last night I had my 1st accident in nearly 15 years. I went to Radio Shack to get a new cell phone for my wife. As soon as I went into the store I heard an alarm going off. It sounded like mine so I looked out the window and noticed that my car was "missing". I looked some more and realized that it was actually in a different spot then where I had parked. After a few moments I realized what had happened. I ran outside and saw that my car had rolled into another parked car because my stupid ass left the car in neutral with out the parking break set. The guy who I hit was very nice but obviously a little upset. My car was fine other than some scuffs that were easily wiped off. His camry on the other hand clearly needs a new front bumper. But the headlights seemed untouched. We called 911 and the cop came by and wrote up a report. I was expecting a ticket, but I didn't get one.

Like I said this is my 1st accident in nearly 15 years and I have ridiculously low rates. Not anymore I guess; I dont qualify for accident forgiveness because I haven't had this insurance long enough. So I am figuring my rate will go up about 50% which is around $200 more for the next 3 years. I mostly feel bad for the guy I hit. It was a result of my own stupidity. I have NEVER done anything so stupid before. I feel like crap right now. My insurance company will be calling me this morning to discuss the accident. How quickly a good week can turn into a bad one.

 

That sucks.

 

Dont worry about it.

Its hit or miss whether they change your rate or not. You just wont be able to shop around for a while...

I had a minor at fault accident as well. My rate went down.

Expect the worst, but not 50%...

 

That happened to me like 13 years ago with my old Camaro, except it rolled down my girlfriend's driveway and ended up on the lawn across the street. A woman came pounding on the door. Her kids were playing out front when it happened.

To this day I still set the parking brake even though I have an automatic and don't usually park on hills. I keep imagining what would have happened if one of those kids had been in the way.

 

I did that in high school when I went to the movies. I had a stick and threw it in neutral without the parking break. Came outside and my car was in the middle of the lane of parking spaces. It didnt hit anything and people were just driving around it. Scared the ish out of me.

Insurance, if they will let you pay out of pocket you might be ok. OR if your insurance company is like mine, one accident allowed no rate changes (geico), then you should be fine.

 

Sorry to hear about that. But shit happens and it wasn't a major accident. It just happened, so you're going to be upset for a few days, but it'll pass soon enough.

 

It's not good, but at least nobody was hurt and the damage was minor.

Also, some insurers will either not increase the rates or charge just a 10% increase for the first at fault accident.

Plus you'll probably always remember to set the parking brake in the future.

 

Can you get a moving violation if you weren't actually in the car when the accident occurred?

 

I don't think it will go up that much. Either way, that sucks.

 

Defintely; setting the parking brake is the first thing I will do from now on, before anything else. In fact I'm always on my wife for not setting the parking brake on the auto that she drives. 99.9999% of the time I set the parking brake as soon as I take my foot off the brake pedal when parking and sometimes leave it in 1st or R on a hill. I guess I got distracted somehow. All I really remember is starting to set the parking brake, then I decided to lock my new iphone I just bought in the glove compartment first. Then I just forgot to do what I originally needed to do. I hope for only a 10% increase; that would be only about $40. Insurance wise, I think the big thing that sucks is that this boneheaded mistake will be on my insurance record for 35 months.

Now I'm actually wondering if i set the parking brake when I came into work this morning


I really thought I would get a ticket. After the cop gave me my license and insurance back, I just stood there like an idiot waiting for the ticket. I finally just asked him, "so, is that it"? And he told me "yep."

 

Yikes dude. Oh well, like everyone says, nobody's perfect.

You'll get over it. We all drift off and don't pay attention sometimes.

Glad no one got hurt.

 

Memo -

Set parking brake AND leave in gear every single time. Not sure why it would be any other way.

 

Feces happens. I know how you feel though last year my wife and I both went "stupid" in 3 month period. I had my first at fault accident in 24 years of driving and 3 months later she had her first in over 8 years both of them dumb mistakes that we both know better than to make. I was concerned about my insurance since I had only had that company for about 2 years, in the end at my renewal time the insurance went DOWN. In any event wait until you hear from them before you worry about the rates.

 

Pay it out of pocket. I hit a new camry and pushed the bumper in a little. A new bumper painted was 600 bucks..

Just my Better than your rates going up.

 

I wouldn't worry too much. It is a minor fender bender and your insurance should take into consideration your past driving record, if not find better insurer.