This past weekend I parked at a school to view a Little League soccer game. When parking, I backed into a spot. My bumper scraped up against a guy wire stake, and came really close to knocking into my muffler.

I didn't have a measuring stick, but the stake rose about eight inches out of the ground and stood about twenty inches from the curb. Are there rules on this? IMHO there's got to be some sort of accountability for the electric company putting a piece of equipment so close to the parking lot. I took pictures of the stake. Other cars would have made contact as well if they pulled in. I tried inquiring my insurance company. They won't do anything until I complete a report. (I'm not filling out a report until I know I'm not at fault!)

Has anyone ever had a kind of issue like this? Parking their car and striking something that's (near) impossible to see? Who's at fault? (I live in VA.) Thanks in advance!

 

Ah that's a tough one man. You'd think the electrical company would be at fault but yet they probably don't want to be responsible for something the school might've done etc. Contact the school principal maybe?

 

If I'm reading your post right, I don't think you have a leg to stand on. The stake was 20 inches away from the end of the parking space. The school will expect you to have a good explanation as to why you decided to pull further in than you needed to or were supposed to.

Or are you saying that the stake was 20 inches INSIDE the parking space? If so, call the school. It's their fault because it's their parking lot and they're responsible for what their subcontractors do to it. That said, don't expect much. They'll fight you. They're already most likely dealing with budget cuts due to the economy, and they aren't going to want to give you a grand to fix your car.

 

You're at fault. Sounds like you made a bad judge of distance

 

You can make out the insurance report, but it's not chargeable unless they pay out money. Depending on the company usually there is no charge if the payout is less than $500; at least this is the criteria with State Farm.

The bottom line will probably be no compensation.

 

That guy wire was probably there long before they plotted out the parking lot/sidewalks etc. Just a guess.
I work for the power company and they are one of the first things to go in when a neighborhood gets built.

 

Thanks for the input. I just called Dominion Power and gave them a piece of my mind. They assigned me an insurance claims representative to get back with me.

Here's a picture of the guy wire stake, the curb, and the damage just to the outside of the passenger side exhaust. (The damage is really ugly on the bottom.)

 

Here's another pic showing how close the guy wire stake is to the curb. The slack on the guy wire was there before I parked.

 

That's a lot less than 20 inches away. With it that close, it's an obvious hazard to vehicles, and should not be there.

 

Thats why when I back in to a spot. I never ever back over the curb. Around where I live we have some really high curbs that will do some damage! Or in your case a guy wire stake.

 

Personally.....I don't think you have a leg to stand on. And judging by the way that wire is bent, I'd say a number of cars hit it before you.

 

Yeah, it's probably not even actually providing any support at this point.
I would request they move it and tell them you'd like a claim for $XXX dollars to get it fixed. Find out of there's some sort of public service commission that oversees the power company, if so, advise them that you will elevate the complaint if it's not rectified.

 

I wold be HIGHLY surprised if they paid for your damages...

 

If you threaten to take to whomever governs the power company...I wouldnt' be surprised if they're a little more willing to "cooperate".

Don't ask how I know.

 

Thanks rockstar143! I'll start my research on electric company overisight!

 

anytime man...

 

What ever happened with this whole situation?

 

+1

 

After some on/off research, I discovered that the wire and stake do not belong to Dominion Power but the telephone company - Verizon.

Just got off the phone with a Verizon representative and now need to send in the pictures of the pole, damage, etc. off to Verizon for the claims department.

 

I just got a check in the mail from Verizon this past weekend!

 

congrats...and it only took 4 months for them to pay out!

glad you didn't get raked thru the coals on this one, i woulda done the same thing you did.

 

Awesome. Glad to hear they took care of you. I definitely think that guy wire should not be that close to the parking spot. Plus, like someone mentioned earlier, it looks like numerous people hit it before you! That's all the more reason that it should NOT be there! Do you happen to know if it has been moved?

 

Congrats man! Justice. Are they going to fix that damn wire?

 

I have not been back to that site since shortly after the incident to take photographs of the scene. I'll try to make it out this weekend.

The stake is strongly set into the ground. The pole and wire are located on the grounds of a local elementary school. I was entertaining the idea of painting the stake a bright orange or pink color of paint so it would be visible to others, but then my paranoia/murphy's law logic kicked in and told me I'd get busted for vandalizing utility equipment on county school property. So I'll switch to some brightly-colored-yet-easily-removable electric tape and mark the wire and stake.

cjTL - I haven't seen the pole/wire/stake since last May, but I really doubt anything has been done about the stake. The phone company people aren't gonna touch that wire unless someone gets hurt. That's just the way it is around here.

 

Wow! Nice that Verizon, the responsible party, paid up. Hope it was enough to repair the damages.

 

It's still there, dangerous as ever.

 

Pull it out of the ground and make it look like a car hit it.

 

How much did they send you?

 

I'm glad you got paid, but my honest opinion is that you were at fault for the damage. No disrespect intended, just my thoughts.

Technically the wire is out of the parking area, and it is your responsibility to keep the car within the parking area, thus eliminating any risk of hitting the wire. I know tons of people don't (Even I don't 50% of the time), but that would be my argument if I were working for Verizon.

But anyways, looks like it all worked out. Maybe they should bring the curb out a litle bit more? Sounds like a better alternative than lifting out a guy wire and relocating it, seeing as it's probably attached to some expensive and hard to reach parts underground.

 

im still trying to understand why you would pull back so far????anyway great turnout with the payment.....this is one more reason im thankful for having a back up camera

 

You call 18 inches far? I don't. I call that BS. Is it common in your area to have parking areas to have structures that close? I doubt it. Besides, as seen in the below picture (previously submitted), other vehicles are pulling over the curb.


As you can see, that Cadillac in the background is over the curb, likely enough to contact the stake if it were in my slot. Additionally, the utility pole is further from the curb than 18 inches. I'm guessing that the stake was placed where it was due to reasons of terrain gradient on the far side, or someone was too lazy to cut the existing brush line back to place the stake in a position distanced from the curb as much as the pole itself is.

I disagree on the basis of accountability. How many parking lots do you know where there's an obstacle within 18 inches of the curb? Around here: not many. This is the only one I know of in my area. Besides, the stake - as you can see in the pictures - is very difficult to spot upon backing up. This TL doesn't have a back up cam, but my other vehicle does. If I were using my other vehicle, I doubt I would have seen the grey stake in the lower right corner on the backup camera. It is my opinion that the curb does not define the end of the parking area. This opinion of mine is so strong that I will not hesitate to argue this in a court of law, and likely win the argument. God bless America!


I prefer not to discuss numbers. I took the vehicle to a local body shop, and explained the situation. The shop made an estimate for me. I then scanned the estimate and submitted that with my claim. Compensation received was for 100% of the estimate.

I tried tugging on the stake. That thing is in deep, and not coming out (that's what she said) without the aid of a power tool. Believe me, when I first saw the damage, I thought about chainsaws. A lot of chainsaws.

 

Back in my idiot days (not sure if they are completely over) had an encounter with a stake/post combo myself...

During one of the first snow falls a few years ago, I was "drifting" around corners through the park and not really caring if I overran into the grass, because it was just grass covered in a little bit of snow, and I was trying to impress a girl I was with..... Got a little too swervy around one of the corners, and slammed into something. It was the actual steel cable you see connected to that stake you hit. I slid into it right around my drivers side front tire. My Escape actually lifted off the ground when I hit it... As soon as I hit it, there was a giant blue electrical flash about 100yds away. I hit the cable so hard, it jerked back on the pole it was connected to and must have yanked out the electric line on the other pole or something.

The girl wouldn't stop laughing, and I wouldn't stop for anything, high tailing it out of the park and far away from the little fireworks show. I get out later to examine the damage: panel above the wheel well was fucked, drivers door panel was fucked, and the plastic skirting was fucked. No damage to wheel or tire....

Needless to say, I learned my lesson, scared me shitless. Reported it as someone hit me when I was parked and left the scene, got a police report, and had it fixed under insurance for the $500 deductible on $1300 in repairs. Shitty ass body shop did terrible paint work on the panels.... Sold the Escape in April for $6000 when I bought my TL.