Lei

Accident Analysis

Happy chinese new year! And what did I get to start this occasion? Still no paycheque for the month of January and a car accident. So while I've been straggling into work super late living on a sloppy schedule not much different from that of a perpetual alcoholic, my trusty ol truck which recently had its front end restored got munched.

The accident occurred while I was in the process of bringing home some tofu dishes from my grandmother which is a tradition in our family. The fact that I was carrying this food reminded me of Takumi in 'Initial D' delivering the tofu in his car every morning for his fathers tofu shop. Me and my imagination...

Aside from having to replace the driver side front fender and the lower valance, everything else which needs replacing were parts which I opted not to replace three weeks ago. Now everything will have to be replaced.

I had to manually pull the bumper, valance and mount out a tad in order to be able to continue to drive home without having the tire rub on something.

Neither myself nor the other driver sought the back up of any witnesses even though it happened at a major intersection towards the tail end of rush hour. I needed something to further back up my claim that I was not in the wrong when it came time for the insurance agency to determine who was at fault. Even though I have a long claim free history, having just one claim can change your rates a fair amount. This next photo is critical and the moment I had figured this out, it helped for me to clarify in my mind the events of the accident. A person can experience shock and temporarily forget what really happened.

Looking at the photo below, you'll see that the scratches on the hub cap and tire are virtually straight across starting from the outside towards the center. Had the scratches been in the radial or circular, it would have meant that my wheels were still rolling at the point of impact. In other words, I can specifically say in my evidence that the other person hit me as I was able to stop my vehicle before him. And in general, the vehicle doing the hitting is usually at fault. In this particular event, the other driver misjudged the situation and performed a left turn in front of a car(a truck driven by moi) travelling in the opposite direction through an intersection.

Additionally, I stated that after impact, the other vehicle basically bounced back about a foot or two before coming to a rest with his vehicle sitting roughly 45 degrees to mine. And when we spoked afterwards with his wife present, he stated and showed me a spot just above his forehead which he said hurt. I asked him if he was wearing a seatbelt but didn't get a direct response. This further supports my claim that when he hit me, he was not even braking but rather going full speed ahead in his bid to make the turn. And as a result, he felt all the impact of hitting a stationary object but because he was just starting from a standstill, the low speed impact absorption of his bumpers coupled with not having his foot on the brakes allowed his car to bounce back.

Speed entering the intersection is another factor and luckily for me, I was following a police cruiser for about two blocks prior to the intersection and through the intersection. Unfortunately, that policeman/woman drove on oblivious to the event which occurred just seconds behind him. A minute later, a different officer showed up and helped direct traffic as people immediately began yelling profanities for us to get off the road.

I was very accomodating to the other driver. Basically doing everything to handle the incident. From suggesting that we move our vehicles to a nearby gas station to helping him examine his vehicle for damage, doing all the exchange of information, giving instructions for calling the insurance agency and briefly explaining to him and his wife (who showed up after the accident occurred) what the likely outcome would be and why.

The other driver didn't have much to say but rather his wife talked more. Strangely enough, he told me about the sore spot on his head from hitting whatever object in his car, a possible leak in his air conditioning and saying that he recognized me. It turns out that he works near my office at the newly revised River Rocks casino. I was surprised as I told the two that I had only been there twice and that was just to eat at the buffet with my coworkers. And that was at least three months ago.

As far as the insurance claim goes, I've submitted my statement and the roll of film is in for processing. I took many photos of both vehicles since I happened to have my regular camera with me at the time. He on the other hand has requested an interpreteur and postponed his appointment (eastern european origin). I find it strange that I have been meeting a lot of new people from these parts recently.