If you have been in an accident please read.

[mat82284]

today i was in an accident. i was on my way out of my appartments to head left and i was sitting there waiting for the car to pass but she had her blinker on to go into my appartments. there was a car behind her and when i moved out into the yellow lanes in the middle of the street the guy behind her doesnt slow down so she can enter the appartments but insteads switches lanes and clips the back side of my car and sent me in a 360 deg all the way intill i was facing the dir i wanted to go which was left. i got out of my car and i was on the other side of the yellow devider and my inersia switch went off so the car wouldnt start. i called the police and they came exchanged info and there was witnesses but the cops wouldnt file a police report i argued with them trying to get them to do it but they wouldnt they said the damage was less than $500 which was a lie the other guys car bumper was trashed and he couldnt steer his car it only went straight. the cops wouldnt file a report so i didnt know what to do im calling my insurance company tomarrow im just shaken up and dont want to call tonight. the witnesses were 100% on my side and the cops wouldnt even get there info and stories instead they helped me get my car to the side of the road and left. i got there bag #'s because they wernt cooperating. if i ask for police report dont they have to do one? i live in Sacramento, CA. i was talking to the witnesses and have there info and they said he hit me when i was in the center devider which makes since because he knocked me on the other side of traffic. what can i do about them not doing a police report i hope this doesnt affect the whos at fault. if you know any info on this please let me know if i can do something to help. also im a little injured like my neck and head hurts right now and im sure tomarrow ill feel more like most people do. do i really need the police report or will it mess me up because i dont have one? man i just wish the cops would have done it. i want to complain about them i just want to know if i do will they get susspended or something?


also my day didnt end there i went to taco bell later and i order food and the total came to $6.66 which scared the crap out of me. Later on my frieds car alternator dies and so we decide to push start it runs then he drives around the corner to get home and cop swoops him up for no headlights but not 1 cop but 6 cops. they seen a black man in a new M3 BMW and thought he stole it. we were in a group and so we didnt leave we pulled over and they told us to leave but we didnt only because we seen him with his hands out the window and the cops outside there car with there guns drawn. they didnt even walk up and ask for license and reg. at the end the let him with no ticket or anything and said to have him drive in the middle as we took him home. mad was this a terrible night and i should have sayed home and watched tv like planed

 

[Draginmadd]

damm i know your pain man.i saw a woman in my rear view changing lanes like she was in a sprint car race and she cuts me off when the guy in front of me slows down to get in the left hand turn lane.well at 45mph the brakes on my 88 arnt a good as a new lexus so i rear ended her and the woman behind me rear ended me.the woman that hit me,her insurance company wanted to total my car and i told them to stick the money where the sun dont shine.2900 bucks just wasnt enough,i have that invested in sweat alone. i used a porta-power to fix the back,new hood for the front,just need some headlights now but the best part was the woman in the lexus got the ticket for causing the accident. in your case there has to be some kind of report filed,i would call your insurance company and see what they suggest.good luck.

 

[Michael Yount]

Report the accident to your insurance company and tell them what happened. They'll take it from there. Oh, and with neck/head/back pain, I wouldn't screw around. I'd get to the Dr. to be sure nothing significant is damaged.

And for what it's worth, I'd say you were at fault - he had the right of way and you failed to yield it to him. The question isn't who hit whom - the question is who had a right to be where they were and who didn't. You shouldn't have pulled into the path of moving traffic until it was clear. He had a right to move around her as she was turning in front of him.

Oh, and the moderators should probably move this to 5.OTalk where it belongs, not in Tech.

 

[Daggar]

And for what it's worth, I'd say you were at fault - he had the right of way and you failed to yield it to him. The question isn't who hit whom - the question is who had a right to be where they were and who didn't. You shouldn't have pulled into the path of moving traffic until it was clear. He had a right to move around her as she was turning in front of him.

Unfortunately, Mike is right. You have to yield to BOTH lanes of traffic; not just the lane that is nearest to you. If you had pulled out and the guy had to cross "two" lanes to get to you then you'd still be at fault. On another note: This is rarely a problem with Mustangs if you put your foot down when getting out into traffic

 

[mikeflys1]

the cops wouldnt file a police report i argued with them trying to get them to do it but they wouldnt they said the damage was less than $500

Wow on top of being a cop he's an expert on body repair, painting AND auto mechanics?

 

[Turbo6]

Yup, sounds like that cop did you a favor, I would imagine you would have gotten a ticket and your insurance would have had to pay for 2 cars.

 

[jwcma]

I think he's trying to argue that he got hit while he was in the center turn lane, meaning the other guy left the lane he was supposed to stay in. It's still probably a loser argument. The most it will do is pin some percentage of fault on the other guy...he will still be "most at fault" for failing to yield.

 

[mat82284]

the only think is is when i pulled out the guy was a least 400 feet behind the other car he was going so fast then went he switch lanes he went into the yellow and hit the back of my car he didnt even see me or he tried to hit me. i wouldnt have gone if he was close but i seen him far so i went. and the whitnesses were saying he was going about 60 in a 30 he had skid marks all over. and i was out of both lanes before i got hit.

 

[Michael Yount]

Did you and the other guy trade insurance info? If so, and he files a claim, it's for sure that the insurance companies will be talking to each other - be sure you report the incident even if you elect to pay for your damage yourself. I'll be surprised if his insurance company doesn't try to get yours to pay for his damage if he reports it.

 

[mat82284]

i have reported it and i do have the witnesses info and they will call them and they will get the story but what makes me mad is if i would have seen him switch lanes so fast i would have hit the gas but there was a car comeing on the other side so i was moveing into the yellow lane to stay clear but he hit me in the yellow. its hard to explain by typeing but ill get some pics of my cars so you can see what damage he did

 

[Michael Yount]

Sorry about the damage - this sounds like one of those we've all had where we're sure we did the right thing, but afterwards it's difficult for a third party to figure out who's at fault. The main thing is your health - be sure you're ok. All the rest - car damage, driving records, insurance, etc. can be fixed.

 

[PhLoBuS]

Yeah there are some ridiculous drivers out there... I was driving down a fairly busy street and some old man in his toyota was half way in my lane and i was going the speed limit which was 30 and i had to quickly turn away from hitting him and into the curb where my tire popped and i damaged my front and rear rim pretty badly... He is lucky I was in a decent mood because I would have laid him right hell out if I was pissed

 

[Michael Yount]

"I would have laid him right hell out if I was pissed"

Which would have certainly helped the situation.

 

[Andres2882]

Having a few cops in the family, I can say that you experienced some lazy lazy police work there. I know in Florida, if you ask for a report, its almost status quo that they must give you one. Perhaps not an accident report, but at least an offense indicator report which is more general. If I would you I'd call up the PD and ask to speak to a supervisor and relay to them what happened.

On a personal note, I once got side swiped in a parking lot outside a club. Of course there were detail cops there who witnessed this. I called the cops of course, but also tried to get the cops that were 10ft away to do something. The guy was so drunk that it took him 10 minutes to leave the parking lot. Their answer? Not my problem. Needless to say, one hour later I gave up trying, as the cops were leaving for home and just called the sheriff's office. The deputy who showed up threw a fit when I told him what happened. Apparently he was a lieutenant who happened to be working a shift as part of some program to keep him familiar with day to day stuff.

Funniest part was that he called up the officers whose names I could remember and made them come back to the scene to apologize to me and then made them immediately go the house of the car who hit me, I got the tag and pick that guy up too. Funny as shiiite!

 

[Camman]

"I would have laid him right hell out if I was pissed"

Which would have certainly helped the situation.

This is a good point, the only thing knocking the guy out would have done would get you a free night in jail. And the dude could say YOU were driving wrecklesly and the police would be more apt to believe his story because you hit him... obviously not someone who has any composure

 

[1Slow5oh]

I feel your pain...

The other night while coming home from my mothers house I pull up to the light and take off next to this guy in a Mazda truck. Im on the harley so I KNOW he seen me. It was a 2 lane turning left. We take off and the guys in the right lane me in the left we go around the corner and he gets closer and closer. Next thing I know my foot bounced off the side of his truck and im almost running over the median. So i had to slam on my brakes. I mean I could of honestly been ran over right there on the spot if he would of gotten any closer. Just goes to show how much people pay attention to motorcycles. I should of followed him home and kicked his ass but I knew that would only make the situation worse.

So for future reference WATCH OUT FOR MOTORCYCLES- Because nobody else does.

 

[mat82284]

yea i stay away from motorcycles because if you run someone over they can get you for attemped murder. i also wanted one but i have 2 friends that had one and they got into a terrible accident with them one with a car and the other on a turn. my friend was at a light and someguy didnt pay attention to him in front and hit him at the light and pushed him right into the intercetion worst part he had a trunk man was he lucky to walk away with minor damage the bike on the other hand was toast.

 

[mat82284]

i have some pics of my car. How much do you think it will cost for repairs? also what needs to be replace if needs to be replaced i know the bumper needs replacement. by the way it looks like it looks like it can be sucked out and smoothed out but i could be wrong. im not shure what all it takes to repair dents like this does anyone have any expert info on this?

Notes the car runs fine and the tires rims and shocks are all in perfect condition also the frame wasnt bent and for some reason my tail pipes didnt get touched and didnt even get a scratch which was wierd.


http://home.comcast.net/~mathew82284/Damage1.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~mathew82284/Damage2.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~mathew82284/Damage3.JPG

 

[Michael Yount]

Unfortunately, the pics were taken so close to the damaged area, I can't get a sense for what was actually damaged. Looks like a rear quarter panel, bumper cover and tailight assembly plus any supporting bits - but that's just a guess. Did it get into the hatchback?

Get a body shop/insurance co. to do estimates - doesn't really matter what we think. Looks to me like the quarter panel's gonna have to be replaced - which is a pretty extensive bit of body work/welding/interior dis-assembly/re-assembly. I'd guess you're looking at between $1500-$3000. And a perfect match on the teal paint - well, that's probably not gonna happen. In my opinion the only way to match up the paint perfectly would be to paint the whole car. You might get by with just having them paint the left side and the bumper cover - that might minimize any shade mis-match. Good luck with it.