Oh No - Not again!

[betterbuilt]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck.

 

[Daninvan]

That's what I have too - but the driver of teh other vehicle still doesn't want me to report him.

I had a small fender bender last year, the driver also asked me not to report. I checked with my agent and she told me to report, the bad guy can always pay the insurance company afterwards to keep his record clean. Also, if your neck starts to hurt in a couple weeks or something, you need to have the claim filed so you can get that covered too.

Your rules may vary of course! Just make sure that you don't forsake any rights or possible compensation by delaying filing a claim.

I remember somebody telling me once: "There's two kinds of problems in the world. My problem and not my problem." Don't let the bad guy's problem become your problem!

 

[GoRving]

That really sux. I had a young girl to hit me almost head-on back in '87. And that WAS on a highway. Only problem was, I was driving a Honda Civic with no seatbelt on. That was the year before seatbelts were mandatory, if I remember correctly. Hope things get better for you.

 

[BobL]

Update

Can you believe this;
Idiot "fell asleep at the wheel driver" just sent me another text asking me to falsely report the date of the accident because he just took out insurance for his car???

Also my insurance company have said they are writing off the van so I have to look for another.

 

[splitpost]

Can you believe this;
Idiot "fell asleep at the wheel driver" just sent me another text asking me to falsely report the date of the accident because he just took out insurance for his car???

Also my insurance company have said they are writing off the van so I have to look for another.

Good to hear your OK Bob,let the insurance deal with the other driver and keep those txt messages ,just in case .

 

[gemniii]

Bob -
This is beginning to sound like a chapter in Atlas Shrugged.
A dedicated hard working, ethical person being asked by someone who seems to have excuses for everything to do "the right thing" even though it isn't right.

Collect the text messages for your lawyer, the authorities and the insurance companies. I can't believe the idiot is sending you text messages asking you to do something unethical and probably illegal. Why didn't he just type up a letter, get it notarized, and send it to you, the authorities and the insurance companies by registered post? All those messages are sitting on a server somewhere. Unless he has some unknown power over you this does not seem like the time to "turn the other cheek".
What is the penalty in your area for defrauding an insurance company?

Good luck.

 

[DRB]

Good to hear your OK Bob,let the insurance deal with the other driver and keep those txt messages ,just in case .

:agree2:

Hope you got witnesses of the accident to.

BobL I hope your luck turns around soon. At least you get a new van.

 

[Hillbilly3995]

Bob, I'm kind of guessing theres a police report with a date on it, reckon he's gonna convince the constable to alter the date?

Tell the jerk you have a family too and before he got in his car too sleepy to drive, maybe he should have considered someone besides his own sorry self.
Taking care of ones family also means making prudent decisions.

Sounds like hes from the states with so many here believing that they are the center of the universe and that someone owes them something.

Ask him would he be texting your widow had he killed you?

I can hear it now, "it wasn't MY fault, it was the sandmans fault"

Life is full of expensive lessons for the negligent, welcome him to "Responsibility 101"

- Hillbilly

 

[TraditionalTool]

That's what I have too - but the driver of teh other vehicle still doesn't want me to report him.

Well, he should have thought about that before he was driving around without insurance. I'd let you insurance company fix it and let them handle the guy without insurance.

Here in the U.S. we are required to file within a given amount of time from the accident, make sure you file within the allowable time for your insurance company.

 

[gemniii]

Bob -
Are you sure he was "asleep at the wheel" and not TEXTING?

He could have been texting, which in some of the areas here is illegal and affects outcomes and judgements in accidents.

I've only had cell phones since they came out, but in all that time I've only sent about 10 text messages on my personal cell phone. Some people send more a minute.

Any ways, good luck and get something like a 7.3 Ford diesel dually, that way the next time someone hits you with a car like that honda you'll have to get out and look hard for the damage.

I had a '76 Olds station wagon that got rear ended by a Honda civic size car. Crumpled in about a foot of their front end. The police couldn't find the damage on my bumper, they thought I was lying.

obligatory picture, my son with his first board, to have some milling in the thread:

 

[BobL]

Bob -
Are you sure he was "asleep at the wheel" and not TEXTING?

He could have been texting, which in some of the areas here is illegal and affects outcomes and judgements in accidents.

You have me wondering now - he looked like he was slumped over the wheel and when I sounded the horn he had that startled look of alarm from waking up, but that would have happened even if he was texting. We have laws against using a cell phone in a vehicle (must be hands free) so now you mention it perhaps he was texting and thought saying he was asleep would be a way to get away with it but we also have laws about "driving while fatigued"

Bob - What is the penalty in your area for defrauding an insurance company?

Oh it's probably just a slap on the wrist with a wet towel!

I also found out the other driver doesn't have an Aussie drivers license, he says he has a Malaysian license. It depends how long he's been driving in Oz using it - if it's more than 12 months he'll go for that as well. That's even if he has a licence, I can't believe the number of foreigners that are driving here without licenses.

Anyway all accident and insurance reports are in and today I start looking for another vehicle. I want to get another van so I can lock up my milling gear where ever I am. SWMBO has given me the go ahead to top up the insurance payout (market value - whatever that is?) so I can get a half reasonable vehicle. Something else that's ironic is I just had the wheel alignment and a major service done last week!

 

[Daninvan]

Green light on a new van - good news!

I have a van, but I don't like to leave my saws in it overnight since it has windows that people car peer into, even though they are tinted. I'd recommend no windows if you plan to leave your gear in it overnight, etc.

Dan

 

[BobL]

Green light on a new van - good news!

I have a van, but I don't like to leave my saws in it overnight since it has windows that people car peer into, even though they are tinted. I'd recommend no windows if you plan to leave your gear in it overnight, etc.

I agree about the windows but I don't usually leave chainsaws in the van overnight. Although I had 2 rear vision camera on my old toyota van I would still prefer to have a rear window and I had one side window which also helped as far as improving side vision.

I leave my CS PPE, and some tools in plastic stow boxes plus a mobile ally bench, rope, wire and an axe in the back of the van. A van comes into it's own when pulling into a gas station, hardware store or picking up food. My old toyota van aso had >200 cuft of cargo space so it swallowed the BIL mill (84" long with the saw attached) and it would still have been able to take the B4M (BigBobsBackBreakerM). I'd get a long wheelbase version if I could but I don't have the space in my driveway.

 

[imagineero]

from the look of the pics probably was a police report involved, so no room for changing facts on any side. Some people do change dates (very risky) or for minor accidents say that it happened in a carpark somewhere and that it was like that when you got back.

For your case, sounds like no option but to go through insurance. It's true the cost to the other party will be much higher than simply paying the cost of the payout on your van, so if he has the money and can pay up front then this is probably a fair result for you both. He's probably looking at least an extra couple thousand on top of whatever your insurance company gives you. If he doesnt have the cash (sounds like he doesnt) then going through your insurance is the only way to go. He can always pay it off at $1 a week for the rest of his life. Hard luck, but you've got to take responsibility for your own driving.

I don't understand why more people in australia don't take out at least third party property insurance. That's generally what I take because the value of my vehicle usually isnt high enough to justify fully comprehensive, but third party property only costs me about $130 a year, with a $400 deductible if I happen to write off a Ferarri F50 in an accident.

Shaun

 

[BobL]

from the look of the pics probably was a police report involved, so no room for changing facts on any side. Some people do change dates (very risky) or for minor accidents say that it happened in a carpark somewhere and that it was like that when you got back.

My police and insurance report went in within 12 hours of the accident - no dates changed - all correct.

For your case, sounds like no option but to go through insurance. It's true the cost to the other party will be much higher than simply paying the cost of the payout on your van, so if he has the money and can pay up front then this is probably a fair result for you both. He's probably looking at least an extra couple thousand on top of whatever your insurance company gives you. If he doesnt have the cash (sounds like he doesnt) then going through your insurance is the only way to go. He can always pay it off at $1 a week for the rest of his life. Hard luck, but you've got to take responsibility for your own driving.

Now that I have calmed down a bit I do feel sorry for the guy especially as he is now probably going to be done for fraud and will have a hefty fine to pay on top of his insurance debts. I suspect he will probably flee the country.

I don't understand why more people in australia don't take out at least third party property insurance.

Most Aussies do take out at least 3rd party property insurance. The folk that don't have insurance are usually the down and outs, and foreigners. Our motor vehicle accident medical is compulsory and part of the car registration. I pay $450 a year to register my van and a large slice of that is the medical insurance. What sometimes confuses foreigners is they think the insurance built into the car registration covers property.

I've been thinking more and more about the fact that he might have been texting - funny how he got out of the car holding his cell phone. That also might explain why he didn't swerve all that much when he did. Ever tried turning a steering wheel while holding a cell phone?

 

[treemandan]

Dam, dude, dam! How do you fall asleep on a road like that?

 

[mtngun]

BobL, why are your roads orange colored, instead of black asphalt like roads in the U.S. ?

 

[cowboyvet]

I've seen redish colored roads here in the US. It all depends what they mix in the concrete. Some areas mix coral in the crete because it helps with traction when the roads are wet. If oil prices keep going up, we'll see more concrete roads again.

 

[mtngun]

I haven't seen a concrete road for eons, other than a few stretches of interstate. All the paved state and local roads here are asphalt.

 

[BobL]

Most of our roads are black asphalt roads - we have very few concrete roads especially here in the west.

Anyway, It's not concrete, it's what they call pea gravel and it is laid over asphalt. It's often used for drive ways and private roads because it makes for a gentler looking landscape than hard black tarmac. We have lots of pea gravel here so depending on quarry location you can see miles and miles of it even on public roads.

Although this road is inside the property of my workplace it's a public gazetted road (ie standard road rules apply).