Bump drafting

[WickerBill]

5:30am, Indianapolis: It's snowing, I'm driving in the left lane. I'm going about 60 but the dude behind me wants by in the worst way.

I tap brakes, signal, start to move over to middle lane. Area between lanes is snow-covered. As I have my right-side wheels on snow, dude bumps into me. Not sure if he slid or didn't see me slowing, but he bumped me. More than a tap -- but not much more.

Next three seconds go as follows: steer into skid. No grip, back end is coming around. I'm now crossing three lanes headed toward the right-side guardrail. As back end of car swaps, I steer in opposite direction hoping to get even a little grip and snap the back end around again, but still, absolutely no grip. This is one of those occasions where science tells you that you are, at best, maintaining velocity, but you *swear* you're picking up speed.

Finally a little grip, far too late, and car swings around almost 360 and makes sweet love to the guardrail with the left-front corner. Eyes closed, hands off wheel, I bounce once, now back end slams off guardrail and I come to a stop perpendicular to road, blocking slow lane.

Of course, "Dale" didn't stop, so as far as the police and insurance are concerned, I was in a one-car wreck... it's my word against... nobody. I'm bruised up but not bad at all considering I pulled two guardrail supports out of the ground when I hit. My vehicle is a mess, and it makes me sick to my stomach.

What should I expect from insurance? If it's totaled, will I find out quickly? If it isn't, how long will they take to fix it? I've never wrecked a car before -- at least not one I've owned. Heh.

[Don Quixote]

Bummer, but good that you weren't hurt. Your only hope, and it's slim, is that somebody saw it and calls the police. A few years ago a guy hit me a ran. He found Jesus a few days later and called the police himself. It made a big difference that his insurance paid rather than mine.

[Ankf00]

wow, glad you're ok. hope someone saw that.

[Andrew Longman]

Sorry to hear it WB. Be grateful you didn't catch a Tbone from the on coming traffic.

From people I know, your agent will send an adjuster out to photograph and create an estimate to repair. They work off the same database of replacement parts and standard labor costs the body shops use so it usually goes pretty quick, sometimes they'll leave you with the adjustment and a list of body shops you can take it too. If they total it they'll do it right there.

Occasionally the body shop will find something that wasn't seen at first, but a good insurance company will not quibble about anything reasonable.

Depending on the damage it could be a few weeks. 20 years ago I put a Bronco II on its side and it took three weeks start to finish.

[Sean Malone]

I'm amazed the guy didn't stop! Hit and run is a serious offense. Sorry to hear about that WB.

[TKGAngel]

What should I expect from insurance? If it's totaled, will I find out quickly? If it isn't, how long will they take to fix it? I've never wrecked a car before -- at least not one I've owned. Heh.

Glad to hear you're okay, WB.

Get a copy of the police report. You're insurance company will be getting one but you will probably need to request one. I'm not sure what Indiana's policy is, but in NY, there's a small fee to get one.

My accident happened on a Wednesday, but because of Thanksgiving, the adjuster didn't declare it totaled until the Monday after. I received the written damage report and salvage bid the Friday of that same week. They also included in there a report on some previous damage I had on my car (scratches on front bumper), and what that would have cost to fix. (I'm still waiting on the final settlement for the accident, but that's a long story.)

[ChampcarShark]

Glad you 're ok.

It actually depends on what insurance company you have.

I have been involved in 3 accidents, luckily not fault of my own (rear ended) the first two I dealt with Progressive insurance and it took about two to three days before the adjuster showed up. Got my check to pay for damages in 4 days. The last one took about 5 months, the insurance company was nationwide this time.

[JLMannin]

Hey, I'm glad you are OK. It sounds like you had some pretty hard contact with the gaurdrail. You are going to be really, really sore tomorrow. If you have not already done so, start taking Ibuprofin.

If "Dale" tagged you hard enough, there may be paint from his car there - at least you would have evidence that onother car was involved and hit you from behind.

In the morning, I stay off the freeways. Fortunately, I have a viable non-freeway route I can take to work.

In the afternoon, I take 465 - for some reason, is seems a lot less insane in the afternoon than it does in the morning. I guess everyone is crankier in the morning.

[High Sided]

you tap your brakes, you get tapped???

bet he was grinnin as you were spinnin:tony:

[FTG]

Avoiding over correcting in the snow is a bitch. If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure the other guy had a good reason for being in such a hurry. :rolleyes:

[Gnam]

I'm amazed the guy didn't stop! Hit and run is a serious offense. Sorry to hear about that WB.

"I recently saved a ton of money on my car insurance... by fleeing the scene of the accident."

-Dan Cummins

[Sean Malone]

It wasn't a yellow F-150 was it?:)

[RichK]

I'd highly recommend seeing a doctor, today. You may feel "fine" today, but if your back starts hurting in a few weeks, one of the first things your insurance company (or his, if he gets called in hopefully) looks at is the immediate doctor visit.

Glad you are mostly OK!

[Gnam]

Question: How do I obtain an accident report from the state?

Answer: You may obtain an accident report online at http://www.buycrash.com/Public/CommunitySearch.aspx.

You may contact Holt Sheets (Subcontractor) at 317-215-8300 or go in person to:
374 Meridian Park Lane
Greenwood, Indiana 46142

link (http://faqs.in.gov/cgi-bin/iot.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=370&p_created=1187722537&p_sid=Rzy63qWi&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9MzoyJ nBfcm93X2NudD01NTImcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZ wX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJ nBfcGFnZT0xMQ**&p_li=&p_topview=1)

I tried WickerBill, but you probably gave them a fake name. ;) Good thinking.

How soon after the troopers showed up did they give you the breathalyzer?

[dando]

WB:

Sorry I did that to ya. Hope yer feelin' OK.

-Tony Stewart.

;)

SRLSY, I hope everything works out for the best. 5:30am....you prolly couldn't ID the car/truck either. :(

-Kevin

[Spicoli]

It wasn't a yellow F-150 was it?:)

maybe it was, I turned it in after the lease was up in August. Have you not beeen keeping up with my blog? :importantchampcarfan:

WB - where the F were you? NB on 65? The Interstates are alike a magnet for morons during snow. I always avoid whenever possible in snow....hope you're feeling better.:(

[greenie]

What should I expect from insurance? If it's totaled, will I find out quickly? If it isn't, how long will they take to fix it? I've never wrecked a car before -- at least not one I've owned. Heh.

You should find out very quickly if the car is totaled. I had a similar crash on a freeway (but mine was a solo spin out in the rain). They told me the car was totaled within a couple days. They'll then offer you (and your lien holder, if any) a check based on a blue book type assessment. If you disagree with their valuation, they may have a procedure to arbitrate before you sue.

Under your circumstance, they may send you something in the mail to the effect that the accident was a one car collision or otherwise your fault. That happened to me. I sent them a certified letter back strongly disagreeing in order to keep my "good driver" status. That actually worked - they didn't raise my rates or charge me with an at fault accident.

Good luck, and glad you're OK.

[trish]

I'm glad you're ok. That sounds like a very scary accident. Someone hit me and run last year but it was on a local road so not as dramatic as your experience. I have Progressive insurance and they took care of everything, no problems.

My agent has been calling me to save $200 a year on a new policy with another company but I feel like I got great service from my current insurer and probably should stick with them.

The police officer should have given you a case number at the scene, you can give that information to your insurer and hopefully they will take care of the rest.

[Wheel-Nut]

Are you held responsible for the guardrail? Glad your o.k.

[WickerBill]

Thanks for the kind words. Insurance has me in a rental (2008 Impala... I'm a stud), car's getting taken to collision place in the morning.

No, definitely couldn't ID the vehicle behind me; all I am sure of is that it had two headlights.

Couldn't see if there was any paint on the bumper from Dale -- two reasons: it was dark, and the rear made significant contact with the guardrail on second impact and was torn to pieces.


I know the common scenario is to hope they total it, because a vehicle is never quite the same after an accident... but darn it, if they can even get it close, I'd drive it for a few more years. It is a 2005 with less than 34k miles on it, not a scratch. Well, it was that way at 5am today. :(

[Rob]

Man, that sucks. I was the victim of a hit and run on an icy street during my last year of college. Luckily, though, I was able to get the make, model, and color of car, as well as the license plate. That was mainly due to the fact that he had great difficulty getting traction on the ice.

Anyway, the police found out who he was, and his insurance company paid for it. Still, it was not much fun. Hopefully you won't have to go through too much crap.

[TKGAngel]

I know the common scenario is to hope they total it, because a vehicle is never quite the same after an accident... but darn it, if they can even get it close, I'd drive it for a few more years. It is a 2005 with less than 34k miles on it, not a scratch. Well, it was that way at 5am today. :(

Did your airbags go off at all? I was told by insurance and garage people (and I trust the garage people more than the insurance people), that the airbags going off can affect the decision on totaling the vehicle, due to the expense of re-loading and re-installing them.

[Elmo T]

I know the common scenario is to hope they total it, because a vehicle is never quite the same after an accident... but darn it, if they can even get it close, I'd drive it for a few more years. :(


Our 2003 Honda Odyssey took a $20,000 hit a couple years back. I thought for sure it was done. :eek: It took nearly 4 months, but we did get it back. We had some trouble with the repair folks - mostly delays. To see it now, you'd never know. Unless it is obliterated, they seem inclined to fix them.

[Gnam]

Are you held responsible for the guardrail?
Officer, it was like that when I got here, honest. :)

[nrc]

Stinks. Glad you're ok. I'm not sure, but I think it was Tony George. :irked:

[Indy]

Are drivers around here getting dumber or am I just getting older?

[Sean O'Gorman]

Typically, insurance will total a car if the cost to repair it exceeds 80% of the NADA (or whatever service they use) retail value. If its a newer car with a high salvage value, sometimes less than 80% will do it, as well as if it looks like it'll likely go over 80% once its torn down and the additional damage is found.

My guess is you'll find out pretty quickly if the car is totaled or not, because the sooner they can determine that, the less storage charges that they'll have to pay while your car sits at the towyard/dealership/wherever it is.

Don't bother ordering the police report, save yourself the money and let the insurance adjuster order it him/herself and fax it to you afterwards. Besides, Indiana takes forever with those.

For purposes of future rate considerations, they'll probably take your word for it that you were rear-ended, and consider it a non-chargeable accident, which has less of an effect on your rates. If there is a paint scrape on the back of the car, that'll likely be enough to be eligible to make an uninsured motorist bodily injury claim. The cost to repair the guardrail could go either way.

Glad to hear you are ok, PM me if you have any other questions.

[Spicoli]

Are drivers around here getting dumber or am I just getting older?


Yes.

[WickerBill]

So good question about the airbag. I'm assuming I scrubbed 15 mph or so, maybe 20, in my spin. (Sure didn't feel like it, but...) So that means I hit the guardrail, with my left-front corner, at 40-45mph.

No airbags deployed.

I don't get it. Now, after the accident, I guess I'm glad they didn't go off, as that reduces repair costs... but do I need to get hit head-on by a 737 to get the airbags to deploy?

[Cam]

So good question about the airbag. I'm assuming I scrubbed 15 mph or so, maybe 20, in my spin. (Sure didn't feel like it, but...) So that means I hit the guardrail, with my left-front corner, at 40-45mph.

No airbags deployed.

I don't get it. Now, after the accident, I guess I'm glad they didn't go off, as that reduces repair costs... but do I need to get hit head-on by a 737 to get the airbags to deploy?

Most violent impact was rear end right? Airbags I believe will not deploy in that situ.

However according to the rules of the attenuator you are very lucky to have avoided sever lower back injury.

[TravelGal]

TravelGuy, who is retired from a company which shall not be named, says that you need to be hit (or do the hitting) more straight on for the bags to deploy. That's why the newer cars have the side airbags.

Having said, I'm sure glad you're ok. I hope you followed the advice to get to a doctor whether you thought you needed it or not. I did not when I got rear ended a few years ago because I thought I was just feeling a little stiff and sore. Mistake.

[manic mechanic]

Yo Boss,

One place you may find evidence of contact is in the recorded data from the airbag module (it contains a single-axis accelerometer). If you can get at that data it will not only show your contact force from the guardrail, but there will also be a "positive" spike from when you got "sent".

If the insurance company has any dispute about your actions, have them retreive the data (they have better avenues to it than most others do).

Hope you aren't on too much Advil at this point. Glad to hear you walked away from what could have been much more severe given the conditions.

manic :thumbup:

[Sean O'Gorman]

If the insurance company has any dispute about your actions, have them retreive the data (they have better avenues to it than most others do).



You have it backwards. They aren't going to pay $$$ to extract data to see if your claim is true or not, you have to prove it to tehm.