Allow me to rant for a bit. With 2000 miles and some change on the speedometer on my 4 month old '07 FM tC, I got in a wreck on Thursday night. Thursday night was NOT a good night, seeing as to how my sister got in a wreck 30 mins before mine, but that's a whole other story (she was ruled as not-at-fault in that one, with no damage to her car). But anyways, to the meat and potatoes of this thread-

I was at a stop sign, where the car to my right had the right-of-way. That car goes, then its my turn, so as I pull into the intersection, a car from the right slams into my front passengers side HARD. I was like WTF, I just watched this dude drive by me, and how the hell did he get that speed from a damn stop?! Once my head straightened out a bit, I come to find it was the person BEHIND the car that had gone before me, who decided to follow the car straight through the stop sign, meaning they didnt stop at the line, and had a whole car lengths before the line to gain speed. It was a younger kid with a heavy foot, who ended up hitting me at about 15mph, and turned my car at a complete 45* angle to where I was heading. My engine is squealing, so I push in the clutch to get it out of first, and my shifter feels like a limp noodle, so I turn off the car. I try to get out of my driver's side door, but it wont open more than a couple of inches, so I have to climb out of the passengers side door. Not good. I step out to see a guy that said he stopped to make sure everyone was OK, but was in fact handing me a business card AS I'm stepping out, explaining to me that his Toyota has the best body shop in town, and the best prices. Not exactly what I was wanting to hear right then and there. First, I check out the damage: Front quarter panel crunched into tire, rim screwed to hell, metal pushed into some belts, about 3 different fluids leaking, bumper pushed about 5 inches to the drivers side, DRIVERS front quarter panel bent, which is what kept me from getting my door open. Next, I glare at the shady lookin' kid and notice he has two passengers in his car. Great, now he has two witnesses that will collaborate with whatever story he gives them, and I have none (The Toyota guy said he didnt see what happened). Takes 15 mins for the cops to get there, and once he finally arrives, he asks us what happens. I tell him my story, and the kid obviously tells a different story. So, the cop goes over to talk to the guy's passengers. My dad has arrived by this time, so we're there talking about what happened when the cop calls the other driver over, and my dad and I hear "So, who's been smoking pot in the car?" The kid denies it, I guess thinking the cop was not only on his first day on the job, but was also born the day before, and after threats of the police bringing a drug dog out, the fesses up, and pulls a ziploc bag of marijuana out of the car, and a box with pipes in it. This is certainly some good news for me. They handcuff the kid, throw him in a cop car, and take him to the hospital to get a blood test run to see what all's going on. The cop comes over (the one that had written up my sisters accident report 30 mins earlier), gives my dad and I the info to get the report, and we ask what all the kid's being written up for.
1. Possession of Marijuana
2. Drug Paraphernalia
3. DUI
4. No Insurance
And, the kid is a minor. Just f*cking great. No insurance. Talk about a horrible night. Now my car is sitting in the lot where it was towed, with about 10g worth of damage to it, with a whole month of headaches heading my way. I have pics, and will post them later, when I get home.

Thanks for listening to my rant lol..Anyone else been in a wreck with an uninsured? If so, how'd it pan out, and what steps did you take? If there really ISNT insurance on the car (there is a possibility there is, because it was the kids parents car from my understanding, and the kid couldnt find the insurance card, so he, I guess, assumed there was no insurance on it) then my insurance company will certainly be sueing.

 

go after the parents that is not right
...how old is the kid anyways?

 

Your insurance will cover you. It's called something like "Uninsured motorists" coverage. There should be no penalty to you. Afterwards your insurance will take steps to get their money from the kid. Could be garnishing his parents paychecks, lawsuit, etc... I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Sorry to hear it though, and good luck with the repairs!

 

Not sure how old the kid is, I'll find out when I get the police report. I actually didnt say a single word to the kid...If I had opened my mouth to him, nothing but yelling/swearing would have come out, so I opted to let the cops handle things

 

Yea, I work at an insurance agency, so I know all about that junk for the most part. However, I was just seeing how other peoples' cases panned out, maybe as to how long it took to get everything in order. However, it sucks because if my insurance company has to take steps to sue the kid/his parents, its still going to show up as a claim =/

It just sucks to see something that I've worked hard to get, and was proud of to have, be smashed up by someone's selfishness and irresponsibility. I guess it could have been worse though...It could have been at a light intersection, with him running a redlight at 50mph

 

I would cry like an F-ing baby if I got in a wreck in my car or something like this would have happened to me. It's a good thing your ok man. A car's a car, but your life can't be replaced. And I understand about not saying a word to the kid. I would have beat the living crap outta the kid in this situation... (when I get like, SUPER mad, it's hard to control me)

BUT!

1. Body kit
2. 19's
3. New Custom color paint
4. Carbon Fiber hood
5. Big brake kit

 

glad you're okay at least, 10k in damage is A LOT of damage, haha. post pics up when you can!

 

Uninsured motorist will get injuries, but no damage as far as I know.

This happened to me once. Stupid 16 year old pr!ck was running 95, passing 5 cars, up hill in a no passing zone and took my truck out (on foot further and he would have hit my drivers side door). No insurance. We tried to sue, but his family had no money. I ended up taking the whole screwing of it all.

I hope this doesnt happen to you. If he doesnt have insurance, call a lawyer and start working on it before his family has a chance to know what is coming. If they knew he had no insurance and that he was driving.. they may be in for a world of hurt.

Good luck, and glad you were not hurt!

 

+1

I was hit in a parking lot by an uninsured driver, wound up paying for the repairs on my car with no recourse because the guy was illegal to boot... so now I'll be paying in the form of higher insurance premiums because of somebody else's screw up.

 

I was unaware that it just picked up injuries. Is this the norm? Can you get something that pics up your car too?

 

Post pictures when you can....Its frustrating, but it'll all work out

 

when I was applying for my car insurance I could choose amount coverage for uninsured body/health and uninsured property.

 

I'm pretty sure this was me as well. Who are you with? I've got State Farm.

 

(In Pennsylvania anyway) Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is just bodily injury... anything to do with your car when involved in an accident even with uninsured/underinsured is covered under your collision, but apparently in some states that's different.

I haven't had the chance to go through all my stuff from 21st Century yet, but when I had Nationwide there was a thing in there that listed different offenses/accident situations, and listed the "points" system involved therein. Depending on the circumstances or percentages of faults, depends on the "point" ratings through the insurance company, and will determine whether or not your rates will go up at your next renewal.

So, if it's ruled the kid's fault, your rates by law cannot and should not go up... but that also depends on your insurance company and state laws as well. I'd go through that nice big booklet the insurance company gives you when you sign up with them and see what's in there.

 

I've got insane amounts of stuff to do right now, so my dad offered to help me out with taking care of all this mess, thank god. He's been in insurance for probably 30 years, so he knows what all's going on, better than me, so he's taking care of stuff today, but I'm supposed to be getting a call from the insurance company today to tell them what all happened and what not.

I went to my car yesterday to get some stuff out of it, which sucked. There was about an inch thick layer of dust all over, and it looked worse than I remember. I guess right after it happened, I didnt want to think it was as bad as it was. And the other thing that sucked was that somehow my batter was COMPLETELY drained (and I checked to make sure they didnt just disconnect the battery) so I wasnt able to get into my trunk, they had parked a car about 6 inches away from the passenger side, which was the only working door, so to get in and get my stuff, I had to bend my front quarter panel on the drivers side some more to barely squeeze into my car from the drivers side door

 

well, from a legal perspective, but NOT legal advice. . . As far as the insurance, yes, people who have posted before me are correct. The uninsured motorist portion of your insurance only covers your person i.e. medical injuries. However, some policies DO include collision insurance specifically for uninsured and underinsured motorists. So you will need to check with your insurance provider.

If the "minor" is under the age of majority, in most states it is 18, you can recover from the parents'/guardians/policy holder. However, the "minor" many not be covered under their insurance policy. There may be an exclusionary clause in the policy that excludes the insurance company from liability if a minor is driving their car without there being an expressed understanding that someone under the age of 25 will be operating the vehicle.

If the parents' insurance company does not cover the son, the only way you will be able to recover is from the parents/guardian of the "minor".

 

I would have asked the cop for ten minutes with kid while hes handcuffed?

 

just a point of saying, people in the same car as the motorists don't count at wittnesses because of the obvious potential bias that will happen.

i hate all way stops because the ones i come to, nobody even pays attention and run them all the damn time. i have almost been hit several times at 4 way stops, so i only go when i know the other cars are going to stop, and when i am the car on the right so that if the idiot doesn't yield, i'm on the right and would always be the car with right of way.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck man. I hope you went and got checked out with x-rays and stuff so 10 years from now you don't get pains from this idiot hitting you.

Unfortunately, most folks who get hit by an uninsured motorist end up paying out of pocket. I'd get a lawyer for sure, and get any and everything I could from this idiot and the two rocket scientists that spawned him.

 

aww man that sucks. I feel ya, I just got in one two weeks ago and my car is in da shop. But lucky my damage was only 3k and i should have it back this friday. If i didn't know the shop owner it wouldn't have been until after or way after christmas for my car to be fixed.
Good Luck