Just because you are 50 doesn't give you the right...

[HorseFreak]

When I was 13 I was in my mom's car on the way home from my riding lesson. We were in the middle of a three-lane road in which the left lane turned left, the middle lane went straight and the right lane was right/straight. There was a huge pretzel truck in the left lane. The light turned green and I told my mom so (because I was 13 and obnoxious). She starts proceeding through the light and the truck drops back. Next thing you know some idiot from NY (this was in MA) runs the red light and smashes into the nose of my mom's car. Her girlfriend jumps out of the car yelling "I'm a witness!" so everyone else leaves. The driver admits fault to my mom, but tells the police MY MOM ran the light! The driver refuses medical treatment except for a band-aid.

Then my mother is sued over the accident.

It comes out later that this pair does this a lot and their lawyer was a personal friend who owed them a favor. My mother being anti-litigation, declined to countersue. To make a long story short, their lawyer antagonizes the judge (who just wants to get out of there and demands the suit is settled), the couple breaks before the court date (they look none too pleased that day) and my mother wins the suit. Apparently, their lawyer thought he could trip me up, but I listened carefully to his questions and really annoyed him by answering truthfully and by not falling for his traps. Also, if they're going to show pictures of the vehicles post-accident, don't smugly state that the van had a complete body makeover right before so it was in perfect condition when the pictures demonstrate that there was no way for the accident to happen the way they stated. "Uhhh...I don't know how those scratches [from my mom's car being dragged across the fender after being smashed] got there."

Moral of the story: if you're being sued for an accident that isn't your fault, COUNTERSUE!!!!! That would have cleaned this up a lot faster than the three years it was dragged out. Not to mention my mother still has neck pain from the accident 11 years ago.

[Lauren]

heartstar1 are you in NSW? The hysteria over P platers is over the top ATM. The only reason people think they're worse is because they're more visable. Whenever I wore my P plates, I would have the same experience you would. To top it off, because I worked night shift, I'd get pulled over three to four times a NIGHT driving home. I didn't wear them for the past two years. All my problems mysteriously went away. (I was one of the 'lucky' people who just missed the cut off for the one year P plates. It came in July 1st, and I turned 17 (the minimum age) July 13th. ALL my friends had their P plates  before me. As a result of an accident before my b'day I didn't get my P plates till I was 18. All my 50 hours were done by my friends)

[Sharnita]

Now I might get flamed so let me make a disclaimer that I am not referring to all or even most people who drive trucks/SUVs here however...

I'm wondering if age is not the only thing driving the behavior of the guy who hit your BF. Trucks and SUVs are powerful vehichle. They look powerful and they feel powerful. Some personality types might get in these vehichles and feel like they should and do rule the road and "puny compact cars must make way for mighty truck".

[Gyro Widget]

My sister had the same thing happen to her when she was about 18.  An older woman blatantly ran into the side of the car my sister was in while she was stopped, idling.  Immediately the nag got out and started to scream obscenities at her, shouting "LOOK WHAT YOU DID! YOU WRECKED MY CAR", when it was so obvious that the crazy woman had just run into a parked car! 

My sister being so young did not know what to do.  She was so shaken up by the woman screaming at her that she took the blame and did not even ask for the woman's insurance information.  The woman got off with it, and my parents were stuck with the beat up car.  In return, my sister got into a lot of trouble with my parents (it was their car) for being so irresponsible at an accident scene by taking the blame.  A lot of teens feel like second class citizens, which is half the reason they do things that we might consider odd - like taking the blame for someone hitting you while you were parked.    "Oh please forgive me for having my car in your way!!!"

[Gyro Widget]

"I would have been calling the police station and lodging a formal complaint against the officer. I would have gone as high as needed for that officer to be discplined."

The sad thing is, that doesn't always work.  Back when I was a freshman, my car was broken into at night while I was cramming at school and items were stolen from me.  I called the cops and they refused to come and document it, they wouldn't even come to see if it was safe for me.  This is a smaller university town in eastern Canada, so its not like crime is a huge thing here.  I mean the main features on our news are old peoples anniversarys or the moose that someone saw outside.  Its not like they had bigger fish to fry like murderers or GTA criminals. 

I can almost bet that the reason why the officer didn't help me was because of my young voice over the phone, and the words "My car was broken into at the university" were said.  I even asked to speak to his supervisor and he told me that my B&E case was just petty.  Before I hung up, I spat at him "You wouldn't even come here if I got raped here tonight". 

...and then they wonder why cops have a bad reputation here. 

[girlmusic]

I have a doozy for you... I was about 19 years old and was rushing home from my father's office where I had spent the day working for him. He was leaving a few minutes later. We were going to meet up with my mother and 3 of her friends to go to a fancy awards dinner.

The person driving in front of me was going 20 miles under the speed limit, and the lines on the road indicated that I could pass on her left. I started to do so when she turned into me. We both pulled off into a sidestreet. She got out of her car and started screaming at me. She said she was going to go to her friends house up the road and call the police, but she said it like it was a threat. She came back with her friend and now there were two middle-aged women screaming at me as I cried. They were so loud that the nun who lived three doors down came out to see what was happening and offered me tissues and her phone (this was before most people had cellphones).

I said I would just wait as my dad should be coming down the road any minute. I kept looking down the road and hoping for him to come. The policeman arrived and talked to the woman and her friend who were still screaming at me and blaming me for the accident. He asked me for my side of the story and as I was telling him what happened, my mother and her friends arrive in a Mercedes wearing gold and diamonds (all dressed up for the fancy dinner). He calmly listened to what I had to say - the other dirver insisted that she signaled to turn left and I said that she didn't and it was perfefctly legal to pass on the left there. He walked out to the road and looked at the lines, writing it all down. My mother and her friends surrounded me and hugged me, after which the other driver and her friend apologized to me.

The accident was all my fault until my mother and her friends arrived in their fancy car and jewelry because then I wasn't just some kid but might be someone important. UGH!

[Adah]

Many of these stories illustrate what to do and not to do when involved in an accident. Some key points to remember if you are in an accident.

1. Immediately call the police.
2. Then call your insurance company.
3. Do not move your car.
4. Take pictures immediately if you have a digital camera/camera phone.
5. Do not admit fault.
6. Do not interact with the other party, if possible.
7. Try to stay as calm as possible, particularly when speaking with the police.
8. If you have a piece of paper handly, try to draw a diagram of the accident scene to help you explain to the police exactly how the accident occurred, from your perspective.
9. Give as little personal information to the other party as possible and do not give them your phone number. Let the insurance company deal with it.
10. Be very suspicious of anyone who wants to "settle" the situation without police involvement. After you call the police, make sure you let the officer know that the other party did not want them to respond.

[Slartibartfast]

When my brother was in high school, he was on our "busy" downtown street (maybe a dozen cars) on an icy day and was driving slowly because of the ice.  A car came flying up behind him going way too fast for the conditions, rear-ended him, and pushed him into the car ahead.

The 20-something guy in the car behind my brother jumped out and started screaming his head off at my teenage brother for driving irresponsibly.  Then the guy got out of the car that was ahead of my brother - it was my parents' attorney (who recognized my brother), who was also the angry guy's uncle!  The attorney helped my brother find the right paperwork, call the police, and remain calm while his nephiew was jumping around and screaming.  The nephiew had to pay for the damage to all three cars, and the attorney actually called my parents to complement them on how polite and assertive my brother was during this whole thing and to apologize for his crazy nephiew.

I've never been in an accident (so far, knock on wood!), but I managed to make it to 25 and being a respectable, married matron so hopefully I'll be more believable :-D

[Suze]

.

The 20-something guy in the car behind my brother jumped out and started screaming his head off at my teenage brother for driving irresponsibly.  Then the guy got out of the car that was ahead of my brother - it was my parents' attorney (who recognized my brother), who was also the angry guy's uncle! 

isn't small town life wonderful?  I couldn't get away with anything because of it.

[Lauren]

(I'm sorry to have to keep asking questions on how its different) In Aus if you rear-end someone, you're ALWAYS at fault. Is that true in America?

[dawbs]

(I'm sorry to have to keep asking questions on how its different) In Aus if you rear-end someone, you're ALWAYS at fault. Is that true in America?

It depends on the state.  There are "no fault" states where fault isn't determined in any accident.

The general rule of thumb (even in "no fault" states) is that the person who rear ends someone is in the wrong and gets the ticket...but it's not always enforced as such.

[nonesuch4]

This brings back memories.

My father had lost his license to drive because of a serious accident.  He moved back north, and decided to re-apply for a license.  He even took a defensive driving course, as he'd been informed this would be the first step to regaining it.  My Mom told me about this plan, and all I could say to DH after I hung up the phone was, "The state troopers will notice that he can't see, won't they?  He'll fail the test!  They can't possibly give him his license back."

It turned out Dad had been given incorrect info after all. He wasn't eligible to get his license back, under any circumstances. Thank goodness.