What will happen to the guy who hit us?

[azasadny]

My wife and I were hit by a car this evening while we were driving home. Our Mazda CX-7 was hit by a Dodge Neon with two young men and a baby in a rear childseat. They had a space saver tire on the front of their car, no insurance, failed to yield the right-of-way on a flashing red light.

My wife was pretty shook-up and the front bumper on our brand-new CX-7 is trashed. Things could have been much worse as nobody was hurt. The cop told me the other driver would be getting several tickets (uninsured, faling to yield righ-of-way) and the cop was very polite and nice to us.

What (if anything) do you think will happen to the other driver? Bear in mind, this is Wayne County, MI... probably nothing. If I wouldn't have braked hard and turned the wheel, we would have been t-boned and I certainly wouldn't be posting this on the Internet, I'd be in the hospital...

[the]

Is your insurance covering your damage?

If so, they will pay you, you will subrogate your claim to them, and they will go after the other driver. At least they will make an initial effort to - the amount of damage and collectibility will determine how far they go.

[Danny_Ocean]

Do you have underinsured/uninsured coverage? If not, this is the exact scenario as to why these particular coverages are necessary.

What will happen to the losers who hit you? Suspended license, fine. They'll continue to drive unlicensed and a warrant will be issued for the unpaid fine. Then they'll squeeze out 3 more kids who will perpetuate their parents irresponsible habits.

[azasadny]

the,
Thanks for the info. We'll call our Allstate agent tomorrow and give her the Police Dept. complaint number. I'm guessing the damage is $2500 as it appears to be confined to the front bumper, but I could be wrong. The car isn't really driveable because the wheelwell and liner is pushing into the tire. It's scary to think that these uninsured idiots are driving around on spacesaver tires running red lights, someone could have been hurt or killed...

[azasadny]

Danny_Ocean,

Yep, we have uninsured motorist coverage and I believe you're exactly right about what will happen!!

[HardDrive]

Wayne county MI? Pieces of crap will probably sue YOU. And why not? The Wayne County court system is feed with jurors straight out of Detroit. There is a reason you cannot find a single OB-GYN in the city of Detroit. They have all been sued to death. My step brother is a OB in Royal Oak, and will not cross 8 mile under any circumstances.

Not racism, just reality.

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally posted by azasadny
It's scary to think that these uninsured idiots are driving around on spacesaver tires running red lights...

Standard, everyday practice here in Miami. They estimate 50 PERCENT of our drivers are uninsured and/or unlicensed! Unfortunately, you never find out for sure because most do not stop after an accident.

[azasadny]

Yep, it's getting pretty bad here with the gang bangers driving around in their portable boomboxes with wheels attached. No insurance and driving through red lights on spacesaver tires, but they have a kicking stereo! Yo, wassup??!! Oops, I used my inside voice again... sorry.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

You are in a no fault state. Go through your insurance. Do you have a friend who is an attorney who can advise you on insulating yourself from suit? Most likely, they will skip and you will never hear from them again.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Did they at least speak English as a first language?

[azasadny]

I don't have any lawyer "friends"... They spoke English but I could hardly hear them because they had their "kickin'" stereo blasting away.

[pwd72s]

Yet the lefties get mad at people who drive "gas hog" SUV's. Driving these days? Gimme a Vietnam era APC...better yet, a WWII Sherman tank! It's (driving) has become insane...

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I just carry a baseball bat and try to be ever-vigilant of my surroundings (probably comes from riding bikes/motorcycles so much in traffic). Someone hits me, they'll pay for it. One way or another. Oh yes, they'll pay for it.

I say take care of yourself. I refuse to pay a fat cat insurance company to do so. Why should I be penalized for a flaw in THEIR system which I'm obligated to pay out the nose to participate in to begin with? One of my life's dreams is to be able to actually post the $50k bond with the CA DMV and not have to carry insurance at all, but unfortunately that's currently only within the reach of lawyers, actors and large corporations.

Our system is broken and making the honest people pay more is hardly a suitable method of fixing it.

[Danny_Ocean]

I feel your frustration, but...A $50k bond isn't going to go far these days.

Settling "outside of insurance" isn't a good idea either...you have no recourse when the other driver says "I ain't paying".

Whacking them with a baseball bat? Here in FLA we're allowed to shoot if attacked thanks to the new "stand your ground law". No requirement to retreat. You would most likely be shot if you pulled a baseball bat on someone here, regardless of who started it.

Furthermore, if you pull a baseball bat in Calif. you will certainly be charged with assault with a deadly weapon and, if you hit the person, attempted murder. So...you've turned a simple traffic accident into a jail sentence.

My advice? Buy a good insurance policy and take some Paxil...

[azasadny]

It's just a car... what makes me mad is that someone could have been hurt or killed with these "MTV gangsta wannabes" cruising around in their Dodge Neon, no insurance, spacesaver tire but they have $ for a kickin' stereo!

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally posted by azasadny
... but they have $ for a kickin' stereo!

Yo, yo, yo homeboy. Yous aint the shiznit unless yous gotz the bumpin thump in the trunk and the Dubs that spinz!

Insurance? That for wusses...word?

[Noah930]

Originally posted by Danny_Ocean
What will happen to the losers who hit you? Suspended license, fine. They'll continue to drive unlicensed and a warrant will be issued for the unpaid fine. Then they'll squeeze out 3 more kids who will perpetuate their parents irresponsible habits.

Translation: "nothing will happen to him"
Been on the same end of the stick as you, Art. Had my insurance cover it (I don't think I had to pay the deductible, either, as I wasn't at fault), and never thought about it again.

Heh heh. I had forgotton about that last pic with those 3 bozos.

[azasadny]

Allstate talked to my wife yesterday and they're covering everything with no deductible. We have a Ford Taurus loaner until the Mazda CX-7 is back.

It's funny, as soon as I tell anyone what happened they want to know "who" hit us, meaning "were they black" and when I tell them it was a black kid who hit us, they shake their heads. It doesn't matter to me what skin color the driver has, it matters that they didn't have insurance or decent tires on their car and they run through red lights!

[Danny_Ocean]

Stupidity/Ignorance is multi-national, multi-cultural. I had two Cuban kids run a red light and pass between me and the car in front of me (I was the second car proceeding through the intersection). I leaned on my horn and they kept smiling and talking to themselves as if nothing happened. Didn't even blink. It was a game to them...fun even.

And I'm absolutely certain they were fully insured to the max. I'm guessing $100k/$300k...

[MRM]

He will pay a fine, lose his license (if he ever tries to get it he will have to sit out a suspension period after he qualifies for one), and he'll be ordered to pay restiution. He might have to pay restitution only for the amount not covered by insurance and he might not be required to pay restitution if he doesn't have money, but that's about it. At worst he could do maybe 10 days in jail on top of the fines, but that's only if he has a record.