Civic Vs. Jetta Battle!

[coolieman1220]

So this might sound like a comparo thread but alas it's not.

Originally started writing it but then finals came along and stuff but here goes now!

This past Monday (April 27th 2009), while driving home from the post office trying to get home in time to catch the bus for my class, I was in no way rushing because well at 1:30PM on Staten Island you just have to go with the flow and take your time. So I was driving up a slight hill following a woman in a minivan, not tailgating. I know this road can be busy so I saw the woman slowing down thinking oh there's traffic. Instead she stops short to make a left turn without indicating. So I bring my vehicle (2007 Honda Civic Coupe LX) to a complete stop behind her. Didn't slam on my brakes late or anything, simple stop. A second or two later, BANG! i'm thrown forward, my hat fly's off my head, everything's a wreck. I knew i was pushed into the woman turning in the minivan. I shut my engine off (Thats how I knew i confirmed i was stopped because i was in neutral, not in gear. otherwise i would have stalled) Get out and start cursing out the guy behind me who hit me and he's just like I'm sorry I'm sorry. His car is messed up. Bumper and hood, no airbags though. So I look at my car and i'm like oh ok, not too bad maybe just a new bumper. Then i open the trunk and i see my spare tire cover not resting flat. i open that and see the spare is not resting flat so i'm like oh crap no. i take a closer look and the rod that holds the spare tire is bent and pushed in. i look underneath and my tow hook is missing. its pushed up and in 6 inches from where it should be! now i'm really pissed. he hit me so hard that as his car dove down it went under mine and pushed my trunk pan in. luckily the trunk wasn't bent, taillights weren't cracked and the quarter panels had no dents. Doors opened and closed fine. His car however had some serious damage done. (pic taken on crappy cell phone camera) His radiator didn't burst but it did bend and his passenger door wouldn't open, his fender pushed back. so i was really pissed with insurance and the hassle of it all. According to New York State, there is a no fault law so no one is at fault. the person i was pushed into drove off but only my license plate bent. His insurance company took all the blame for it and paid in full. 4 thousand dollars in damage to replace and fix everything. they gave us a Hyundai Sonata rental car. Not bad but handled like crap! it rode well, pulled well and was quiet but could not handle. turns were enemies of it. so here are some pics of the accident.

the car is fixed. looks good as new but its sold now =( i miss it. i miss the clutch pedal! oh well.

[clutch-monkey]

what is a no fault law? how is it not his fault?

[cargirl1990]

geez man, thats sucks! its the guy behind you whose at fault as well as the women in a minivan. isn't it by law that you are supposed to put your signal on? yes. aren't you supposed to follow cars infront of you at a 2 sec. distance. yes. some people really shouldn't be on the road.

[coolieman1220]

Originally Posted by cargirl1990

geez man, thats sucks! its the guy behind you whose at fault as well as the women in a minivan. isn't it by law that you are supposed to put your signal on? yes. aren't you supposed to follow cars infront of you at a 2 sec. distance. yes. some people really shouldn't be on the road.

the cops said its better that the minivan left because even though there was no damage technically i hit her even though i was pushed into her. the laws here are so whack. i was fine with that because no damage was done to my front even though i bounced her. i was upset that she hit and run but everything worked out ok. she would have had to wait 3 hours for the cops. yes 3 hours.

Originally Posted by clutch-monkey

what is a no fault law? how is it not his fault?

according to New York State law, no driver is at fault for anything. there is no fault determined by the accident report by the cop. they fill it out with what happened and let the insurance company battle it out for fault. kinda dumb. the guy who hit me did assume all responsibility and didn't deny anything but the cops just wrote that i was rear ended. its pretty dumb. i was pissed when i first heard it. but then when i talked to the insurance they said they determine fault. oh well, hope i never get hit again!

[clutch-monkey]

goddamn, that sucks. i suppose NY gets a heap of accidents though so the cops just shove it on to the insurance companies?
iirc here if you rear end someone you're automatically at fault unless you can prove otherwise (i.e. guy had those 'smoked' tail lights..)

[Equinox]

At least your fine... No whiplash or anything.

It's the same where I live as Clutch. The driver who hits someone from the rear is automatically at fault, unless it can be proven that the car in front did something to provoke it, or his brake lights didn't work etc. But if you hit someone in front of you, your at fault automatically.

[johnnynumfiv]

It's amazing how much bumpers can hide. I had a car that came in for a headlight and bumper. Turns out it was covering up thousands of dollars in damage to the frame rails, condenser/radiator, radiator support, etc etc.

[CHEESE-TACULAR]

That really sucks, i notice more and more that drivers on staten island dont know what indicators are for or where theyre found on the car

[Kitdy]

Welcome back CHEESE!

[Niko_Fx]

Did you try and use a third party to recover money considering that the Civic lost some value? I'm just wondering cause you recently sold the Civic and it obviously depreciated because of the accident.... and it wasn't your fault.

[cargirl1990]

Originally Posted by coolieman1220

the cops said its better that the minivan left because even though there was no damage technically i hit her even though i was pushed into her. the laws here are so whack. i was fine with that because no damage was done to my front even though i bounced her. i was upset that she hit and run but everything worked out ok. she would have had to wait 3 hours for the cops. yes 3 hours.



according to New York State law, no driver is at fault for anything. there is no fault determined by the accident report by the cop. they fill it out with what happened and let the insurance company battle it out for fault. kinda dumb. the guy who hit me did assume all responsibility and didn't deny anything but the cops just wrote that i was rear ended. its pretty dumb. i was pissed when i first heard it. but then when i talked to the insurance they said they determine fault. oh well, hope i never get hit again!

its totally different here in Canada. if two people are at fault in hittng you, they take the blame.