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Driving accident, no insurance, advice? (3rd update, resolved?)
Captain Vash
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Ok, so here's my story of auto accidents and liability,
9:00 pm, buy my first 5 speed, an 87 Honda Prelude.
drive it home
11:00 am, drive it all over town, (love this car!)
3:05 pm, head out to find a late lunch somewhere nice.
3:10 pm, crossing a 2 way stop at a 4 way intersection I get into the intersection, and not being used to a 5 speed yet slow down about halfway across the intersection. there are very few cars on the road and the local speed limit is 30, which I was well under and I am hit in the back corner of my rear bumper by the driver side bumper of another lady's car.
I'm insured as a driver I believe with my parent's auto insurance and they insure my daily driver for sure, however I had yet to procure any insurance on my new toy.
Nobody was hurt, both cars have scuffed fenders, the other driver is currently waiting on an insurance payout for her car which was recently in another accident and is going to junk that car once that payment is received.
The tentative agreement we've reached is that I give her $50 and we both walk away, no insurance, no police. I am amiable to this.
Is there anything special I should do? I was considering writing up a little contract stating that the $50 exchange settles the matter, is that reasonable? would that protect me if she changed her mind later?
anything important I should consider?
I live in washington state, snohomish county for what that's worth.
9:00 pm, buy my first 5 speed, an 87 Honda Prelude.
drive it home
11:00 am, drive it all over town, (love this car!)
3:05 pm, head out to find a late lunch somewhere nice.
3:10 pm, crossing a 2 way stop at a 4 way intersection I get into the intersection, and not being used to a 5 speed yet slow down about halfway across the intersection. there are very few cars on the road and the local speed limit is 30, which I was well under and I am hit in the back corner of my rear bumper by the driver side bumper of another lady's car.
I'm insured as a driver I believe with my parent's auto insurance and they insure my daily driver for sure, however I had yet to procure any insurance on my new toy.
Nobody was hurt, both cars have scuffed fenders, the other driver is currently waiting on an insurance payout for her car which was recently in another accident and is going to junk that car once that payment is received.
The tentative agreement we've reached is that I give her $50 and we both walk away, no insurance, no police. I am amiable to this.
Is there anything special I should do? I was considering writing up a little contract stating that the $50 exchange settles the matter, is that reasonable? would that protect me if she changed her mind later?
anything important I should consider?
I live in washington state, snohomish county for what that's worth.
Captain Vash on
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Meaning: This accident is her fault.
Except when you drive without insurance, that argument doesn't really have legs. It's the equivalent of saying, "See you in court!" which is really not going to help him out.
Second, she hit you. It's her fault. Regardless of your insurance status, as long as you have the evidence to back up your claim of where she hit you and how, I see no reason why you can't make out here. IANAL.
Do not give her any money or admit fault. Both of you just walk away and forget it happened.
XBL: Torn Hoodie
@hoodiethirteen
That being said, driving without insurance is monumentally dumb. Don't do that.
This doesn't matter. You don't need to change the car on your insurance policy right away. You usually have a 14-30 day deadline for declaring your new car on your insurance.
The crux of the situation is this: you got rear-ended. Generally speaking, that means it's the other person's fault. She owes you for the damages on your car.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Really? Wow, I was under the impression that if you bought a car, you needed to insure it before it moved.
We're talking liability, not collision, right?
If Feral is right, and you got hit from behind, it's all her fault and ending up in court about it won't cause you any problems at all.
If you did need insurance, personally I'd rather pay $50, then explain to a judge/cop why you were driving without insurance. That could cost you much more then the $50.
It's pretty much the other drivers fault. I wouldn't pay her a dime, seeing as she hit you. You guys didn't file a police report, so even if she does cry wolf there is nothing to back her claim. But she won't say anything, because she fucked up, and if it goes go to police/insurance she's going to pay.
I've called and had the car added to my policy at this point.
When the accident occurred I did not admit fault.
I want to say that there is a grace period where the state covers you, something like, the first 30 days in which you've purchased the car. I'm checking the revised code of Washington but not finding anything, does anyone have any information about this?
if you are covered under your parents liability insurance, you are in the clear. Her insurance will pay you to fix your car.
It does not matter if you have collision. The other posters are correct: You are not at fault if you were rear-ended.
Also, it sounds like she is at fault. Were the cops called? Doesn't sound like they were. I would just about forget about it. I wouldn't give her shit, sounds like she's trying to take advantage of you.
Are you saying that you went into a 2 way stop at an intersection, slowed down in the middle of the intersection, and were hit by a car going through the other way (who did not have a stop sign?) This is your fault, since you had a stop sign, and she did not.
If you had a stop sign and she did not, you are at fault for failure to yield at a stop sign. Give her the $50, thank her very much, and be on your way. You don't know that she did not fill out a police report after she left, and for $50? You're avoiding hundreds of dollars and a huge insurance hike.
Also, are you really able to drive a car without insurance for an entire month after you buy it? Here in Canada, you can't even get the car registered without insurance. Just because you're under your parents' insurance as a secondary driver on their car, does that really cover you? Seems odd to me.
Sorry for huge, here is my diagram of the accident, and I believe that I'm probably at fault, which pisses me off, because if I hadn't stalled or she had been paying attention, both of which are out of my hand, none of this would have easily been avoided.
Also, the boyfriend of the girl who was driving contacted me, asking where to meet up so I could pay him the money, I told him that I didn't feel I was at fault here and would rather just walk away, ESPECIALLY since the girl had stated that they were going to junk the car pending an insurance payout from when this same driver was T-boned in this same car.
So, I'm going tomorrow to sign and receive the paperwork for the policy that was activated on my car today, and the boyfriend is is planning on calling me back at some point I believe.
Also, I asked the insurer, and he says in my state whatever plan you have with your current vehicle is granted to you with regards to the new vehicle for 30 days. So even if this insurance thing matters in terms of hours instead of days, I was covered and incorrect when I told her otherwise.
the street she's coming down extends beyond my diagram, she was driving in a straight line with no stop sign.
Everyone in this thread needs to read up on traffic law. The OP is at full fault because the other driver had the right of way. She could have seen him in the intersection and sped up to hit him, and he would still be at fault.
Also, OP, don't say that this was out of your hands. You should not be driving a vehicle of which you do not have full control. If you are stalling in the middle of intersections, that is not "out of your hands."
If the lady is only asking for $50, I`d hand it over and put this behind you. If she smartens up and goes through insurance (why not, more payout for her) and gets a police report, you could even be charged with reckless driving.
Ah, my mistake, my mind saw that as her having a stop sign as well for some reason.
:x Grrr.
Life lesson much.
Taken to the cleaners eh. It would cost you more to clean a few suits.
I paid $250 for failure to yield, scored 3 demerit points, and had a smashed rear fender.
You are paying $50 to make this go away, and your insurance will never find out. If I were her, you wouldn't have left the intersection until dismissed by the police officer I called. I don't care if my car is going to the junkyard.
Really? Because he was nearly through the intersection by the time they hit.
It doesn't matter. She had the right of way, and anything that happens on his way through it is his fault
because he shouldn't be there unless it is safe to be.
This is essentially the same thing if you were to turn left at a green light and get hit by someone driving straight through. They had the right of way, and it doesn't matter if they had time to stop before hitting you. You don't go until it is safe to do so, and if you are hit, it wasn't safe.
If this were a four-way stop it would be much different.
You guys should've seen this car, it was beat to shit already, driver's side door fucked all up, neither front door could even be opened.
I know $50 is nothing to make this go away, but I'm pretty much completely broke at the moment, and I simply don't have 50$ until my next payday.
I'm just don't know what to do, I'll not be eating next week if I pay the guy off, and if I don't and he actually does go through with the insurance claim, it's sure as hell going to cost both of us more than the cost of repairs when our rates go up. compound that with the fact that these guys aren't even going to keep the car? I just don't understand the logic in pursuing me, unless it's just an attempt to get me to fork over some cash.
I'm frustrated confused and don't know what to do. I'm really not enjoying this situation at all.
I guess my only option here is to talk to the guy and hope he can be reasonable about the whole thing.
You were at fault.
When you file a claim and are found not at fault, you do not pay a deductible, your car is fixed*, and your rates are not affected.
*Depending on the value of the car, you might just get a payout if the damage is severe.
When you file a claim (or another driver files one against you) and are found at fault, you pay a deductible*, your car is fixed, and your rates are affected. You could also be fined by the police and score demerit points, which will affect your insurance rates even further.
*If you don't want your insurance to bother fixing your car, you don't pay a deductible. Your rates still go up though.
I hope that clears that up. The other driver has nothing to lose by filing a claim here. You have everything to lose, and if you think $50 is hard to come up with right now, imagine the next decade or so of inflated insurance rates, on top of the fine you'll get if the police charge you.
ugggggh
As for the right of way thing
the person did not have the right of way through your car
Who admitted fault?
I sure didn't.
I mean, I can see now, in this private discussion that unless there is some circumstance I'm unaware of I probably was..
What are you getting at here?
For the record our conversations so far have been
me: "Wow are you okay? jeez what happened?"
she points to passenger side window so I walk around her car
her: "Sorry the doors don't open"
me: "So, let me be straight with you here, I'm got coverage as a driver, but I just purchased this car yesterday and I don't have coverage for it yet"
her: "ok well this car was just t-boned recently and we're going to send it to the junkyard anyways once we get the insurance money, should we exchange phone numbers?"
me: "sure thing"
her: "do you have any paper?"
me: "yeah in my car, be right back"
we write down and exchange each others names and numbers
me "if we need to settle anything I'd rather do it in cash instead of going through our insurance companies, so let me know
her: "ok well I'll see what my boyfriend says"
later she calls me
her: "Hi, this is girl who's car you hit, hello?"
me: "yeah hi, I remember, hows it going?"
her: "fine, I was just thinking... could I get $50?"
me: "uhh..."
her: "do you have the money now?"
me: "yeah I have the money... give me an hour to think about this"
her: "ok"
later her boyfriend calls me from the number she wrote down:
him: "hi this is _name_ the boyfriend of the girl who's car you hit"
me: "ok, hey, hello"
him: "so where do you wanna meet up?"
me: "well I didn't really hit her, she hit me"
we discuss the details of the accident
me: "so I don't really feel like I was really at fault here, and I think we'd be best off just walking away from this, I mean you did say the car was going to the scrap heap anyways right?"
him: "well we was thinking about that"
me: "ok well if you really want to go through with the insurance I'll grab my information for you tomorrow, I don't have it on me at the moment"
him: "ok gimme a call"
You offered to pay restitution, that's admitting fault
I said I'd rather settle in cash if anything needs to be taken care of. I was considering the who is at fault thing as I approached and choose wording as such.
That said, I specifically told her boyfriend that I don't think I'm at fault I think she is at fault, despite evidence to the contrary and when asked to pay her I was first surpised and then said I needed to think about it.
GT: Tanky the Tank
Black: 1377 6749 7425
however, even if she struck you from behind, you may still be held at least partly responsible for the collision.
if there is any way you can cough up $50 to get this settled, just do it. but i would not put this in some sort of written contract. the verbal exchange you and she had is essentially a legally-enforceable contract already. but more to the point, the woman can go ahead and file an insurance claim anyways and possible use a written contract as supporting evidence against you.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
Besides that, it sounds very much like they are trying to fleece you and I wouldn't trust them for it to end at $50 no matter how tight th contract you draft on the back of a Denny's napkin might seem.
In any case, it sounds to me
If the diagram is accurate, he absolutely failed to yield to the other driver as is required at a stop sign when crossing traffic that does not have to stop.
Totally his fault.
Pay the $50 to make this disappear, and get a document signed stating that it resolves the matter. They can make this a much bigger problem for you than it is now.
I just don't want this to be the start of something bigger and more painful for me at this point. If I can put it behind me, I'm going to do just that.
This.
There is no room for opinion on who is at fault here. This was a two-way stop, not a four-way. It doesn't matter who hit who. In any state or province you will most definitely find that a driver at a two-way stop must yield to cross traffic. It doesn't matter if he was already in the intersection when she entered--she didn't have a stop sign!
and I'm certainly not debating this. Just lamenting.