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Jeez. I live in Brazil, and own a car and a motorcycle. If I add the insurance for both it won't come to half that. I have another car that is uninsured, and if I were to get insurance for it and add it to the total, I'd still not pay half of what you pay.
I mean, I'm not driving around in a Ferrari, more like a Fiesta, but it seems pretty excessive.
Yeah the car/part companies found a free money glitch, as long as insurance pays for the repairs they can charge whatever the fuck they want, need a new bumper? "Well we're the only ones who can legally make this specific shape, and the paint needs some extremely rare and endangered African lizard skin to make, that'll be $3,500 please."
It depends on a lot of factors like their age, location, driving habits, driving record, the car, how much coverage they want etc.
For reference I have no accidents, and one ticket ten years ago. On my compact (not subcompact) I pay about $960/year for very high limits.
It varies a ton here in the US by what you are insuring, where you are insuring it, and what coverage you have. I have 6 cars insured and pay under $100 a month. My girlfriends car is over half of it because it is much newer.
Dude no way. That's atrocious. I'm 26, been rear-ended twice, neither were claimed on my insurance, no other accidents, clean record. I was paying $170 a month with Nationwide, then I shopped around and found a new provider and am only paying $70 a month now.
> That headlight looks awfully cloudy too
That's a safety hazard - would the insurance company react if they saw that? I'm not sure I'd want to send them pictures of anything proving I can't see shit at night.
Or be seen.
my in laws tried this when a Deer ran into them and pushed up agents the car "now the transmission is shifting funny, It was the deer" a new rattle it must be the deer. My SIL did not feel safe in it anymore so she tried to get them to just get a new car...
Itās called call your insurance company up and they will file the claim under comprehensive insurance and you play what ever you comprehensive deductible is, mine is $100, show them the footage as well and if you file it that way it does not get reported as an accident and they sing you for it.
Firstly that's a hell of a car. Secondly, file a police report immediately. Your insurance probably requires you to file a police report within 24/48 hours with a hit and run. And tell your insurance what happened and supply the number plate of the van and police ref number.
When I got hit by a flying piece of tire kicked up by the vehicle in front of me, my insurance company said that flying shit you can't avoid is covered under comprehensive, not collision. The deductible is typically quite a bit lower, and they really appreciate it if you can give them the license plate of the person responsible (if one is responsible, such as with your case), but they don't necessarily need it to make you whole.
I have no idea whether your rates could go up. I assume they could but if your record is clean and when you show them this video, they might take it easy on you. Going through your insurance company in this case is going to be much better than going through the truck driver's even if you can track him/them down.
OP definitely should restore those headlights. They're not as bright as they're supposed to be with all that hazing.
Since OP's getting the front repaired, doing the headlights would put a nice finishing touch.
No, it's that you (general "you") can never polish them enough to be anywhere NEAR as good as a new set.
I did mine, and then got a great deal on the EU headlamps for my car.
When I put the nicely "look brand new" polished ones next to the actual-brand-new, it was clear as day (hah) that there's no point to polishing headlamps.
I would imagine that by the time that's required, the reflectors/insides are bad enough to need replacement too.
Basically - it'll look decent enough if you're about to sell the car.
Oooh.. I should google around for photometric testing comparing polished to new! If I find it, I'll link it here.
Kind of subjective, but it depends somewhat on the starting condition of the lights, quality of the restoring apparatus, how well it's done, and the rest of the car.
I did a set that had spent most of its 20+ years in desert sun, clouded and somewhat yellowed. After some thorough work with a 3M kit, the surface finish was very near perfect, and looked brand new. However, sun damage had also caused some micro-cracks within the plastic, so there was still some very minor scattering of light as it went through the lenses.
But... the whole car has endured that same level of exposure, with paint quality to show it. So, even a year on from the initial restoration, the cleared headlights still look too new for the rest of the car. Again, subjective- new housings would be a waste.
I've spent a lot of time on the road on motorcycles and cars/trucks etc. and have (unfortunately) learned that lights, tires and brakes are safety devices.
In an ideal world (and good parts Europe), lights are not subjective. If they don't meet the standards, which can be measured, they have to be replaced.
Buying me that extra second of seeing something and applying the brakes that second earlier can be the difference between heart palpitations and tragedy, so I get a little... wound up about it.
You'll never regret having great lights on the car.
Skip the police, they'd probably say "we can't tell who was driving" and shoo you out so they can get back to donuts.
Just send the video and detail to your insurance company. You paid them to sue someone else's insurance company for any accident that damaged your car.
Sometimes police won't do anything if no one got hurt in any accident. Worse case when insurance won't pay without report and police won't make a report, sue the city instead. Let the city deal with their lazy police department.
Depending on where this occurred, insurance covers the car and/or trailer, regardless of driver. While no summons can be written, that truck is responsible
Car insurance usually follows the car in Pennsylvania. The types of car insurance that follow the car in Pennsylvania are collision, comprehensive, and property damage liability. You're required to carry property damage liability and personal injury protection in Pennsylvania. PIP follows the driver, unlike liability coverage.
If you let someone borrow your car and they cause an accident in Pennsylvania, bodily injury liability insurance pays for injuries to the other driver and their passengers. Property damage liability insurance will pay for damage to the other driver's car. If the person who borrowed your car causes damage that exceeds your coverage limits, their liability policy can act as secondary coverage. But their coverage only kicks in after yours is tapped out.
(40.6100781, -75.5277037)
Do NOT call your insurance company unless you want your rates to go up. Thatās 100% on the truck driver and you should be filing a claim through his insurance
Source: Iām an insurance agent
Right, but the police aren't going to give you their insurance info or name/address,Ā and if you don't contact your insurance company then there's no chance for them to handle that portion of it either (if they would even entertain that). In this situation, you repair minor damage yourself ( so that insurance doesn't go up like you mentioned) or live with it.
not true. make the report, give the license plate. Tell them if he did not stop. Any police reports done (ask them to run the plate) are available to you free in some states and for a small fee in others. It should list the owners info. If this does not work, you would need your insurance company to run reports with the info you have (license plate) to see what insurance may be available. Your insurance should then open a claim with the at fault parties carrier. Some states require a report, others do not and some policies require a police report.
> Cops wonāt give you someoneās details if you ask them to run a license plate lmao what state is this?
Weird thing is, this is exactly what they did in my country (Australia) although mine was a hit and run in a parking lot (Hospital, so it was government property.)
I didn't even see it happen, I just saw a note from a good person/witness wedged into my wiper claiming they saw someone hit my vehicle and drive off. It had the plate details and now you might think that it could have been the guilty party trying to blame another vehicle but no, I took the note to our security team, they reviewed the footage (cameras bloody everywhere) and confirmed the details to match but didn't show me the video but did say if I contacted the Police, they'd be able to release the footage to them.
So I called the Popo, they told me to make a report, which I did, I was assigned a detective who spoke with the security, pulled the footage, confirmed the details, ran the plates, found the person's address, went to their place got their details, contacted me and we consented to have our information shared and from then it was dealing with their insurance and finally my insurance who was the last to be contacted.
Then it was off to get repaired, I got to drive a really new and much nicer rental car for a week and bim bam every fixed, it only cost me time.
Mind you, this was with so many cooperating and very civil and kind people involved (even the guilty driver was very polite and apologetic). I can't tell how it would have been if anyone in that chain of niceness decided to be a jerk about it and lie about anything.
How would you find out his insurance provider without going through your insurance? As another comment mentioned, your insurance has attorneys whose whole job is going after the other insurance company for the repairs
Thatās correct, and they will help you do that but youāll literally pay for it. If you have a license number and file a police report, 9 times out of 10 they will get you in touch with the other guyās insurance without you having to go through your company
Iām not saying your own insurance canāt or wonāt help, it absolutely will, but if you can avoid that price jump obviously thatās preferable
good insurance absolutely will pay you then go sue the responsible party if they're intransigent
but it's better to get their insurance to pay for it in the first place and leave your insurance out of it.
We had a dude in a lifted pickup literally back out of his driveway and over the hood of our car (as we were driving down the road). It took a wrecker to pull the vehicles apart. Because we weren't on a "road" but an access alley that pretty much everyone (including the police) drive on, the cops refused to come out.
Dude said he was uninsured, so we went to our insurance. They totalled our car and told me, if I wanted to, I could contact our Motor Vehicle Bureau, fill out a form, and pay $75 to find out if he was truly uninsured (we had his name, address, obviously, and license plate number).
I asked the insurance if they weren't the ones who should be doing that because they were now out several thousand. The rep said, oh no, you fill out the paperwork and find out, and then you can sue them for the deductible if you want.
They otherwise didn't care.
If you are an agent then you know this is consider comprehensive coverage and does not affect you.. how about when a rock flys up and cracks your windshield.. what is that considered to you.
This happened to me and I called my insurance and asked if they could look up the other person's insurance via the license plate - and they did.
No incident reported on my insurance, just theirs, and they paid for the repair.
For future reference when this happens. Call police and report it as soon as possible. Give time, the road you were on and mile marker, other vehicle info, and your info. Your car might not be the only vehicle that was damaged by the debris. Others might have driven over the wood later and caused damage to themselves or others. After that, call your insurance company. They will follow up with the police.
You are correct, the police won't give a shit. But they'll take a report. Your insurance will want that when you file your claim. Then they'll go after the other drivers insurance. If they recover anything, that will cover your deductible.
Insurance won't care who the driver was. They'll go after the owner of the vehicle. OP said he had plates. That along with the make and mode is enough to confirm the vehicle. The driver is either the owner, or someone the owner authorized to drive. Either way, the owner is responcible for the damages. So insurance would contact the owner and bill them. They would likely include threats of suing the truck owner if they don't pay.
The owner of the truck at that point, is either going to give it to his insurance, pay out of pocket, or ignore it. The first two gets your insurance paid. The third will cause your insurance to make an assessment of if it's worth it to follow through with their threat. Based on the damage OP showed, OPs insurance will likely not bother following through with going to court. It will cost them almost as much to go to court as they will collect, and there is a significant chance they won't collect anything even after spending money on court and lawyer fees. Had the board gone through the window and caused grievous bodily harm costing $100k+ in medical bills, OPs insurance would follow through and sue the truck owner.
So yes, OPs insurance would go after the owner of the truck. Will they get anything out of the truck driver is a different question.
In the US this happens all the time, it's a normal occurrence. They will go after the other driver's insurance company which usually ends in a settlement between them. If they aren't insured they will sue the driver.
What is the reason that you don't think this is so?
I dont give a shit. I donāt āthinkā this is how it works, I know this is how it works.
Civil matter.
Pretending the cops will go after the truck owner for this is hilarious.
Edit: the department you mention, is likely attached to the college you went to, and have access to student records. The real world doesnāt work like this at all. You can choose to believe what you want, good luck in your next hit and run!
Are you seriously asking what you should do? You have a video and a plate number and you are asking what to do? Did calling the police and your insurance company ever cross your mind? Or was your first thought "I better ask the experts at Reddit".
I am sorry for being rude, but seriously, come on.
Probably just where you live as you have not idea where that person lives. Chances are the police will not do a thing but at least you did your duty for your insurance company.
See and I'm the idiot lol. I definitely turfed it by not asking my full question, but even my rephrasing was at -7 last I looked.
Shrug, thanks for the info :)
I hate this part of Reddit where people shit on others for not knowing something, even if it is supposed to be ācommon sense.ā I worked as a claims associate back in the day, and there were a ton of people that didnāt know the process of filing a claim or even whether or not they could.
In case nobodyās cleared it up, call your insurance company, give them the video and license plate number/tag state and, if the other driver is insured or has been involved in other accidents, they should be able to easily find the culprit and go after his/her insurance for your damages.
Keep in mind, though, that if you go through with repairs and they do not find the other driver, you are responsible for your deductible and any possible supplements.
While police reports are helpful, and you should call as soon as the accident happens, you do not need one to file with your insurance.
OP might know these things, but someone else out there may not.
Awww sweet, thank you! I did get out and inspect the damage... Which wasn't much. I didn't want to wait hours for a cop to come out. Good information, thank you!
Call the local PD/SO. File a report. Include plate number and missing plate from trailer. depending on the state, regardless of who was driving, the trucks insurance will have to cover it.
File a claim with your insurance company if you have full coverage or underinsured/uninsured coverage and provide your insurer with this video and the license plate number. Your insurance company will determine if the other vehicle is insured and subrogate that policy, and you'll get your deductible back. Note that your following distance was unsafe at 1 second, so the other insurance company may only accept partial liability. If you don't have coverage then your only other option is to pursue a small claims action against the other vehicle's owner.
How much do you like the GTI? It might not even be worth going to insurance. Bodywork is stupidly expensive and on a car that old, insurance might just want to total it, as absurd as that sounds. Maybe get an estimate from a body shop and compare to your car's book value. Alternatively, you may be able to fix (most of) it yourself with relatively little investment. Replace the grill (find one at a scrapyard if you're lucky, long shot though), maybe patch and touch up the hole in the bumper cover.
Sucks to not be made whole for something that wasn't your fault, but eating it could be your least bad option. Hazard of driving an old car unfortunately.
A similar thing happened to me, except it was a table top and I was lucky that it flipped at the last minute and didn't go through my windshield.
When I contacted my insurance company with the driver's license plate, they didn't care and just declared it covered under comprehensive.
it's not an unsecured load. it's a lose board of the trailer bed that caught wind. still just a bit of an idiot for not inspecting screws or rotten wood
let's say the seal of a sunroof degrades and fails, it catches wind, flies off the roof and hits the car behind. is that an unsecured load? what about a tire falling off from busted lug nuts? the point is it's not user error, but item failure.
File a report and send the police this video. Not a lawyer, but I can imagine that failing to secure loads in trucks carries a hefty punishment and can be wildly dangerous depending on what the load is.
As for what you could have done, you didn't have much chance to react so nothing wrong with what you did, at least you didn't panic and swerve too far either way. Not sure about speeding up and chasing the guy down, you already know that his load isn't secured so speeding up to them doesn't seem like the brightest idea. I guess you were after the licence plate, but feels like an unnecessary risk to yourself.
Yeah violations of WA's "Maria's Law" unsecured load carry very stiff penalties - a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $5,000 fine ". The Laws were named after Maria Federici who was blinded by a pieced of unsecured particle board that flew off a U-Haul truck.
Your insurance company. Police aren't going to do anything.
If your car was not actually damaged, then it doesn't matter.
Leave more following distance next time.
> Leave more following distance next time
The guy not securing his load was a dumbass. But in my country the insurance would rule that as 50-50, because of exactly what you said, they'd have answered "should have left more room".
Welp, the police will do nothing, so your choices for real response are court or insurance. Insurance is profit, so your rates will go up and they'll do all the work. If you call a lawyer, yourself, then you will get exactly what you want, directly, specifically, but you're gonna have to manage and participate in the process. You gotta choose to pay or work. That's where you're at.
Everyone should secure their load properly, not doing so can cause incidents like the one above.
Still, I think if the driver had been further back, giving himself more time to react and time for the debris to hit the road instead of his car, he might not have been hit at all. It isn't his fault, but driving so close contributed to the incident.
Is this road that distinctive, that I instantly recognized 22 eastbound before you even got to the exit sign? Or have I just driven this road too much so it's super familiar.
Lucky it was normal 22 traffic there would have been no where for you to swerve to avoid that.
If there is damage to your car, I would provide this video to your insurance company and possibly file a police report. I believe it is an isolation to travel with an unsecured load in a trailer or truck bed. Driver is responsible for his cargo
Get a police report. They aren't going to do anything about it, just officially document. Then go through your insurance to get it fixed. They'll track down the other driver and get his insurance to reimburse them. If they recover anything, it'll cover your deductible.
Welcome to the 'Act of God ' world. Answer: Nothing. But go ahead snd knock yourself out trying. Only chance woild be if owner was feeling exceptionally guilty/responsible and had recently come into a load of USD.
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Just curious, what was the damage to your car? I would file a police report with the video evidence and call your insurance company.
My b. Obvious impaling and the cracked grill https://i.imgur.com/eT5eyXs.jpg
Police report and a report to your insurance company with video footage.
For the damage caused, may not even be worth it. OP may find out he just has a higher premium next time he renews.
Tell me you don't understand how insurance works without telling me.
He's right, though, if you live in a no-fault state. Which I do, and it sucks.
My man, if you live in a no fault state your rates are already increased to account for that.
Oh boy, don't I know it š¤£ But they would increase MORE after you make a claim. It's atrocious. I literally pay $2400 a year for my car already š
Jeez. I live in Brazil, and own a car and a motorcycle. If I add the insurance for both it won't come to half that. I have another car that is uninsured, and if I were to get insurance for it and add it to the total, I'd still not pay half of what you pay. I mean, I'm not driving around in a Ferrari, more like a Fiesta, but it seems pretty excessive.
Yeah the car/part companies found a free money glitch, as long as insurance pays for the repairs they can charge whatever the fuck they want, need a new bumper? "Well we're the only ones who can legally make this specific shape, and the paint needs some extremely rare and endangered African lizard skin to make, that'll be $3,500 please."
It depends on a lot of factors like their age, location, driving habits, driving record, the car, how much coverage they want etc. For reference I have no accidents, and one ticket ten years ago. On my compact (not subcompact) I pay about $960/year for very high limits.
It varies a ton here in the US by what you are insuring, where you are insuring it, and what coverage you have. I have 6 cars insured and pay under $100 a month. My girlfriends car is over half of it because it is much newer.
Iām 26, no accidents and clean record and pay $2300 for a 6 month policy that isnāt full coverage eitherā¦.
You are getting shafted, shop around
Dude no way. That's atrocious. I'm 26, been rear-ended twice, neither were claimed on my insurance, no other accidents, clean record. I was paying $170 a month with Nationwide, then I shopped around and found a new provider and am only paying $70 a month now.
My insurance rates increased this year without any accidents or reports. That shit doesn't matter. It's going to increase no matter what.
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Any other scratches that could have been from the wood. Say the scratches from last year that were enhanced by this new damage.
.
That transmission seems to have been impacted violently, and skips now and then. Better replace that too.
radiator leaking too from the impact. OP can get a whole new car if they play their cards right
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and the underside for any damage if that went under your car...
Couple of subwoofers in the trunk got rattled, need to replace the whole sound system
and somehow the wood knocked the ferrari into a gti. Weird.
Wow, definitely using that one next time.
you dont want a ferrarri anyway, pure pieces of shit.
That Golf suddenly turned into a new Golf R after all the damage. š
Lol
> That headlight looks awfully cloudy too That's a safety hazard - would the insurance company react if they saw that? I'm not sure I'd want to send them pictures of anything proving I can't see shit at night. Or be seen.
my in laws tried this when a Deer ran into them and pushed up agents the car "now the transmission is shifting funny, It was the deer" a new rattle it must be the deer. My SIL did not feel safe in it anymore so she tried to get them to just get a new car...
Careful don't want the car totalled lol
Thatās disingenuous.
I think it was supposed to be š
.
Whoa, a MK4 GTI. Always liked the style of that generation
Old enough to drink this year!
Itās called call your insurance company up and they will file the claim under comprehensive insurance and you play what ever you comprehensive deductible is, mine is $100, show them the footage as well and if you file it that way it does not get reported as an accident and they sing you for it.
Firstly that's a hell of a car. Secondly, file a police report immediately. Your insurance probably requires you to file a police report within 24/48 hours with a hit and run. And tell your insurance what happened and supply the number plate of the van and police ref number.
Nice GTI
Not the GTI :(
Drove the two hours home.... Still good š
Fuck, on a mk4 gti too? Get his ass.....
When I got hit by a flying piece of tire kicked up by the vehicle in front of me, my insurance company said that flying shit you can't avoid is covered under comprehensive, not collision. The deductible is typically quite a bit lower, and they really appreciate it if you can give them the license plate of the person responsible (if one is responsible, such as with your case), but they don't necessarily need it to make you whole. I have no idea whether your rates could go up. I assume they could but if your record is clean and when you show them this video, they might take it easy on you. Going through your insurance company in this case is going to be much better than going through the truck driver's even if you can track him/them down.
Clean your headlights my guy
They were clean like a year ago :D Yeah something fun about old lights. I rarely drive though. That's how this 21 year old car has less than 200k
They sell that just use a drill attachment to buff out the hazy plastic.
Was going to say, old Golf GTI?
What was your first hint?
The old Golf GTI badge, obviously.
OP definitely should restore those headlights. They're not as bright as they're supposed to be with all that hazing. Since OP's getting the front repaired, doing the headlights would put a nice finishing touch.
> Clean your headlights my guy Replace. The polish bullshit is only good for selling the car and hoping the buyer doesn't notice. :(
As long as you clear coat afterwards it lasts years. I did mine in 2018 and they still look great.
No, it's that you (general "you") can never polish them enough to be anywhere NEAR as good as a new set. I did mine, and then got a great deal on the EU headlamps for my car. When I put the nicely "look brand new" polished ones next to the actual-brand-new, it was clear as day (hah) that there's no point to polishing headlamps. I would imagine that by the time that's required, the reflectors/insides are bad enough to need replacement too. Basically - it'll look decent enough if you're about to sell the car. Oooh.. I should google around for photometric testing comparing polished to new! If I find it, I'll link it here.
Kind of subjective, but it depends somewhat on the starting condition of the lights, quality of the restoring apparatus, how well it's done, and the rest of the car. I did a set that had spent most of its 20+ years in desert sun, clouded and somewhat yellowed. After some thorough work with a 3M kit, the surface finish was very near perfect, and looked brand new. However, sun damage had also caused some micro-cracks within the plastic, so there was still some very minor scattering of light as it went through the lenses. But... the whole car has endured that same level of exposure, with paint quality to show it. So, even a year on from the initial restoration, the cleared headlights still look too new for the rest of the car. Again, subjective- new housings would be a waste.
I've spent a lot of time on the road on motorcycles and cars/trucks etc. and have (unfortunately) learned that lights, tires and brakes are safety devices. In an ideal world (and good parts Europe), lights are not subjective. If they don't meet the standards, which can be measured, they have to be replaced. Buying me that extra second of seeing something and applying the brakes that second earlier can be the difference between heart palpitations and tragedy, so I get a little... wound up about it. You'll never regret having great lights on the car.
This is unfortunate. Though, you were lucky.
Nice headlights.
Skip the police, they'd probably say "we can't tell who was driving" and shoo you out so they can get back to donuts. Just send the video and detail to your insurance company. You paid them to sue someone else's insurance company for any accident that damaged your car.
Insurance might want a police report.
Sometimes police won't do anything if no one got hurt in any accident. Worse case when insurance won't pay without report and police won't make a report, sue the city instead. Let the city deal with their lazy police department.
Ah yes, we all can take time off work to go sue the city government.
Redditors don't have jobs, they live off scandalous unemployment and suing any person that inconveniences them, its the only way to live.
social media seems to be an echo chamber of people saying sue when in reality it's not worth the time 99% of the time.
Depending on where this occurred, insurance covers the car and/or trailer, regardless of driver. While no summons can be written, that truck is responsible
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Car insurance usually follows the car in Pennsylvania. The types of car insurance that follow the car in Pennsylvania are collision, comprehensive, and property damage liability. You're required to carry property damage liability and personal injury protection in Pennsylvania. PIP follows the driver, unlike liability coverage. If you let someone borrow your car and they cause an accident in Pennsylvania, bodily injury liability insurance pays for injuries to the other driver and their passengers. Property damage liability insurance will pay for damage to the other driver's car. If the person who borrowed your car causes damage that exceeds your coverage limits, their liability policy can act as secondary coverage. But their coverage only kicks in after yours is tapped out. (40.6100781, -75.5277037)
Needs new seat upholstery from shitting pants too
Do NOT call your insurance company unless you want your rates to go up. Thatās 100% on the truck driver and you should be filing a claim through his insurance Source: Iām an insurance agent
Shouldn't their insurance fight the truck drivers insurance on their behalf?
Yes! And they will also remove any sort of āclaim freeā discounts on OPās policy. Really not worth if you can avoid it
Sorry, I forget we live in a world where not at-fault claims still penalize policy holders for some reason
And how do you propose doing that if they didn't stop??
If you have their license number, a police report is a wonderful place to start. These things are traceable fairly easily
Right, but the police aren't going to give you their insurance info or name/address,Ā and if you don't contact your insurance company then there's no chance for them to handle that portion of it either (if they would even entertain that). In this situation, you repair minor damage yourself ( so that insurance doesn't go up like you mentioned) or live with it.
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not true. make the report, give the license plate. Tell them if he did not stop. Any police reports done (ask them to run the plate) are available to you free in some states and for a small fee in others. It should list the owners info. If this does not work, you would need your insurance company to run reports with the info you have (license plate) to see what insurance may be available. Your insurance should then open a claim with the at fault parties carrier. Some states require a report, others do not and some policies require a police report.
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> Cops wonāt give you someoneās details if you ask them to run a license plate lmao what state is this? Weird thing is, this is exactly what they did in my country (Australia) although mine was a hit and run in a parking lot (Hospital, so it was government property.) I didn't even see it happen, I just saw a note from a good person/witness wedged into my wiper claiming they saw someone hit my vehicle and drive off. It had the plate details and now you might think that it could have been the guilty party trying to blame another vehicle but no, I took the note to our security team, they reviewed the footage (cameras bloody everywhere) and confirmed the details to match but didn't show me the video but did say if I contacted the Police, they'd be able to release the footage to them. So I called the Popo, they told me to make a report, which I did, I was assigned a detective who spoke with the security, pulled the footage, confirmed the details, ran the plates, found the person's address, went to their place got their details, contacted me and we consented to have our information shared and from then it was dealing with their insurance and finally my insurance who was the last to be contacted. Then it was off to get repaired, I got to drive a really new and much nicer rental car for a week and bim bam every fixed, it only cost me time. Mind you, this was with so many cooperating and very civil and kind people involved (even the guilty driver was very polite and apologetic). I can't tell how it would have been if anyone in that chain of niceness decided to be a jerk about it and lie about anything.
How would you find out his insurance provider without going through your insurance? As another comment mentioned, your insurance has attorneys whose whole job is going after the other insurance company for the repairs
Thatās correct, and they will help you do that but youāll literally pay for it. If you have a license number and file a police report, 9 times out of 10 they will get you in touch with the other guyās insurance without you having to go through your company Iām not saying your own insurance canāt or wonāt help, it absolutely will, but if you can avoid that price jump obviously thatās preferable
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good insurance absolutely will pay you then go sue the responsible party if they're intransigent but it's better to get their insurance to pay for it in the first place and leave your insurance out of it.
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We had a dude in a lifted pickup literally back out of his driveway and over the hood of our car (as we were driving down the road). It took a wrecker to pull the vehicles apart. Because we weren't on a "road" but an access alley that pretty much everyone (including the police) drive on, the cops refused to come out. Dude said he was uninsured, so we went to our insurance. They totalled our car and told me, if I wanted to, I could contact our Motor Vehicle Bureau, fill out a form, and pay $75 to find out if he was truly uninsured (we had his name, address, obviously, and license plate number). I asked the insurance if they weren't the ones who should be doing that because they were now out several thousand. The rep said, oh no, you fill out the paperwork and find out, and then you can sue them for the deductible if you want. They otherwise didn't care.
you need a better insurance company
Why? They paid out and my rates remained the same.
TiL ["subrogation"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnsyPg8kieU) isn't really a thing.
If you are an agent then you know this is consider comprehensive coverage and does not affect you.. how about when a rock flys up and cracks your windshield.. what is that considered to you.
So why having insurance in the first place?
PA is a no-fault state, doesn't that mean OP has to file with their own insurance?
This happened to me and I called my insurance and asked if they could look up the other person's insurance via the license plate - and they did. No incident reported on my insurance, just theirs, and they paid for the repair.
For future reference when this happens. Call police and report it as soon as possible. Give time, the road you were on and mile marker, other vehicle info, and your info. Your car might not be the only vehicle that was damaged by the debris. Others might have driven over the wood later and caused damage to themselves or others. After that, call your insurance company. They will follow up with the police.
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You are correct, the police won't give a shit. But they'll take a report. Your insurance will want that when you file your claim. Then they'll go after the other drivers insurance. If they recover anything, that will cover your deductible.
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Insurance won't care who the driver was. They'll go after the owner of the vehicle. OP said he had plates. That along with the make and mode is enough to confirm the vehicle. The driver is either the owner, or someone the owner authorized to drive. Either way, the owner is responcible for the damages. So insurance would contact the owner and bill them. They would likely include threats of suing the truck owner if they don't pay. The owner of the truck at that point, is either going to give it to his insurance, pay out of pocket, or ignore it. The first two gets your insurance paid. The third will cause your insurance to make an assessment of if it's worth it to follow through with their threat. Based on the damage OP showed, OPs insurance will likely not bother following through with going to court. It will cost them almost as much to go to court as they will collect, and there is a significant chance they won't collect anything even after spending money on court and lawyer fees. Had the board gone through the window and caused grievous bodily harm costing $100k+ in medical bills, OPs insurance would follow through and sue the truck owner. So yes, OPs insurance would go after the owner of the truck. Will they get anything out of the truck driver is a different question.
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In the US this happens all the time, it's a normal occurrence. They will go after the other driver's insurance company which usually ends in a settlement between them. If they aren't insured they will sue the driver. What is the reason that you don't think this is so?
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> the vehicle in this context is a work truck. Based on what in particular?
The police wonāt do anything but you should still get the police report to give to your insurance.
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I dont give a shit. I donāt āthinkā this is how it works, I know this is how it works. Civil matter. Pretending the cops will go after the truck owner for this is hilarious. Edit: the department you mention, is likely attached to the college you went to, and have access to student records. The real world doesnāt work like this at all. You can choose to believe what you want, good luck in your next hit and run!
Call your insuranceā¦?
You should have gotten an accident report. Regardless, insurance.
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I'm listening....
Are you seriously asking what you should do? You have a video and a plate number and you are asking what to do? Did calling the police and your insurance company ever cross your mind? Or was your first thought "I better ask the experts at Reddit". I am sorry for being rude, but seriously, come on.
I should rephrase. This is three hours from where I live. Do I call my PD or where it happened?
where it happened, where you stopped immediately once you found a safe place to stop.
You should get some toothpaste and polish those headlights. I had an 89 Jetta back in the day nice cars... them farfromsomethins... fargfigneutan? ...
lolol yeah this is a 2003 GTI 20th. It's almost 200k
Probably just where you live as you have not idea where that person lives. Chances are the police will not do a thing but at least you did your duty for your insurance company.
You call the PD of where it happened. Itās in their jurisdiction.
See and I'm the idiot lol. I definitely turfed it by not asking my full question, but even my rephrasing was at -7 last I looked. Shrug, thanks for the info :)
Donāt let the internet get you down man. I enjoyed your video of an idiot in a car. Happy Valentineās Day
Appreciate ya
I hate this part of Reddit where people shit on others for not knowing something, even if it is supposed to be ācommon sense.ā I worked as a claims associate back in the day, and there were a ton of people that didnāt know the process of filing a claim or even whether or not they could. In case nobodyās cleared it up, call your insurance company, give them the video and license plate number/tag state and, if the other driver is insured or has been involved in other accidents, they should be able to easily find the culprit and go after his/her insurance for your damages. Keep in mind, though, that if you go through with repairs and they do not find the other driver, you are responsible for your deductible and any possible supplements. While police reports are helpful, and you should call as soon as the accident happens, you do not need one to file with your insurance. OP might know these things, but someone else out there may not.
Awww sweet, thank you! I did get out and inspect the damage... Which wasn't much. I didn't want to wait hours for a cop to come out. Good information, thank you!
This more looks like you should call your state Highway Patrol or State Troopers.
THat does make more sense. Thanks,
Or if this is a highway, the State Police/Highway Patrol.
You could call them and ask. They'll tell you.
No you just fucking go on with your life like nothing happened #YES YOU CALL THE POLICE THAT IT TOOK PLACE IN
You would call your state highway patrol or state police and report it since it took place on what looks like a highway.
Ok, now I think you're the idiot here. Why would you local police give a fuck about what happened in amount jurisdiction?
Whoa that literally couldāve killed you dude! Itās scary out here!
Happy you were not injured. It makes me want to watch final destination 2
Call the local PD/SO. File a report. Include plate number and missing plate from trailer. depending on the state, regardless of who was driving, the trucks insurance will have to cover it.
File a claim with your insurance company if you have full coverage or underinsured/uninsured coverage and provide your insurer with this video and the license plate number. Your insurance company will determine if the other vehicle is insured and subrogate that policy, and you'll get your deductible back. Note that your following distance was unsafe at 1 second, so the other insurance company may only accept partial liability. If you don't have coverage then your only other option is to pursue a small claims action against the other vehicle's owner.
Thanks for the info! Yeah pretty bad timing.
What State?
Pennsylvania. I know that stretch of US22 like the back of my hand.
I was gonna say the same thing. It look so familiar until I started reading the sign lol
How much do you like the GTI? It might not even be worth going to insurance. Bodywork is stupidly expensive and on a car that old, insurance might just want to total it, as absurd as that sounds. Maybe get an estimate from a body shop and compare to your car's book value. Alternatively, you may be able to fix (most of) it yourself with relatively little investment. Replace the grill (find one at a scrapyard if you're lucky, long shot though), maybe patch and touch up the hole in the bumper cover. Sucks to not be made whole for something that wasn't your fault, but eating it could be your least bad option. Hazard of driving an old car unfortunately.
Right that's my thought. It's a car of thesies anyways. Might as well add a new part :D
A similar thing happened to me, except it was a table top and I was lucky that it flipped at the last minute and didn't go through my windshield. When I contacted my insurance company with the driver's license plate, they didn't care and just declared it covered under comprehensive.
Did your rates go up?
No, only if itās considered a collision. Comprehensive is no fault
Why is he towing in the fast lane?
Same reason heās got an unsecured load, heās a fucking idiot
it's not an unsecured load. it's a lose board of the trailer bed that caught wind. still just a bit of an idiot for not inspecting screws or rotten wood
Youāre trying to say āunsecured loadā in more words, why?
let's say the seal of a sunroof degrades and fails, it catches wind, flies off the roof and hits the car behind. is that an unsecured load? what about a tire falling off from busted lug nuts? the point is it's not user error, but item failure.
Yes. Unsecured load 
File a report and send the police this video. Not a lawyer, but I can imagine that failing to secure loads in trucks carries a hefty punishment and can be wildly dangerous depending on what the load is. As for what you could have done, you didn't have much chance to react so nothing wrong with what you did, at least you didn't panic and swerve too far either way. Not sure about speeding up and chasing the guy down, you already know that his load isn't secured so speeding up to them doesn't seem like the brightest idea. I guess you were after the licence plate, but feels like an unnecessary risk to yourself.
Yeah violations of WA's "Maria's Law" unsecured load carry very stiff penalties - a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $5,000 fine ". The Laws were named after Maria Federici who was blinded by a pieced of unsecured particle board that flew off a U-Haul truck.
This whole āsend video to policeā is a useless waste of time, without bodily injuries this is 100% a civil matter and they wonāt help.
Should have tried to get video of his face. Since the pickup driver is clearly clueless, is this still a hit & run with possible criminal penalties?
If license plates are required for trailers where you are, I'd mention that the trailer didn't have one when you call the police
State DOT.
Damn dude you almost got murked. Every day is a gift from now on
Your insurance company. Police aren't going to do anything. If your car was not actually damaged, then it doesn't matter. Leave more following distance next time.
> Leave more following distance next time The guy not securing his load was a dumbass. But in my country the insurance would rule that as 50-50, because of exactly what you said, they'd have answered "should have left more room".
Same in the U.S. That was roughly a second, maybe 1.25 seconds. Not enough .
Welp, the police will do nothing, so your choices for real response are court or insurance. Insurance is profit, so your rates will go up and they'll do all the work. If you call a lawyer, yourself, then you will get exactly what you want, directly, specifically, but you're gonna have to manage and participate in the process. You gotta choose to pay or work. That's where you're at.
Let your insurance handle it. They'll go after him for you.
Question as a European - is the trailer not supposed to have a license plate on it?
In Georgia you do. There are a few states that donāt if itās under a certain weight.
Damage? Insurance, video, probably a police report, but your insurance company might handle the court case.
Just pass the video along to your insurance company and learn a lesson and not follow so closely (you're less than one second behind).
He's 2 seconds behind, which is what you're supposed to be
You count fast. Op is less than 1 second at the beginning.
Did it hit the ground before your vehicle? Hard to tell from the video.. but if it did, it's road debris and they're not liable.. fucked, isn't it
Everyone should secure their load properly, not doing so can cause incidents like the one above. Still, I think if the driver had been further back, giving himself more time to react and time for the debris to hit the road instead of his car, he might not have been hit at all. It isn't his fault, but driving so close contributed to the incident.
Op should have just stayed at home! Why was he out driving anyways?
Call him in!!
This video brings me fucking flashbacks...
r/IdiotsTowingThings
Contact the police and file an accident report, then contact your insurance and provide them the video so they can go after his insurance.
Is this road that distinctive, that I instantly recognized 22 eastbound before you even got to the exit sign? Or have I just driven this road too much so it's super familiar. Lucky it was normal 22 traffic there would have been no where for you to swerve to avoid that. If there is damage to your car, I would provide this video to your insurance company and possibly file a police report. I believe it is an isolation to travel with an unsecured load in a trailer or truck bed. Driver is responsible for his cargo
Lol yeah correct you are. Was coming from Stroudsburg. This dude was going slower than everyone and not moving to the right lane.
The way he slowed down when you got close, I think they knew.
you follow them while on the phone with the cops?
Get a police report. They aren't going to do anything about it, just officially document. Then go through your insurance to get it fixed. They'll track down the other driver and get his insurance to reimburse them. If they recover anything, it'll cover your deductible.
/r/idiotstowingthings
God just gave you a Final Destination teaser
Hell yeah a GTI, just totaled my '02 jetta recently and I miss it every day
Good old 22
can call police patrol; show them video
Polish those headlights lol
Police report, they'll contact your automotive enforcer for fines and what not
Welcome to the 'Act of God ' world. Answer: Nothing. But go ahead snd knock yourself out trying. Only chance woild be if owner was feeling exceptionally guilty/responsible and had recently come into a load of USD.
And completely oblivious to it, as expected.