 4Runner in front of us inched forward until half the truck was sticking out onto the street, while he was waiting for an opportunity to turn. He was ready to turn onto the street but no cars would let him in. What did he do? He DID NOT LOOK BEHIND HIS TRUCK he just backed up, we were 6 inches or so behind him and I had no time to react but to instantly slam on my horn.
CRUNCH!
Images of the front bumper dangling onto the parking lot filled our heads.
He didn't immediately back up to park or get out of his truck so I was worried he was going to flee. So my wife and I were memorizing his Florida license plate number. Fortunately he did get out. Started cussing and swearing, blaming it on me, etc. I was still in shock that I just got into a car accident and was extremely pissed off but held my cool. If he hadn't gone off, I probably would have.
Fortunately his truck had a trailer hitch, so other than losing some rust his vehicle was not damaged at all.
No one was injured, other than flaring tempers.
I wanted to play this by the book, so I had my wife call 911 to get a police car out there to file a police report. They told her since there are no medical injuries they won't send any medical or police personnel.
After I wrote down his name, address, home phone, cell phone, VIN, license, drivers license # and insurance info he apologized for flying off the handle. He also admitted that he is 100% at fault for causing the accident and says he had no right to curse and swear. I told him if I weren't in such shock I'd probably going ballistic but my head was just spinning. He wrote down my info and insurance details as well. He doesn't own the truck, it's his parents car and he confirms it is insured.
Since our Honda Accord is financed, we have FULL COVERAGE (comp and collission - if we had to use it, we could less our $500 deductible I'm assuming)?
When we got home I took some pics of the car and called our insurance agent's emergency cell phone number. He says they will notate (for their own records) that the accident happened but assured me that this will not affect my history or policy with them. He said this is a personal policy he chose to do with his insurance agency, it's not a company wide policy. He told me to call the other guys insurance agent tomorow morning explaining what happened. Assuming the assholes insurance policy is still good, paid current and he tells the truth there should be no problems.
I would go to a local police precint but I do not want this to show on my DMV driving record (regardless of fault).
All I want is our Honda Accord to fixed to original factory standards without this showing in my driving history.
The asshole said he'll look at the estimate and depending on the amount he may just pay it directly without filing a claim.
Questions:
- What did I do wrong?
- How did I handle the situation?
- What should I do tomorrow to start the insurance process, getting estimates, etc.?
- What is the process that will likely happen? How long will this take?
- I know I'm being paranoid but what should I do to ensure that he can't sue me in civil/criminal court soon or later on?
Pic of our damaged car
Your advice and support would be greatly appreciated.
UPDATE 1 - Thanks to rbV5 for this link to the Oregon DMV's web site "Your Responsibilities in an Accident"
Read the third line, "If you have a traffic accident or collision, you must:"
This was a parking lot incident and did not occur in traffic. Furthermore, 911 says no police report needed to be filed.
UPDATE 2 - I now have a claim number. I called the other persons insurance company who asked me "what happened" I told them in vague legalese what happened. The insurance agent said it doesn't look like I need to file a DMV report because it happened on private property (parking lot not a city street) and not in traffic. Also no one was injured or killed.
Good news. The insurance claims person put me on hold, called the other guy who corroborated (sp) the events and accepts full liability/fault.
I called a few auto body shops which said an estimate should take about 15 minutes. I'll get an estimate tonight which should be under $1,500 (hoping). Drop the car off Monday, get a rental, car should be done by Tuesday or Wednesday. As long as the repairs are under $1,500 and no one files a DMV report I _think_ everything will be ok.
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