taitando

So yesterday, I let my girlfriend borrow my car for work. After work, she got involved in a collision with a BMW 635csi while driving down the parking garage. As she described it, she was heading downhill in the garage, when the BMW whipped around the corner and collided into the middle of the RL. This is what she drew out for me:



My girlfriend said that the Acura was straight inside the lane, not at the point where she would yet commence the right turn, when the BMW struck her. Nobody was hurt, but both vehicles were damaged. They then backed up, got out of the cars, and she called the police. The dispatcher informed her that since nobody was hurt and the accident occurred on private property (parking garage), they would not send out an officer. So they ended up exchanging insurance info (my insurance info) and drove off their separate ways.

Anyhow, she called to tell me what happened right afterwards, crying and apologizing for something that I believe wasn’t her fault. Shortly thereafter, I get a call from my insurance company notifying me that the driver of the BMW has filed a claim against me. It turns out that he uses the same provider (State Farm) and when he filed the claim, he said that my girlfriend was at fault.

“AH, HELLS NO!?!” was what I was thinking. Looking at the diagram she drew, the pictures of the damages, I believe he was completely at fault. Here’s a pic of the damage to his car at the scene and a couple of pics of the damage to my car. The pic of the BMW is kinda crappy because it was taken with my girlfriend’s camera phone:







So the driver of the BMW said that my girlfriend was reckless and whipped around the corner too fast, but I think if that was the case, the damage to the RL would’ve been more towards the driver side headlight instead of the middle of the bumper. Anyhow, since no police was on scene, it’s become a case of “he said she said” finger pointing. I do defend my girlfriend, not only because she’s my girlfriend, but because she’s very cautious when driving any of my cars (Acura RL, Audi A4). She understands very well how much of an enthusiast I am and how I love my vehicles. Anyhow, what do you guys think? Who’s at fault here?

-Taun

Mike_TX

No way to tell, based on what you're telling us.

For example, the damage to your RL could be toward the center of the bumper because she was too far over into the other guy's lane. Or, of course, it could be because HE was too far over. You would have to be there to know for sure.

What State Farm will probably do (if they're smart) is to handle it as a collision claim for both of you, and waive the deductibles. After all, the damages for both cars are coming out of the same pocket (theirs) anyway.

Try this one: My (grown, married) daughter was pulling through a parking lot a month ago, when a guy suddenly backed out into her path. She swerved, but was unable to completely avoid him and hit his rear driver's side quarter panel. IMO, he was obviously in the wrong, since she had the right-of-way and he had the responsibility to make sure the way was clear before backing out into traffic. Right?

Well, her insurance company fully agreed, but the dufus filed a claim against HER, and his insurance company is apparently supporting him! IOW, you can't even drive along without someone backing out into your path and filing a claim against you.

One more: I was driving along a few months back, when a guy pulled out of a parking lot, across 2 lanes of roadway, to hit me in the side. No question that he just wasn't looking, and he was profusely apologetic. But guess what? He decided later it somehow wasn't his fault and his insurance company is fighting it. State Farm fixed my car and is suing his company.

There ain't no justice.

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Rob L

As Mike stated, you'd have to have been there to see who was "at fault" and it is just he-said, she-said right now and just because she is your woman and drives cautious doesn't mean she couldn't have caused the accident. You mention she knows how much you like your cars, etc...you ever think maybe she is taking out any possible responsibility on her part and trying to pin it all on him simply because she doesn't want you to be upset she made a mistake in your car?

How about this though...it was simply an accident and nobody is really "at fault" and this is one of those things that happen in life. It's silly that in today's world any accident has the finger pointing and all that jazz. Yes, some warrant this but many often do not. Parking garages are crap and it amazes me more accidents do not happen in them especially when they are set up like this. I used to park in one that had both directions traveling on the same side and almost got hit a few times around the close to blind corners. I didn't get mad at the drivers but instead at the morons who designed the garage to be like that.

taitando

As the outside party to this event, yes, I have no way of telling because I wasn't there. I've been inside that particular garage and it is very cramped with blind corners for those going up and those driving down. Of course I'm biased towards who's really at fault since it involves my girlfriend, but I guess my true frustration boils down to the risk that my premiums may be raised after fixing the car.

Anyhow, I finished speaking with the insurance company earlier this morning, they took statements from my girlfriend and the driver of the BMW. Neither party admitted any fault and blamed the other, so they are assigning an adjuster to each party, despite us using the same insurance provider. My agent has also told me that so long as the fault lies under 51%, my premiums won't be raised. So if this ends up being 50% his fault, and 50% her fault, I'd end up paying or being reimbursed half of my deductible with no detriment of my premiums being raised.

God...4 months before my lease ends too...

SpicyMikey

Florida uses a no-fault system. People complain about it but it seems easier to me Insurance company fixes their own policy holders car and the insurance companies battle it out later (if they want too) based on evidence.

dmaster3

almost all parking garages have security cameras rolling at all times. Go see if there are cameras where the accidents happened and if there are, ask security for the tape of the accident (if they say no say that they don't want you to legally get it from them but you can, they usually comply).

Treblig

They will take statements from both parties (your diagram may be useful), compare them, review the areas of damage (who hit who), examine any "right-of-way" issues (if there are any) and render a decision. It could wind up being a situation where both are at fault.

aznboi2424

iTrader: (10)

I park in a parking garage at school and i worry about getting hit all the time with those blind corners. Its so narrow.

When I was hit in a parking lot, we both blamed each other. the insurance sent the statement to a arbitrator or third party and decided i was 70 percent right so I got 70 percent of my deductible back.

You girlfriend seems like a good person. She called you right after and felt really bad. She knows how you feel about your cars and respects that. Not too many girls like that.

lindros2

The only "exposure" I see is that she was going down, which is the party that must "yield."

Based on damages you can reconstruct the incident and support it with evidence.

larrynimmo

why must going down yield over someone going up...i missed that in drivers ed 35 years ago

wstr75

I'd marry that girl. She sounds like a keeper. She already fully understands how you feel about cars. Plus, any girl that draws excellent explanatory diagrams like that has great engineering/architectural/scientific natural aptitudes and will likely have smart children with those same attributes. You do want to have smart, capable children to carry your DNA way into the future, yes?

geronimomoe

Looks like short of having a video tape of the accident, this will be a "he said/she said"..

From the pictures, looks like the impact on the 635 was on the corner of the front bumper and the impact on your RL originally was in the center and went left.

From the scrapes on your front bumper it appears one of the following was happening:

1) Your GF swung wide when turning right (due to the turning radius of the RL?)

2) Your GF was in the position as shown in the drawing and the other party was trying to avoid your GF since he turned too deep into her lane and was straightening out his/her steering wheel.

Fortunately no one was hurt.. Money can always be earned and a car is replaceable..

My

Mike_TX

In some parts of the world (mainly mountainous areas), the vehicle going uphill has the right-of-way because big trucks especially have a hard time getting going again if they stop or slow down on a steep uphill to let other traffic go by.

OTOH, in other areas, vehicles going downhill have the right-of-way because it's harder to brake going downhill and over-use of brakes may make them overheat and be more prone to losing control. It depends on the jurisdiction. But I doubt the rules apply in parking garages anyway, since it's on private property.

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stokdgs

Im from Sacto/Folsom area and miss it greatly. Here in the Northwest, where I was driving home from work in a snow blizzard yesterday, they have the no-fault rule for private property. Recently,some idiot backed out of her parking spot into our kid's car and didnt even stop until she hit it, thats how lame she was. So even though its clearly her fault, we both have to deal with the Collision portion of our respective policies to get our cars fixed.
And the person who hit us is clearly not accepting the RESPONSIBILITY for her actions and doing nothing not even apologizing for doing this to us.. I see more and more of this every day unfortunately.. No one wants to to take responsibility for their actions.. Sad, so sad.. DanF

geronimomoe

Well, that's people for you these days.

My oldest kid is in 1st grade and when I pick her up after school, I see parents parking their cars in the fire zone, right in front of the entrance. There's plenty of parking another 20-30 feet away. Once I confronted a parent and got into a semi-heated discussion with that person of the allegedly fairer gender (I won't call her a lady because she wasn't). She was setting a great example for her kid, along with potentially putting my kid at risk because she was too lazy to walk another 20-30 feet. Hmm, wonder why she was so fat?