My Wheel Got Hit By a Car...

[gon2fast]

A few months back I was commuting to work and had a mishap with a Toyota Camry. Considering this is an open claim I can not go into detail other than I was riding at a safe enough speed to eject and let the wheel take the impact. Why start a thread if you can't provide details? Reason being is that the driver of the Camry is choosing not to respond to her insurance company. Currently my wheel is with the vendor and I need to submit the repair quote to our insurance provider. I want to chronicle the challenges with this process as I know I will not be the only one.

Lessons Learned:

 -  call law enforcement right away

- capture all personal information from other party

- take pictures of everything (damage, unique identifiers, location, witnesses, conditions, etc.)

- ASSUME THAT YOU WILL LOSE AND STAY AGGRESSIVE

[LanghamP]

Drivers in cars are the number one danger to EUCs, and the other dangers aren't even close. We might moan about faceplants (god I hate that highly appropriate term) ala @Rehab1, but it's drivers that are most likely to damage you and your wheel.

Seeing how other people in my office have been in the same situation as you with an uncooperative driver, I agree taking pictures is important.

Interestingly, your hit and run (that's essentially what it was) was a woman. We've noticed women are particularly prone to this behavior. Like nearly 100%, so much so that if you get hit by a woman simply assume she'll reshuffle the facts in her favor unless you take and keep photographic evidence. I'm sure other forum members, with a few exceptions, will attest to that fact.

[Scatcat]

Woman or man, you should always document what happened. If anyone is nearby, ask them if they can provide third party testimony. That way it won't be a he said, she said.

Quite a few people, women and men, reshuffle facts to suit their purposes - we have plenty of high profile current examples of that   The only way to make sure the facts stay straight is to have documentation.

[Chriull]

39 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

We've noticed women are particularly prone to this behavior

Seems to be not so easy:

From https://www.google.at/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://aaafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/18-0058_Hit-and-Run-Brief_FINALv2.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj2-uaUw4vfAhWaSxUIHR4JCGgQFjANegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw0rd_YlYWBJsgpfLSArk0zG&cshid=1544110413405

"Given the nature of the crime, a comprehensive profile of 
hit-and-run offenders is not possible. In the U.S., about 
half of all hit-and-run drivers are eventually identified 
(Grembek & Griswold, 2012; MacLeod et al., 2012; Solnick 
& Hemenway, 1995). That number can vary significantly by 
state, with some states identifying less than 10 percent and 
some identifying every hit-and-run offender involved in a 
fatal crash (Grembek & Griswold, 2012). The information 
available is only for those drivers who have been identified 
and there is no way to know if they are representative of 
the whole."

and

"Drivers in hit-and-run fatalities are more likely to be 
young males and have a history of prior DWI and 
license suspension."

but

"Studies examining all hit-and-run crashes, as opposed to 
just those involving a fatality, show more variation in the 
profile of hit-and-run drivers. A Canadian study found that 
women ages 55 and older had the highest odds ratio for running away after a collision of any age and gender group 
(Tay et al., 2010). A study looking at data from Singapore 
found males between the ages of 45 and 69 to be the 
most likely to flee (Tay et al., 2008). As the range of crash 
severity being analyzed increases, the typical driver profile 
becomes less clear."

[LanghamP]

@Chriull, I wasn't talking about true hit and run but rather the all too common technique of hitting someone, stopping, then blaming the other person for your bad driving, especially if you don't have auto insurance. The intent of a hit and run is to forgo responsibility, and so a hit and deny versus a hit and run are similar, they just occur and different times.

And that's common enough that most of us now have dash cams in our cars, because that's what it takes to prove you were not at fault. The joke is women drivers, if at fault, will do anything to get out of paying, including, ludicrously, tears and rage.

It's unseemly and uncivilized, and yet has become such a common occurrence that it has become a joke around the office. Women expect free drinks and free passes for crashing when texting on their phones.

Anecdotally, the ratio of men versus women drivers doing that; I think it's like 1 to 7, that is if I count up the number of accidents of people I've known over the past few years, that's about right even for some very serious accidents. Not anecdotally, sentences for women are far lighter for the second offense, so I guess tears works pretty good, huh?

[who_the]

1 hour ago, LanghamP said:

Women expect free drinks and free passes for crashing when texting on their phones.

Not your first woman-hating post. But it's the last one I'm going to let stand without a response. 

I'm a hit and run victim. The driver in my case was a woman. I went to the hospital and reported it to the police. My right pinky suffered an open dislocation -- that's where the bone separates at the joint and pops out, through the skin -- and will never look or work the same again. Could have just as easily been a man, they're just as dumb, if not dumber, from my years of life experience. Plus many men have a sense of entitlement that seems to enable them to say and do whatever they please, then get all up in arms when anyone calls them on it.

Stop YOUR crying. And start treating people as PEOPLE. Not men, women, races, creeds, or ethnicities. 

[LanghamP]

3 minutes ago, who_the said:

I'm a hit and run victim. The driver in my case was a woman.

<Snicker>

I'm sorry you were hit and run like that, same as half the people in my office.

[meepmeepmayer]

15 hours ago, gon2fast said:

 -  call law enforcement right away

Yep, too many people don't do that. Call police, the end.

Also, I wouldn't repair the wheel, I'd replace it. You can make a very good safety argument that a vehicle like a EUC can't be safely repaired unless it is absolutely clear there is no damage to the balancing electronics or batteries, which will pretty much be impossible in any heavy damage. It's probably cheaper to replace than do a repair anyways. So safer and cheaper to replace it.

[Elder Meat]

At least in my area law enforcement will not take a report if it's a non-injury accident. They will facilitate information exchange but that's it. One of the stupidest things I see are drivers who insist on leaving their cars in the middle of the road blocking traffic because they want to leave things exactly as they were for police to see--even for fender benders.

Having said that, always take photos of your vehicle and their vehicle in a full 360 along with getting the other person's info. Assuming non-injury call your insurance company and tell them your side of what happened. Then let the insurance carriers sort it out.

[gon2fast]

Months into this fiasco the driver of the vehicle, who at the scene of incident demanded to work things out through our shared insurer, is now not responding to the insurer. My last contact with USAA, my insurer as well, was very sobering. A claim adjuster not related to case stated that USAA could drop the claim if they could not get in contact with the driver. I have some photo documentation from the scene which paints the picture that there was an incident, but insurance is much like casinos, not in the business to pay out...

Learn from my mistake - get a police report no matter what. If capable, take a picture of the car, license plate, registration, drivers license and the driver. 

BTW -repair versus replace is going to run about same cost, but we are so early in the game with EUCs that we are going to have to jump through some silly hoops as we evolve.

 

[LanghamP]

10 hours ago, gon2fast said:

Months into this fiasco the driver of the vehicle, who at the scene of incident demanded to work things out through our shared insurer, is now not responding to the insurer. My last contact with USAA, my insurer as well, was very sobering. A claim adjuster not related to case stated that USAA could drop the claim if they could not get in contact with the driver. I have some photo documentation from the scene which paints the picture that there was an incident, but insurance is much like casinos, not in the business to pay out...

Learn from my mistake - get a police report no matter what. If capable, take a picture of the car, license plate, registration, drivers license and the driver. 

 

I also have USAA; if you have liability and uninsured on your cars then you also have protection as a pedestrian and a bicyclist.

Simply file the woman's crash as a hit and run, and make the USAA claim. She hit you, pretended to be concerned, gave you false information, then ran. File the police report post fact, and file the claim with USAA. You have some photos.

Also, USAA is not exactly a for profit insurer because they are owned by all the members (you too). They are good at honoring claims.

[LanghamP]

Also, the reason she fled post accident was because she didn't have insurance. Simply file the police report, and she has to prove she actually had insurance (which she won't be able to).

You might lose, but the idea is to make sure scum like her who drive around uninsured with little care to other people don't get away with with uncivilized behavior.

Also, if she's a young pretty girl there's a good chance she'll offer to have sex with you so you'll drop pursuance (had this happen to me once). Don't do this!

[Scatcat]

46 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

Also, the reason she fled post accident was because she didn't have insurance. Simply file the police report, and she has to prove she actually had insurance (which she won't be able to).

You might lose, but the idea is to make sure scum like her who drive around uninsured with little care to other people don't get away with with uncivilized behavior.

Also, if she's a young pretty girl there's a good chance she'll offer to have sex with you so you'll drop pursuance (had this happen to me once). Don't do this!

This is my biggest worry about running around on a EUC, not having insurance (no insurance company here have a relevant insurance for EUCs). It feels irresponsible.

[kasenutty]

Your biggest worry is having sex with an uninsured woman, Scat? 

[Scatcat]

10 hours ago, kasenutty said:

Your biggest worry is having sex with an uninsured woman, Scat? 

Yeah right!  

I think, that if I did, I'd need insurance agains bodily harm whenever the mother of my kids caught wind of it...

[The Man of Mead]

Are EUC's legal in your location?

If not legal on road then I'm guessing they are likely not to be legal on pavement (sidewalk). Despite it being her fault, the fact you should never have been there in the first place trumps (no pun intended) your claim and you are the one who may be on dodgy ground. Or maybe I'm wrong.

[LanghamP]

31 minutes ago, The Man of Mead said:

Are EUC's legal in your location?

If not legal on road then I'm guessing they are likely not to be legal on pavement (sidewalk). Despite it being her fault, the fact you should never have been there in the first place trumps (no pun intended) your claim and you are the one who may be on dodgy ground. Or maybe I'm wrong.

This is probably a good reason alone to get a doctor's prescription stating you need a PEMD (personal electric mobility device), which allows you access to basically everywhere except perhaps an airliner.

[gon2fast]

Electric vehicles are legal in my area. There were no bicycle lanes on the street that i was riding on so going at a slow pace on the sidewalk was the safest route. The sad part is that I know how distracted we are as drivers so I am extra cautious when out on my wheels. If I had been on foot or not paying attention while riding I would have certainly ended up in a trauma center if not dead.

Still trying to take the high road and let the process work itself out. I appreciate the advice about the hit run solution. I have already filed a standard claim with USAA so I can't tell a different story at this point in time, but...

If someone, who is at fault, decides not to respond to their insurers inquiries then I would deem this like the courts as a default guilty. Highly doubt that USAA will see it the same way since they will have to eat it. 

 

[mezzanine]

On 12/10/2018 at 10:41 AM, LanghamP said:

This is probably a good reason alone to get a doctor's prescription stating you need a PEMD (personal electric mobility device), which allows you access to basically everywhere except perhaps an airliner.

 

Interesting suggestion.  Haven't heard it before, but I'm going to give it some thought.  Doubt my doctor would approve it, but it would give me a lot more confidence when out riding.

[gon2fast]

Have not heard from the/my insurance company for some time and my main wheel is stuck in SD pending repairs. I should probably get off of my G3 and get this handled one way or another. No matter how this turns out, my ultimate failure was the lack of obtaining a police report. Please learn from my mistakes folks...