Did you learn anything from the events of that day?

Something to ponder.

When you wake up and engage the day, and you encounter an asshole, well, you've encountered an asshole.

When everyone you meet throughout the day is an asshole, well, guess what?

You're the asshole.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jager,

I would definitely have wanted her cited. 20 odd years ago I was rear-ended by a kid in his brother's car. I was stopped at a red light and he was picking his McDonald's off his floor. Deputy wanted to cut him a break and I said sure. Fast forward 20 years and I'm shopping car insurance and the agent checks the "clearing house" and finds an accident where fault was not determined. So, no cheaper rate for me and my 3 youthful drivers. Love Michigan no-fault.

Tough crowd...


Shoulda pistol whipped her...

I struck a vehicle years back, young man coming back to work from a break period, it was dark & he was driving eastbound in the westbound travel lanes.

Responding officer spoke to us both, pulled me aside & offered to "drop a ticket on him, but its your call" I asked if he was insured, answer was affirmative, I declined to press the ticket issue.

To me if there aren't any injuries, its unfortunate but not worth escalating the problem with aggression.

quote:

ETA - What did your fiance do the entire time you were running being an asshole?

Reconsider, unless she's in the same union.

Funny how much smoother everything would have gone if you WEREN'T an asshole.

"Oh, some molding damage to my rear hind quarter bumper panel."

It's a truck.

And if you treated it like a truck, you'd have had a big ass trailer hitch on it, which would have caved her front bumper / hood, but left you with no damage at all. To the point you could have said "my car is fine, see ya later lady".

Much like when I slid my beater Honda Accord into a pickup truck years ago. Wet pavement, beater car on old tires. We got out, I said, "hey man, I'm sorry - it was my fault". Guy said "I'm fine, you didn't hurt nothing but your car and pride, I'll see ya later unless you want me to stick around".

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
Did you learn anything from the events of that day?

Yes, I definitely did. I stated in my OP that I shouldn't have handled it the way I did. I regret doing and saying what I did. I've also replied twice that I acted like an asshole. I admit it.

That said, I've been a member of this forum plenty long enough to know the crowd. However, I'm not sure a half dozen plus members calling me an asshole and a dick is really necessary. I could have sugar coated my OP, but I came here trying to paint the whole picture and the truth. I fucked up and was a dick. I admit it. I don't know what else to say. I'm definitely not looking for any sympathy in that regard.

V-Tail,
I was kind of in that situation, albeit my fault. My understanding is that state law requires drivers to exchange information before leaving the scene.

Scuba Steve,
You may or may not be right about the Car Fax. I was hit on the Ohio Turnpike a number of years back. There was $3,000 damage to my car, a report was written, and the other guy was ARRESTED (outstanding warrants and no license). All the repair work was run through insurance. When I sold the car four years later, I pulled a Car Fax and it never showed anything. Ever since, I've had little faith in Car Fax. Hopefully, they've improved their thoroughness some.

Rhinowso,
I don't care if it's a truck or a sportscar. It's my property and not someone else's to damage. FWIW, I now have a nice big Smittybilt Beaver Step sticking out of my trailer hitch.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
I think the best part is when you said you took photos of her license plate AND the VIN plate, but didn't want pictures of your "personal property" taken.

Yeah, I laughed aloud.

Sucks about the fender bender.

Had you, perhaps, had any Red Bulls or 5hr Energy drinks before the incident occurred?

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:

Had you, perhaps, had any Red Bulls or 5hr Energy drinks before the incident occurred?

I was probably more "hangry" than anything since it was after 1:00PM and I hadn't ate anything yet and we had been running all morning. Should have had a Snickers.

quote:

Originally posted by erikras:
My understanding is that state law requires drivers to exchange information before leaving the scene.

While that may be true, her rolling up the windows and refusing to talk to you is completely within reason if you come out of the car yelling. There is nothing that compels someone to deal with an angry driver. What folks are taught, when involved in an accident, and confronted by an angry driver is to stay in the car and call LE.

While laws differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, LE isn't required to complete a report unless there is a party that is injured. Property damage below a certain dollar amount is usually a civil matter to be settled between insurance companies.

We also don't usually issue a citation for things like this.

Sounds like you had a lot of unreasonable expectations

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
I think the best part is when you said you took photos of her license plate AND the VIN plate, but didn't want pictures of your "personal property" taken.

Yeah, I laughed aloud.

That was pretty funny

quote:

Originally posted by muzzleloader:
I would definitely have wanted her cited. 20 odd years ago I was rear-ended by a kid in his brother's car. I was stopped at a red light and he was picking his McDonald's off his floor. Deputy wanted to cut him a break and I said sure. Fast forward 20 years and I'm shopping car insurance and the agent checks the "clearing house" and finds an accident where fault was not determined. So, no cheaper rate for me and my 3 youthful drivers. Love Michigan no-fault.

What would she be cited for? It's an accident, they happen, it sucks and unfortunate, but they happen daily. Doesn't sound like she broke any laws, save for if she was using the phone, but he's not even sure she was and the officer didn't see it.

She thought he was going, hit the gas, when he didn't she didn't hit the breaks or not fast enough. I don't think failure to be a good driver is an actual crime.

I'm going to guess this thread didn't go like you thought it would.

A few years ago a woman banged into my rear end at a stop sign. My car wasn't new but I take care of my stuff and I think this was the first damage. Very minor but a COP would have been able to notice it. I got out in a WTF kind of mood but didn't say anything. The woman got out profusely apologizing and I could tell this upset her probably more than me. I gave it some thought and told her I think I was just going to have to let this one go. She was so relieved I thought she was going to faint and she couldn't thank me enough. I had forgotten about this until I read your story. I like the way mine ended a lot better then yours. If she was my mother and I was some other guy, I would wish for the same thing. It may have cost me some but I came out ahead.

When things like this happen, we should accept responsibility for our actions. Following that we should try and determine why we reacted in an impulsive and angry fashion. That is where real growth comes about. Learning to deal with anger is something many of us struggle with.

quote:

Learning to deal with anger is something many of us struggle with .

Daily. I don't always win, but I always try.

It's been quite some time. I believe it was 2000 or 2001. A young teen smacked into my sportscar rearend when he thought I was going to move from my stopped position. His father was royally pissed at him and insisted that his son would be paying for the damages. We cordially exchanged info and I got an estimate the next morning which was in the neighborhood of $600-700. He immediately issued a check and I had the rear bumper and valance replaced and painted. No police involved at all.

Nice dealing with responsible people.

On the other hand my youngest got rear ended 6 or 7 years ago. damage quite similar to mine above. The couple were uninsured. Police cited them at the scene and then a day or two later advised that they were illegals from the middle east with phony licenses and had apparently fled north into Canada. I hear similar horror stories about uninsured illegals all the time from friends in Kali and along the southern border.

quote:

I'm going to guess this thread didn't go like you thought it would.

Like I said somewhere above, I've been a member here long enough to know the crowd. I've been put in my place by fellow forum members once or twice before. If I didn't want to hear it, I wouldn't have been as truthful as I was in my OP.

quote:

On the other hand my youngest got rear ended 6 or 7 years ago. damage quite similar to mine above. The couple were uninsured. Police cited them at the scene and then a day or two later advised that they were illegals from the middle east with phony licenses and had apparently fled north into Canada. I hear similar horror stories about uninsured illegals all the time from friends in Kali and along the southern border.

I've been involved in three auto accidents:

First, I was pretty young and my mother was driving. Woman rear ended us. We were unhurt and no real damage other than some small scratches. Don't recall it being an issue.

Second, in high school my friend's mother picked us up from a movie. Woman rear ended us at a red light doing a few grand worth of damage to the Civic we were in. Woman fled, but 3 out of 4 of us in the car got her plate number. Police found her at her house. She had no insurance.

Third, I was driving and a guy side swiped me on the Ohio Turnpike. We pulled over to the shoulder. He fled the scene on foot. The Highway Patrol found him a short time later. Three warrants, no license, and no insurance. The trooper cited both of us for the accident since there wasn't clear fault. He told me if I felt as though I wasn't guilty, I could fight it in court. They set the court date for 8AM in a county two hours from my house on the day after Christmas. I just paid the damn fine and ate the two points.