Got rear ended, idiot says I cut her off

Gannikus

Gannikus

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Ok so I was making a left turn on a green arrow light, and around that corner there is a starbucks...I signaled right and brakes are all working. I was halfway into the starbucks driveway and someone rear ended me. If I was already halfway in doesn't it mean they were following too closely? Most of my damage is on the right side of the car showing I got rear ended while I was already halfway in the driveway parkinglot.

Now she's saying I CUT HER OFF, and saying she got a witness other than a passenger.


If my damage was ALL on the right side, and she rear ended me and claiming I cut her off, I have the advantage of the situation right? It's almost always their fault if they rear end someone right?
 
IIRC most insurance companies will say that if you hit someone from behind then it is your fault for rear-ending them.

It should not be your fault but the other drivers.
 
Post a pic of the damage.

Just like the above post says, they will likely claim that she needs to have better control of her vehicle.

This is why you drive defensively, folks.
 
She should have been paying attention. If you had a green arrow to turn LEFT that means for you to cut her off that she had to turn RIGHT on a red light, right? So to turn right on red means to stop and yield to the traffic, whether turning at your light or coming from a cross street, whatever.

The police report is gonna help you out here as well. Odds are you're gonna be alright except your car is jacked, but make sure you check the police report. While you're at it, better make a doctor's appointment as well, it looks good for your settlement and makes sure your back isn't messed up.

By the way did she do the roll out and flop on the ground routine? or just the old fashioned "it's not my fault, he did it"
 
Ok so what about her witness? he was being nice to them for some reason maybe he thought she was cute or something. What if they pay that witness and lie and say I did cut her off, should I be worried?

I know for a fact I was already halfway in then she hit me, my left side of my car almost has no damage, only the middle to right side. Here's some pics.

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so should I worry about that witness? The left turn has 2 lanes, what if the witness or the other person make up something like "he was on the far left lane, cut me off, then turned into the driveway I even have a witness"

Will my damage prove that I was already halfway in? Obviously if I was turning in, I wouldn't cut her off and turn in the parking lot driving fast :roll: If I was already halfway in, I had enough time to slow down and then turn in, she was just too old to react or not looking.

@burittoman
there was no police report, my uncle gave us an attorney (gets 1/3rd of the settlement) We've been going chiropractor, I can't set up a doctors appointment cause of no medicare but my passenger set up an appointment already.
 
Eh, with damage to the rear bumper, it's pretty obvious they hit you. With no police report filed, there can be no fault so it's up to you if you want to pursue it for damages or file a claim with your insurance. Likewise, if they file for damages then they will have to defend hitting you.
 
No police report? ALWAYS get a police report if there is any damage at all to your vehicle. Assuming she was in the wrong the officer would have confirmed this and it would have been settled.
 
[quote name='neocisco']No police report? ALWAYS get a police report if there is any damage at all to your vehicle. Assuming she was in the wrong the officer would have confirmed this and it would have been settled.[/QUOTE]

I don't think police reports are the final word when it comes to insurance companies. Especially if the officer doesn't witness it directly. It's just the he said-she said of the time as reported back to him, which only makes it harder for someone to change their story later. And the police aren't going to get all CSI about the angles of damage and shit like that for a fender bender. I've never had a police report taken for any fenders I've been a part of, both in accidentally bumping someone and being hit myself where there was some minor damage. It always was fine and it was always worked out without insurance company involvement too for the most part. Maybe I've just been lucky. But if you have someone that seems hostile involved, a police report probably isn't a bad idea. Not to mention for your safety as well since you never know what kind of shit some insane asshole might pull after a fender bender.

Gannikus, if you want us to speculate on your accident you need to be a lot clearer and layout the scene. Invest in some MS Paint diagrams, showing the intersection, the driveway, the traffic light statuses at the time, your path, and what you think the path of this other car was that hit you.
 
I was in same situation as you, and police came. Inspected both cars and said there was minimal damage to both cars and told us that its up to us to pass insurance infos to each other.

good luck and hope you get it out with no problems from other driver.
 
You could always check with Starbucks to see if they have security footage. My wife once got rear-ended in front of a bank and the other driver tried to say she backed into him. Our insurance company called shenanigans and got footage from the bank. We were able to collect a lot of money thanks to the bank.
 
kodave: To clarify my point I was working under the assumption that the officer would be writing a ticket. A ticker written to someone for rearending another vehicle is more or less a lock as far as insurance claims go (at least from my experience).
 
[quote name='neocisco']kodave: To clarify my point I was working under the assumption that the officer would be writing a ticket. A ticker written to someone for rearending another vehicle is more or less a lock as far as insurance claims go (at least from my experience).[/QUOTE]

Still, the officer would have to witness the collision otherwise the ticket wouldn't stick. For all the officer knows, OP was backing out of this driveway illegally or something crazy. If anything I'd guess getting ticketed for causing an accident or whatever would only mean the other driver's insurance company probably wouldn't fight any claims from OP/OP's insurance company. It would certainly make the other driver's case harder and possibly near impossible in a civil suit, but I don't think its a guarantee.
 
Well if you can throw in the idea that she may have been distracted by her cell phone when this happened then the insurance company will take your side...that's if she was on her cell. Almost had this happen to me a few years back, that's why I watch everything, especially their mirrors because it can tell me if they are looking down at a cell phone.

Makes you wonder what's it like working for an insurance company.
 
This is what she claims I did

o8dhn9.jpg

She's saying I cut her off and that's how she rear ended me. I was wondering why she would even try to get a witness but what if the witness goes on her side? Will the insurance company side with them?
 
Why would you turn from one lane to another and then merge over almost immediately? It seems like you probably DID cut her off.
 
[quote name='Gannikus']This is what she claims I did [/QUOTE]

I don't care what she claims. That diagram has you probably absolutely cutting her off, and if true, would indeed be your fault.

I want to know what you think happened. What lane were you actually in? What lane was she actually in? How many other cars were there in those turn lanes and what were their lane positions relative to you and relative to her? Did you both start from a stopped position (aka sitting at a red light)? Or was the light green and you were both in motion going through it? What speed were you going at the time of collision? Did you slow to turn or did you gun it through the driveway? Was she going too fast for making that kind of turn?

If you were in that far left turn lane and finished your turn in the left lane, you could only merge into that right lane and then turn right into that driveway if it was safe to merge and slow/stop that quickly. If both green lanes are turning on a green arrow and you pull that, chances are it probably wasn't safe to do so since other traffic seems to have been turning into that far right lane where they have to finish their turn.

If you were in the inside left turn lane and competed your turn into that right lane, then reasonably slowed and indicated to turn right into the driveway and she rear ended you after that, its likely her fault.

You should stop worrying about what the witness will say and get your story down pat on what actually occurred or what you think occurred.
 
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That's why I said she claims I did. I was just assuming this is what she CLAIMS I did. Sorry for not clarifying lol

I was on the same lane as hers, turned left on green arrow light, signaled right, and then rear ended me while I was halfway in. Basically from the picture, we were both on the outer right lane (where the red car is)

What I wanna know is what if the "witness" sides with her and say I did that even though I didn't? Why in the hell would I be on the inner most lane where it's gonna be hard to switch lanes and then turn in. Of course I would be on the right side of the lane that would end up being closes to the parking lot.

@kodav
When I turning into the parking lot, I was only going about 2-4mph. I was breaking and signaling for at least 4-5 seconds and any car behind me would realize I was slowing down and or coming to a stop. I wasn't going fast turning, I was going VERY slow
 
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[quote name='Gannikus']That's why I said she claims I did. I was just assuming this is what she CLAIMS I did. Sorry for not clarifying lol

I was on the same lane as hers, turned left on green arrow light, signaled right, and then rear ended me while I was halfway in. Basically from the picture, we were both on the outer right lane (where the red car is)

What I wanna know is what if the "witness" sides with her and say I did that even though I didn't? Why in the hell would I be on the inner most lane where it's gonna be hard to switch lanes and then turn in. Of course I would be on the right side of the lane that would end up being closes to the parking lot.[/QUOTE]

Okay. Then it sounds like you were not to blame.

This witness is someone other than her passenger, right? And you had a passenger too? Your passengers stories will likely be a wash if yours tells the truth and hers lies on behalf of her. If the witness saw or remembers incorrectly or straight up lies, there isn't much you can do about it. If this came down to a trial in court for some reason, you'd have to go after the witness' credibility. Where was the witness viewing the accident from? How good is the witness' eyesight. What were the weather conditions like outside? Where was the sun positioned? What obstacles were in the way of the witness? Any insurance or tort attorney is going to know the drill.

If she were alone you could have an attorney attempt to get her cell phone and texting records for trial purposes to see if she was dicking around on her phone or something. But it sounds like she would lie, and if her passenger is willing to lie under oath, the passenger could just say he or she was playing with the driver's phone.
 
why would the witness perjure himself?

if you were in the same lane as she was and in front of her, her witness would be reminded by a smart lawyer that there are red light cameras.
 
[quote name='confoosious']why would the witness perjure himself?

if you were in the same lane as she was and in front of her, her witness would be reminded by a smart lawyer that there are red light cameras.[/QUOTE]

People do stupid shit all the time. Like lie in court.

Red light cameras only take pictures if someone runs the red light, I think. And a lot of intersections have cameras, but they're traffic control cameras. Either they just give someone in the city a view of the intersection or they're used to trigger traffic lights instead of using plates in the ground. I don't think those just record 24/7 but I could be wrong. That seems like it would be a lot of data just sitting around for no real benefit to the city.
 
[quote name='kodave']Okay. Then it sounds like you were not to blame.

This witness is someone other than her passenger, right? And you had a passenger too? Your passengers stories will likely be a wash if yours tells the truth and hers lies on behalf of her. If the witness saw or remembers incorrectly or straight up lies, there isn't much you can do about it. If this came down to a trial in court for some reason, you'd have to go after the witness' credibility. Where was the witness viewing the accident from? How good is the witness' eyesight. What were the weather conditions like outside? Where was the sun positioned? What obstacles were in the way of the witness? Any insurance or tort attorney is going to know the drill.

If she were alone you could have an attorney attempt to get her cell phone and texting records for trial purposes to see if she was dicking around on her phone or something. But it sounds like she would lie, and if her passenger is willing to lie under oath, the passenger could just say he or she was playing with the driver's phone.[/QUOTE]

I'm looking at her license right now (I took a pic of it with my phone) it says RESR: CORR LENS, she didn't have them on when she walked up to us, do you think we could use this as an advantage?

Ok it was bright and sunny, no obstacles on the way, I guess the witness were by the cross walk I'm not sure. I had 1 passenger, she had a passenger and a "witness" I'm not sure what the witness is gonna do though.
 
[quote name='Gannikus']I'm looking at her license right now (I took a pic of it with my phone) it says RESR: CORR LENS, she didn't have them on when she walked up to us, do you think we could use this as an advantage?

Ok it was bright and sunny, no obstacles on the way, I guess the witness were by the cross walk I'm not sure. I had 1 passenger, she had a passenger and a "witness" I'm not sure what the witness is gonna do though.[/QUOTE]

She could have had contacts in. A lawyer for your insurance company/your lawyer would probably have her produce a valid prescription for contact lenses and probably a receipt for receiving them pre-dating the accident and of course she'd testify she had them in whether or not that was the truth.

Why didn't you attempt to get contact info for a witness? Surely someone else in that parking lot saw what happened? Did no one on the road stop after the accident?
 
Best thing is to not talk to her at ALL. Anything you said they could use against you. You never know if she just hit "record" on her phone to get the conversation on the record. Just call the cops and your insurance and get that done. Tell them what happened, it'll clear up. She's just trying to put the blame on you.
 
[quote name='JJSP']Corrective lens could also be contacts. Probably won't get anywhere with that.[/QUOTE]

What if the lawyer asks her eye doctor for records to see if she even had contacts at the time? I can't really see someone over 50 wearing contacts

@kodave
After about a minute 3-4 people just cleared out, during that time I was taking pics and getting the info. No one driving stopped at all
 
[quote name='AvidWriter']Best thing is to not talk to her at ALL. Anything you said they could use against you. You never know if she just hit "record" on her phone to get the conversation on the record. Just call the cops and your insurance and get that done. Tell them what happened, it'll clear up. She's just trying to put the blame on you.[/QUOTE]

Recording someone without their consent may or may not be illegal and inadmissible in court, depending on your state.

But you're right, at any rate, OP should not be communicating with the other driver directly at all anymore. That's what his insurance company and attorney is for.

[quote name='Gannikus']What if the lawyer asks her eye doctor for records to see if she even had contacts at the time? I can't really see someone over 50 wearing contacts :hot:[/QUOTE]

Read my reply above your post.

"Old people" wear contacts all the time. Jesus dude. Really?
 
[quote name='Gannikus']This is what she claims I did

o8dhn9.jpg

She's saying I cut her off and that's how she rear ended me. I was wondering why she would even try to get a witness but what if the witness goes on her side? Will the insurance company side with them?[/QUOTE]


Based on that you are at fault. You cut across a lane to turn. If you didn't you need proof you didn't. If she has a witness that is going to lie on her side you are screwed. This is why I drive extremely defensive.
 
[quote name='kodave']Still, the officer would have to witness the collision otherwise the ticket wouldn't stick. For all the officer knows, OP was backing out of this driveway illegally or something crazy. If anything I'd guess getting ticketed for causing an accident or whatever would only mean the other driver's insurance company probably wouldn't fight any claims from OP/OP's insurance company. It would certainly make the other driver's case harder and possibly near impossible in a civil suit, but I don't think its a guarantee.[/QUOTE]

Again, I was speaking from my own experience (in my state). I've been involved in more than one incident involving rearending and what the officer says happened is what happened as far as the insurance companies have been concerned.
 
[quote name='AvidWriter']Based on that you are at fault. You cut across a lane to turn. If you didn't you need proof you didn't. If she has a witness that is going to lie on her side you are screwed. This is why I drive extremely defensive.[/QUOTE]

I said that's what she claims I did but I was on the same lane as her, when I was turning right in the parkinglot, I was already going REALLY slow (of course I'm going really slow when turning) I was basically going 2-3mph turning in the parking lot, and half of my car was already halfway in. There's no way I could cut her off since I wasn't even on that lane.
 
Pardon me, but it seems like you're taking $40 worth of damage to your bumper sticker to Slidecageian levels of overreaction. How badly is her car damaged?
 
[quote name='JJSP']Pardon me, but it seems like you're taking $40 worth of damage to your bumper sticker to Slidecageian levels of overreaction. How badly is her car damaged?[/QUOTE]

Her's is really bad, mines a 2/10 and her's is about 6-7 out of 10. Hey SHE'S the one that's claiming I cut her off but didn't. How do you think they'll handle this?
 
@Gannikus: I know it's a stupid question, but did you contact your insurance yet? If you didn't, you're screwing yourself. You gotta stop worrying about things outside of your control and make sure you have your own story straight. Tell only your side of the story and don't worry about anything else that is out of your control. ...and keep everything simple, you're not a forensic accidental vehicular collision investigator, so stop trying to think like one with analyzing the IDs and corrective lenses and crap...that's absolutely ridiculous.

Sometimes people just make simple things way too complex.
 
[quote name='sykotek']@Gannikus: I know it's a stupid question, but did you contact your insurance yet? If you didn't, you're screwing yourself. You gotta stop worrying about things outside of your control and make sure you have your own story straight. Tell only your side of the story and don't worry about anything else that is out of your control. ...and keep everything simple, you're not a forensic accidental vehicular collision investigator, so stop trying to think like one with analyzing the IDs and corrective lenses and crap...that's absolutely ridiculous.

Sometimes people just make simple things way too complex.[/QUOTE]


This...like someone else said, let your ins company do your talking for you...its what theyre paid to do.
 
[quote name='AvidWriter']Based on that you are at fault. You cut across a lane to turn. If you didn't you need proof you didn't. If she has a witness that is going to lie on her side you are screwed. This is why I drive extremely defensive.[/QUOTE]

Yeah a guy did the same thing to me and it was his fault - insurance company said so.

I wouldn't worry about it at this point - no matter who's at fault they take care of the damages and both people's insurance goes up regardless. It's a little easier for the person who got hit, but not by much. As long as noone got hurt it should be a walk in the park.

OP - just don't pull stupid shit like that anymore. Next time you are in the wrong lane take the time to get in the right lane and double-back when it's safe.
 
[quote name='sykotek']@Gannikus: I know it's a stupid question, but did you contact your insurance yet? If you didn't, you're screwing yourself. You gotta stop worrying about things outside of your control and make sure you have your own story straight. Tell only your side of the story and don't worry about anything else that is out of your control. ...and keep everything simple, you're not a forensic accidental vehicular collision investigator, so stop trying to think like one with analyzing the IDs and corrective lenses and crap...that's absolutely ridiculous.

Sometimes people just make simple things way too complex.[/QUOTE]

So true - if this guy ever gets in a real accident his head will explode :lol:
 
Is it just me or are people not reading everything? He says thats what the lady that hit him claims but isnt what happened? Or did I miss something and not read everything?
 
[quote name='Will']Is it just me or are people not reading everything? He says thats what the lady that hit him claims but isnt what happened? Or did I miss something and not read everything?[/QUOTE]

It's not just you. People aren't reading where he states what the lady is claiming.
 
[quote name='AJVtony831']It's not just you. People aren't reading where he states what the lady is claiming.[/QUOTE]

Thought so.
 
Just stick to your side of the story... don't go into what you think she claims happened. And for Pete's sake, DO NOT DRAW A PICTURE LIKE THE ONE IN YOUR POST IF IT DID NOT HAPPEN THAT WAY. Concentrate on your side of the story.
 
[quote name='Number83']I haven't read the 3 pages, but has 'Sticking in in her Pooper' come up yet?

In not, then why not?[/QUOTE]

That and "throw glitter on her" have yet to be mentioned...until you...then me.
 
[quote name='Will']That and "throw glitter on her" have yet to be mentioned...until you...then me.[/QUOTE]

What about glitter in her pooper?
 
Just stick to your story. A lot of times in cases of disputed stories the two insurance companies end up not being able to work it out and your insurance will pay for your repairs (and should be no increase to your premium) and the other persons will pay for their repairs.

But good that you got a lawyer since she is claiming to have a witness.

Last summer a friend was driving my car and someone ran a red light and hit them--did over $6k in damage to my car. The other asshole lied and said my friend ran the light. Unforutnately there were no witnesses and none of the security cameras on the street faced the right direction. So the insurances just paid for our own damages. At least Geico put mine as no fault so my premiums didn't change. But still sucked.
 
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