Archives

So what is this all about?

Here's a little true story if you got the time. ;)


Recently, more like March 18 2008; I was commuting home on my usual stretch from downtown and I had a little experience like no other I've had before. To be more accurate, it was more like a collection of little experiences.

Anyhow, while still in the downtown area in a particular stretch of a 5 lane route we had a firetruck along with a few other emergency vehicle's tending to an accident that had occurred moments earlier. This particular fire truck was blocking the three right most lanes so traffic was beginning to backup a little already. Fortunately, I was on the second left most lane which meant that I would not have much trouble negotiating my way out of the traffic jam. Or so I thought.

Because the previous accident had occurred in an intersection I was actually waiting at the red light before I could clear the scene, but once the light turned green I let a pickup truck to my right advance in front of me as an act of courtesy before I advanced to enter the intersection. The truck had the blinker on and advanced ahead of me and I slowly advanced behind it. All was going fine until I hear a loud scratch/bump noise. I said , what the heck? :confused:

Nobody in my rear view mirror. Nobody in my left mirror. Nobody in my right... wait a minute what's that monster doing there?

Well, not quite a monster but from where I sat, that late model Buick Rendezvous was acting like one. In the simplest of terms the driver of that car, probably overestimated my take off speed and wanted to sneak in front of the vehicle directly behind me, so she suddenly turned left into my lane hoping to clear the rush in whatever hurry she was in.
Her vehicle's fender guard and tire simply scratched the rear passenger side on my HCH-II and man did that make me upset.

Anyway, I honked three times and waved at her to follow me into a nearby parking lot right past the scene of the previous accident. As I started to drive toward the parking lot, and as I look in the rear view mirror, the other driver simply took off. I immediately turned around and rushed to follow her almost not making it past the red light at the next intersection.

At this point, some of you are saying... "HEY !! He's speeding after the other car." Others will say: "Oh no, he's killing is tank average!!" ;)

Yep, I was MAD about both!!! :mad:

I've had several accidents in my life time, heck I even spent time in the hospital as a result of one (fortunately none were my fault)... so I am quite OK with "accidents" as they will indeed happen. That's life. This time however, was different.

Anyway, I did catch up to the other driver roughly 2Km's later (a little over a mile) at another intersection. She had no choice but to wait there as the light was red and she had nowhere to go behind all that traffic. I honked and waved at her several times and since there were too many other drivers looking on she finally followed me into a neighboring street where we eventually exchanged driver info. I also took the opportunity to take some pictures and video - which later proved invaluable. :D

Here's one of the pictures I took that day. On that day, the streets were messy because of the melting snow so keeping a car clean is hard. As some of you may recall, I hate having my cars dirty, with scratches, dings and the sort. So looking at this little bit of damage is simply heartbreaking to me. :o
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/Accident_200803181515.jpg


After stopping, the other driver claimed that it was I that ran into her. OK, I think to myself: "I have a loser on my hands".
So, I showed her the damaged on my car while taking some pictures. At that time I took close up pictures of her license plate and the affected area on her vehicle since there's was a lot of melting snow and the cars were dirty, including the license plates.

Anyway, after that interesting stop I visited the closest police station to file a accident report. When I get there, the police officer at one of the front desks looks at me and asks:
"Are you here to report a hit and run? If you are, please enter that line behind those 4 other folks. You may have to wait a while."
I responded: "No, not a hit-and-run but almost became one." So a few minutes later I filed the report.

A few days later I was talking with my insurance adjuster while my car was being assessed for the damage. And she tells me that the other party was claiming they were not at fault. In fact, they were claiming that they never hit me as their car has no "visible" damage. Since there were no witnesses at hand she said they cannot dismiss the probability that the other party is right.

Fine, I said. Here's the video... here are the pictures showing my damage, the other party's damage and how they line up... including the scuff on her tire and the imprint it left on my car, etc, etc.

Anyway, I got the clearance to repair the damage in my car (~$2,000 and a week later). Right after leaving the adjuster I called my lawyer and asked him to "file a suit" against the other party. He advised me against it until the insurance company determines the culpability of either party. Instead, he sent a friendly letter to the other party who "auto-magically" called their insurance adjuster immediately after to assume all culpability in the little accident.

Right after my adjuster called me with the "good" news, I looked at my wife and I said: "I am pi**ed mad !!!"

Why? Because, you have to go through extremes in order to ensure that some people do the right thing. And judging from the "hit-and-run" cases I saw at the police station that day when I filed my report, there are way too many such losers for my liking. Then what really messes my noodle is that IF I had not sped after that loser, I would have been deemed at fault !!! GRRR :mad::mad::mad:

So, where does this leave those who believe in "taking it the chin" when we're at fault?

Well, we're all different but I believe there are many things that can be done. One of them is intersection cameras, cameras in cars, cameras in the sky, cameras in every d*** public place, idiot cameras... you name it !!!

Anyway, my car is back to normal (as it should). The damage was just cosmetic but the odd thing about it is that it happened in the same area repaired months earlier as a result of a break-in. Geesh.

The weather also started warming quite a bit and it is looking gorgeous (around 50F). I simply got the winter wheels off (yesterday) on both HCH-2's and it is simply amazing the difference in the glide distances you get when switching from the winter wheels/rubber to the OEM LRR wheels. :D

Now it is time to stop the ranting and get that FE back up !!!!

Thanks for reading and God bless. :)

Cheers;

MSantos

Ouch, man. That's brutal. I hate the idea of constant surveillance -- from Bentham's Panopticon right through to the minimall. I've got nothing to hide, but it just plain freaks me out. That said, I also hate that helpless feeling I get when someone wrongs me and there's not a thing I can do about it...

Glad it worked out -- although that's not really the appropriate thing to say here either.

It is a crappy world out there. And it's a shame it costs so much of our own energy to ensure people do the right thing, as well as have to defend ourselves.

Go enjoy the warm weather and try not to let the b@stards get you down. I'm glad your car's all better now.

That stinks. :(

It's stories like this that make me always call the police as soon as something like this occurs. Rather than play the he-said-she-said game getting a Police officer on the scene gives you the best chance of getting a citation issued to the other party which puts everything into the clear with insurance companies, etc.

I also use their insurance company to get the repair done rather than my own. There's always the chance that your company will end up raising your rates even though you were not at fault while using the offender's company directly means yours never need know anything happened.

From your description, had that happened in MA, when she left the scene, she committed a criminal offense, "Leaving The Scene..." i.e. "Hit and Run".

In my opinion, you are dealing with a criminal. As evidenced by her leaving the scene, and by her lying. And that she is clearly unconcerned with you. I think she should be prosecuted.

I've never been to Winnipeg, but in my experience in Canada, she seems the exception, not the rule. I don't think cameras everywhere are the solution. Canada is a wonderful place.

Cameras everywhere would, I think, make it more like Singapore. Also a lovely place, but a little on the rigid side, eh?

I'm sorry you had to deal with this scumbag, but good for you for sticking up for yourself.

It's a sad day when we are asked to be happy when we barely get what we deserve. Glad it worked out for you. Some people, though :(

We only have one insurance company in Manitoba, and its public. In my experience they're pretty good at judging who is at fault and adjusting that party's premium accordingly. Naturally -- (as mSantos' story demonstrates) -- evidence is key.

Manuel, that is a terrible experience. :( Hopefully it doesn't happen again!

I agree that it is really sad we cannot trust people to do the right thing anymore. :ccry:

I would consider it a hit and run for sure. It doesn't make a difference that you were able to catch up to the person after they ran, they still ran. This person deserves to be ticketed for it, so you really were doubly slapped in the face when the person denied wrongdoing. Oh well, I'm glad everything got settled in your favor in the end and hopefully karma will catch up with that jerk.

This sounds like a JOD candidate.

Hi All. Thank you for the kind thoughts and words.

I would like to add that I am not trying to make my fellow Winnipeg residents look bad at all. In fact, the reason why I still hold residence here is because this is still a great city and there are many, many things for me to like and enjoy. I travel frequently and I spend many nights in hotels of almost every city in North America and beyond, and thus far I love coming back to my little "peace of heaven".

But with that said, we are all connected not only through roads and infrastructure but also in terms of cultural exchanges. That means we watch the same shows and see the same news. After a while we develop trends in our society of desensitization and some become oblivious to the concept of fairness and honesty (the dog-eat-dog-world). So the problems we usually expect to see and live with in a city of several millions will be inevitable in a smaller city as well. The difference is in the quantity and severity, I guess.

I've decided not to take the other party to court because the damage was just cosmetic. Had it been structural then I would certainly sue for appreciable depreciation and other reasons too. The local police stated they would not press charges because I caught up with her and ... they have their hands full with bigger issues. I guess $2000 is not large enough a loss to get their attention.

Also as a side note: Here in Winnipeg, we cannot call the police to the scene of an accident unless the perceived damages exceed $5000 or there are injuries.

Anyway, about cameras and surveillance... I too wish for a world where everyone is accountable for their actions. But to me that remains an exercise in naivety and wishful thinking. Besides, it is really bad when some people use the principles of "freedom" and liberty to deprive others of a voice, justice or fairness.
So, on this token I am in favor of almost anything that gives the law abiding folks a way to get back on top. After all, my belief is that if you do nothing wrong in a public setting your have nothing to fear. Yes, it resembles an Orwellian exercise but very suiting to myself and other that think like me.

Cheers;

MSantos

Hi Manuel:

___With all that we have to view and deal with in the world today, I was saddened to read of your experience. The good news is nobody was hurt and your car is as good as new (or will be?).

___This will be a story you can tell your children about 30 years from now given every transport device will have an in-camera personal protection solution per the Home-Planet Security Act and Insurance Institute Mandate of 2032 :rolleyes:

___J/K about the last part ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

It's good the story came to a (somewhat) happy ending--at least the situation was resolved and justice was served, so to speak.

What does really bug me though is the people that damage your car and just drive off--when you're not there. I'll never know who took out the front license plate on my old Buick, and I'll probably never find out who put the multiple dings on my Echo's door.

wow, that sounds sorta similar to the hit-n-run (http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/pix/fj-hr/) that I witnessed.
That *was* in MA, and the North Andover cops were genuinely
concerned with getting all the facts down.
.
I haven't heard any followup from that by now, but it's probably
none of my business once I've described my viewpoint. But people
who drive like that with an attitude like that simply need to
go down. Unfortunately they probably won't, they'll just leave
a wake of chaos behind them. Cameras or not, too, because who's
going to monitor all those or in fact keep them working?
.
_H*

Wow, lots of ******* drivers out there. Houston has lots of them too, and lots of accidents happen on my hwy drive home! I've run into many traffic backups due to accidents, but in Chicago this rarely happens!

In a world that now has no set rules you can expect things like this. The morality is now what you "feel" like and makes you "feel good".

It's the downslope of organized civilization. Soon will be complete moral chaos.

I would put the lawyer back on the job.

The person is a criminal and liar.

Glad you got it worked out, but I got one question. I never understand how people always have a lawyer and a doctor.

It's always "I called my lawyer for advice and he said this" or "I called my doctor first and he said this." Ok, maybe I understand how to obtain a doctor, but how the hell do you have a lawyer, one that you always go to? How the heck do you build up that kind of friendship or business relationship or whatever you want to call it?

Glad you got it worked out, but I got one question. I never understand how people always have a lawyer and a doctor.

It's always "I called my lawyer for advice and he said this" or "I called my doctor first and he said this." Ok, maybe I understand how to obtain a doctor, but how the hell do you have a lawyer, one that you always go to? How the heck do you build up that kind of friendship or business relationship or whatever you want to call it?

Good question -- one that has always made me suspect these people make a habit out of either getting into trouble, or making trouble.

Obviously Manuel doesn't fit this characterization so I'm wondering the reason as well?

A definite "hit and run" and definently a J.O.T.D.
Thanks for sharing the story.
brian

Good question -- one that has always made me suspect these people make a habit out of either getting into trouble, or making trouble.

Obviously Manuel doesn't fit this characterization so I'm wondering the reason as well?

Its not uncommon to have either a lawyer you go to repeatedly for business/tax reasons or even to handle concerns about leasing agreements, loans, or bogus fees from creditors. Having one can save you a lot of trouble if someone tries to rip you off.

Usually, 1-2x/year might be the only times you need them, but being a known client helps if you're in trouble.

The other option is to have one on retainer, either individually or through a plan for legal advice.

Anybody making white-collar money probably needs one if for no other reason than checking business agreements or contracts.

After reading about your situation, I just shook my head ... After Towing Autopac cars to the compound for the last 10+ years I think I've seen, heard, and Towed the result of so many "scams" i can't even count. I'm glad to hear that you managed to collect the evidence (sp?) that you needed to not be another victim of anothers greedyness. I've really noticed that the driving in the 'peg has gone down the tubes over the last few weeks ... Spring fever I guess.

... but how the hell do you have a lawyer, one that you always go to? How the heck do you build up that kind of friendship or business relationship or whatever you want to call it?

It is the cost of doing business my friend. The lawyer I have regularly takes care of the legal paperwork (contracts, visas, NDA', etc)... also, it does not hurt that I have known him since college.


Hook401:

Welcome to CleanMPG !!!!
That would make you the 6 or 7th Manitoban in the board?
Yes, sometimes I also wonder about the reasons behind the poor driving in Winnipeg... it must be seasonal too.


Cheers;

MSantos