Holy cow....... Got into a car accident, whose fault? [MS paint]

[Sinsear]

As someone who responds to and prepares accident reports at least 100 times a year i can say with 100% certainty I would put you at fault.

"Inching out" etc means nothing. The taxi had the right of way.

 

[olds]

If the cop didn't cite you at all then you have nothing to worry about from a legal/ticket perspective...

Not true in California (Don't know about NJ). You could get a ticket in the mail.

 

[PliotronX]

Unfortunately it is on your shoulders because it is up to you to make sure it's safe to join the stream of traffic. 9 times out of 10 the other driver would have seen you and corrected their path by only as much as is required but you drew the short straw this time.

 

[Soundmanred]

1. My plan will cover his damages up to $1000 for free without my points or rates going up- even when I'm at fault. Seeing as only his bumper and headlight went out and it's an older beat-up taxi, I may be lucky on this.

2. My car is old too. The door will have to be replaced obviously out of my own pocket. Ebay shows the my car"s door costing about $200-300. So with labor I hope it's under $500-800.

So all in all, I'll just be paying that $500-800.

That's $500-800 I didn't need to spend, but I'll consider myself lucky nothing tragic happened.

You've never had a car repaired have you?
It's going to cost more than that, guaranteed.

 

[gorcorps]

I've been on the phone with Geico and got the following estabalished:

1. My plan will cover his damages up to $1000 for free without my points or rates going up- even when I'm at fault. Seeing as only his bumper and headlight went out and it's an older beat-up taxi, I may be lucky on this.

2. My car is old too. The door will have to be replaced obviously out of my own pocket. Ebay shows the my car"s door costing about $200-300. So with labor I hope it's under $500-800.

So all in all, I'll just be paying that $500-800.

That's $500-800 I didn't need to spend, but I'll consider myself lucky nothing tragic happened.

1.) It'll be more. I had an old 1990 Accord that had similar damage (front passenger headlight broken and bumper/fender damage. They decided it was over 900 in damage.

 

[halik]

If you were inching out like you said I wouldn't think that it would be your fault. There must be a provision for that.

Also, I hate taxi drivers. They are statistically amazingly bad drivers, so I automatically say it's not your fault.

He got hit at the door, so he wasn't "inching out", he must've been 3 ft into the street.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

You pulled into traffic and stopped, it's your fault. Traffic on the street have right of way and the person attempting to merge in has the responsibility to do it safely.

 

[Krazy4Real]

I'm surprised everyone is saying that it isn't your fault. Sorry to break the news, but it's your fault.

Looks like about $2k worth of damages.

 

[Red Storm]

He got hit at the door, so he wasn't "inching out", he must've been 3 ft into the street.

This, taxi should have easily seen him if hit his door. Plus in general taxi drivers are among the worst drivers on the road...

 

[Jeraden]

I've been on the phone with Geico and got the following estabalished:

1. My plan will cover his damages up to $1000 for free without my points or rates going up- even when I'm at fault. Seeing as only his bumper and headlight went out and it's an older beat-up taxi, I may be lucky on this.

2. My car is old too. The door will have to be replaced obviously out of my own pocket. Ebay shows the my car"s door costing about $200-300. So with labor I hope it's under $500-800.

So all in all, I'll just be paying that $500-800.

That's $500-800 I didn't need to spend, but I'll consider myself lucky nothing tragic happened.

I got in an accident several years ago, and had much less damage than you have. I figured it would be a cheap fix - like I just needed a new rear door panel I thought. Total bill from repair shop = $3500!! The next panel needed to be replaced too. In your picture, looks like there is some damage to the front panel also. The bulk of the repair cost was in labor in painting it - the actual parts cost was fairly low. The insurance was paying for it - so it wasn't a case of them giving me an estimate - it was basically "take car to this place and they'll fix it".

 

[gorcorps]

If you were inching out like you said I wouldn't think that it would be your fault. There must be a provision for that.

Also, I hate taxi drivers. They are statistically amazingly bad drivers, so I automatically say it's not your fault.

What statistic is that? Given that they spend their entire day on the road and there's a fuckload of them in large cities, of course there will be more total accidents involving taxis. But what happens when you average for total time on the road? "Statistically" Zeze is the worse driver because he spent far less time in the car before getting into an accident. His damage/mile rate is huge in comparison.

My point is if you're going to toss a word around like "statistically" then you should actually tell us what the fuck you're talking about, and where you found it.

 

[5150Joker]

Taxi drivers are all douchebags in my experience so I say its his fault.

 

[luv2liv]

not sure if anyone mentioned this, but you shoulda installed a dashcam. they are under $100 now and theres no reason not to have 1! even if it was your fault, the other driver coulda lie and make a little situation into a huge situation.... a dash cam can save a lot of headache of arguing back and forth

 

[Red Storm]

not sure if anyone mentioned this, but you shoulda installed a dashcam. they are under $100 now and theres no reason not to have 1! even if it was your fault, the other driver coulda lie and make a little situation into a huge situation.... a dash cam can save a lot of headache of arguing back and forth

In OP's case he'd need a side cam.

 

[Squeetard]

Your fault.

 

[Zee]

You can't be serious...

It's not your fault in terms of insurance. in real life it is, but in property damage claim, His front hit your side instead of the other way around.

but you merged in.

their insurance will offer you 50%. Say he hit you. dont settle for less than 75%

im kidding about the percentage. Im serious about the claim adjustment process. The adjuster will see certain criterias in this accident (one being his side got hit) that will only not be relevant if he admitted fault to the police on the report. A claims adjustor on this forum can elaborate more on why this is.

on the flip side, If the OP's front hit the cabs side, he would have been out 90/95% of the coverage amount because insurance companies would state the 5% is due to unsafe speed. (no one is almost every completely at fault).

 

[chimaxi83]

Lol, $500-800. Yeah, maybe for a busted headlight. Dream on.

 

[torpid]

I've been on the phone with Geico and got the following estabalished:

1. My plan will cover his damages up to $1000 for free without my points or rates going up- even when I'm at fault. Seeing as only his bumper and headlight went out and it's an older beat-up taxi, I may be lucky on this.

2. My car is old too. The door will have to be replaced obviously out of my own pocket. Ebay shows the my car"s door costing about $200-300. So with labor I hope it's under $500-800.

So all in all, I'll just be paying that $500-800.

That's $500-800 I didn't need to spend, but I'll consider myself lucky nothing tragic happened.

Your numbers seem low. I doubt his damage is going to be less than $1000. Bumper repairs by reputable body shops (which your insurance will require) are usually more than that by themselves. Given the damage to your door, I am guessing it's not just a minor bumper dent and that there may be additional body work beneath the bumper and possibly on other areas of his car. I would expect at least $2000 if not more if the damage to your car is any indication of the damage to his.

Your quote for labor for the door is likely either too low or way too low. I would expect at least $500-800 just for the labor. Also, if there was damage to the areas where the door connects, it could be a lot more work and parts than just the door.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Legally your fault, no doubt about it.

Morally probably not your fault. Most likely the taxi driver saw you pulling out, has some old POS cab, and saw an opportunity to get a $3k check on a 300k mile car.

Often times you have no choice, but I try to avoid parking situations where I'm pulling into traffic for these very reasons. Someone can hit the gas and run into you, and legally there's nothing you can do about it.

 

[Zee]

what happens if the damage is more than the 1 grand you are covered? what's the property damage limit on your policy?

 

[mikeford]

Location of the impact on the door puts you into the lane, your fault even if it was parked that way for an hour and you were in a store shopping.

 

[Zeze]

what happens if the damage is more than the 1 grand you are covered? what's the property damage limit on your policy?

100k. Then I pay deductible and my rates go up.

I wonder if I can work with the guy to charge my insurance $1000 then I pay the difference out of my pocket.

 

[Nintendesert]

HAHAHAHA man, this thread is full of so much OP fail that's so completely full of win for the rest of us. Post on brother Zeze, I'm enjoying the laughs!

 

[Zeze]

HAHAHAHA man, this thread is full of so much OP fail that's so completely full of win for the rest of us. Post on brother Zeze, I'm enjoying the laughs!

It's been due. Enjoy.

Typical internet hivemind- ask about something on ATOT and get crucified.

I can take it. Bring it.

 

[brianmanahan]

It's been due. Enjoy.

Typical internet hivemind- ask about something on ATOT and get crucified.

I can take it. Bring it.