Got in an accident today

[North of 49°]

This almost makes me want to cry. Fortunately no one was hurt and all the vehicles were driveable afterwards. I was on my way home from work. Waited for the train like everyone else, crossed the tracks and stopped for the light on the other side. The guy behind me didn't. As he was coming over the slight hill of the tracks, he didn't notice that everyone else was stopped and plowed into me at full speed, probably 30 mph or so. I didn't hear the squeal of tires. He hit me so hard he pushed me into the car in front of me, so I was the middle car of a three car pile-up, and have damage to both ends of my truck.

The good thing, beyond the fact that everyone exchanged particulars and no one was hurt, was that the guy who hit me admitted he was at fault and apologized to me and the other driver, who was an elderly woman who didn't know what to do because she had never been in an accident before. No body damage to my truck, but both bumpers will have to be replaced.

And possibly the new hitch I installed on it a few weeks ago, in anticipation of picking up our new trailer, which we haven't taken delivery of yet. There's probably a few thousand dollars damage to the truck which means it will be in the shop for quite a while, and we still have to get our old trailer out of storage, tow it to the dealer (3.5 hour trip each way), and tow the new trailer back.

You can't see too much on these photos:





Here's the real owie:



I took a look under the rear where the trailer hitch is and I don't see any noticeable damage, but I'll leave that up to the experts. I'm calling the insurance company first thing in the morning to make an appointment.

But what really bothers us is that this may take the truck off the road right when we're going to need it the most. I'm not worried about transportation because I have loss-of-use coverage on my policy, but it's for basic transportation only. I don't think they would appreciate me towing heavy trailers around with the Honda Civic or whatever they decide to give me for a loaner. I'll have to see if I can somehow wrangle something more suitable.

Any other time of the year this would be aggrevating, but right now, it's a major pain the behind!!!

[dennis b]

Sorry to hear. From the pics I doubt you were hit at 30mph though! Even at 20 you'd have body damage. I know from experience! Glad everyone was OK!

[North of 49°]

Originally Posted by dennis b

Sorry to hear. From the pics I doubt you were hit at 30mph though! Even at 20 you'd have body damage. I know from experience! Glad everyone was OK!

To be honest, I don't know how fast he was going. The speed limit along that stretch is 50 kph, which is close enough to 30 mph. There was a lot of body damage to the vehicle in front of me, but probably only because my front bumper was higher than that vehicle's rear bumper. Either way, that's for the insurance company investigators to figure out. I was a dead stop, though.

[djtho1]

Once the insurance comes through it really shouldn't take them more than a week or so to fix that, unless there is unseen damage. If the truck is driveable, have the shop look at the hitch if need be and pull your camper where you need to and then get the truck done. How did it drive on the way home? Anything weird? Those hitches are pretty tough. After all, if you tow a trailer with no brakes, that is several thousand pounds hitting it every time you stop (though admittedly not quite the thump it just took). Good luck!

[John K.]

Glad to hear no one was hurt but sorry your truck will be out of commission for so long. Good luck...

[bucko]

If it can be said that there is good news with your accident, its that first, no one was hurt, and that you have a person admitting fault, and that insurance is going to cover your damages. Glad this was the case for you.

My son, 26 years old, was involved in his first accident a few weeks ago. He too was stationary at a light, and got hit in the back by a young driver. His car has about $1800.00 in damages, and the young driver that hit him was driving on a suspended license for not carrying automotive insurance. The driver at the time of the accident still did not have insurance; my sons insurance deductable is $1000.00, so that will have to come out of his pocket. No one was hurt, except for my son's wallet.

[gvn71]

Originally Posted by bucko

If it can be said that there is good news with your accident, its that first, no one was hurt, and that you have a person admitting fault, and that insurance is going to cover your damages. Glad this was the case for you.

My son, 26 years old, was involved in his first accident a few weeks ago. He too was stationary at a light, and got hit in the back by a young driver. His car has about $1800.00 in damages, and the young driver that hit him was driving on a suspended license for not carrying automotive insurance. The driver at the time of the accident still did not have insurance; my sons insurance deductable is $1000.00, so that will have to come out of his pocket. No one was hurt, except for my son's wallet.

Don't know who his insurance co is, but my insurance only makes me pay the deductible on a collision claim where I am at fault. Even though the other driver is uninsured, your insurance should pay your claim (in full) and then go after the other driver.

[David472]

Sorry to hear this news. Something you might look into. Four years ago, we hit a deer while towing (another story) but during the repair period, the rental company chosen by insurance, provided me with a rental pickup truck. It was an F-150 (I had a half ton at the time) Maybe something like this would solve your dilemma?

[Seann45]

Goeff I will bet he was texting when he hit you... glad your OK... tin can always be fixed..

[North of 49°]

No witnesses to the accident, even though it was on a major thoroughfare at 6:30 in the evening. Some people did stop to see if everyone was okay. Around here we have public insurance, so everyone has the same insurance provider. I called them this morning to start the claims process and I have an appointment on Thursday morning to take the vehicle in for them to look at. I did ask them about my loss-of-use coverage and it's something like $39 per day, and explained the problem. I could potentially rent a suitable tow vehicle for when I need it and get reimbursed the $39. Since there's more than two vehicles involved, they require a written statement.

The truck was running just fine on the way home, no leaking fluids or anything. No air bag deployment, either. I didn't see any obvious damage to the hitch, but until I get it checked out by someone who knows a lot more than I do, the idea of towing with it gives me the willies.

FWIW, my deductible is $200, and that will be covered by the other drivers' insurance. I was involved in a similar accident a few years ago, someone just bumped into me at a red light. It came to $1100 damage, so I know this one will be significant. I just hope they don't write it off, but I think my truck is in amazing shape for being 11 years old.

[North of 49°]

A very small update. I have an appointment with the insurance provider on Thursday morning and they'll look it over and give me an estimate. I'll also have to give a written statement because there were more than two vehicles involved.

I also called my autobody shop of choice and they said because it's an insurance claim, once I get the paperwork I can go there at any time without an appointment. Once the parts are ordered and arrive, then they'll start the work. Last time it took two weeks to get the parts in and two days for the work; they weren't happy with some of the parts so they had to reorder them.

Understandably, we're anxious to get this done quickly so it doesn't interfere with any of our camping plans.

[Seann45]

Geoff I have found that most rental companies will not let you tow with their vehicles anyway... even if they have a hitch..

[Bobx2]

Well, that's a bummer. I don't think you have any worries about your truck being a write off. From your photos, you don't even need the front bumper replaced. Just the plastic air dam and tow hook. I'm guessing a new rear bumper, and you are set to go. A day in the shop and it is done.

[David472]

This rental place just might let you tow......
Calgary Car rental Canada Vancouver car rental Toronto cheap
although it seems they don't have a location in Manitoba....hmmmm
My point is, don't give up hope just yet, either way.

[North of 49°]

We'll find out tomorrow, when I take it in for the insurance adjustor to inspect. Then on Friday, assuming they don't write it off, I'll take it to the bodyshop. Even though it's 11 years old, there's very little rust on it, and you even have to look for that. The inside shows normal wear, a few dings and scrapes on the outside. New tires, brakes and shocks in 2014. Tonneau cover and spray-in bed liner. 167,000 km (about 104,000 miles). The usual 5.3 litre V8 and 4 speed transmission, manual transfer case. I'm not the first owner, but I have owned it for almost half its life. So I think it's in pretty good shape for its age. If they do decide to write it off I'll beg them not to. A used pickup around here about 5 years old with comparable features goes for $20,000+, and that's something we can't do right now, especially since we haven't even signed on the dotted line for our new trailer.

And that's something else that adds insult to injury. I heard from the dealership today and it's in! It's in their shop right now going through the PDI and all that stuff, and they wanted to make an appointment to do the walkthrough and sign the papers. I told them about the accident but assured them we'll be there to pick it up, once I finish dealing with all the other stuff.

[David472]

Another rental option -- U-Haul.
Last year, our daughter rented a U-Haul cube van to move some stuff. I could not help but notice a 2 inch hitch receiver, clearly marked as 10,000 lb capable. In recent years, I remember seeing one going down the highway with a travel trailer in tow. How about that eh? Too radical?

Sometimes insurance companies are too quick to write off vehicles. Our other daughter had an 9 year old Honda Civic. A collision that was not her fault resulted in the passenger door skin needed to be replaced. Just the skin! The insurance insisted on scrapping the vehicle, because the repair cost was about 80% of the book value of the vehicle. That Honda was removed far too early.
Hopefully, they spare your truck.
I should add, the insurance company cut a check for the book value of the Honda, but that did go far to replacing the vehicle.

[Seann45]

They shouldn't be writing it off BUT if they do buy it back and then fix it yourself.. the damage does not appear to be that bad..

[xtruckerbob]

You know if your insurance totals your truck you can buy it back from your insurance company for pennies on the dollar.

[North of 49°]

I just finished with the insurance. $3,000 damage, including labor. They didn't write it off, and it was actually less than what I thought. I'll be talking to the body shop tomorrow. Hopefully they can get it into work on soon. I'll still have to pay my deductible while they do their accident investigation, but I'll get it back when they finish.

I pointed out the hitch to the estimator and he said that it looked okay, just the frame was bent where it mounts. It does say subject to inspection on the paperwork, so the body shop has final say on that.

[David472]

Very good news. Even if there is a little bend in the frame-hitch, they can easily straighten that, no sweat.