attn: melufa cc: tw re: why i didn't answer my phone

[Jerome Scuggs]

today i rammed into the rear end of a stopped car going 35 and sent someone to the hospital

...and it wasn't my fault

me and the fuckers in the car in front of me were 100-150 feet from a light when it turned yellow, and the chick didn't apply her brakes immediately so it's obvious that she's going to run through the intersection... and then she sees the cop in the right lane stopping, so she panics i guess and slams on her brakes

which is cool because those little 500-pound corollas can stop on a dime, but the same laws of motion do not apply for a barely-functioning, 2-ton SUV. so i fuckin nailed these people

and of course i have this sneaking suspicion that my life is a TV show, because i mean c'mon... there's a cop in the next lane who saw the entire thing, and right behind him is a bus-stop ad that reads "been in a car accident...?", and we were like a street from the hospital, so the entire scene was sort of surreal... because, like, i fucking hit these people, 30 seconds later the ambulance carts off someone, 15 minutes later the cop gives me my license and registration back with a report number... and my car (1999 honda passport) even made it back to the house without a tow. the front tire is shredded 'cause the frame bent inwards, the radiator didn't work so my a/c vents were pouring steam/smoke, and my stereo is wedged into the dash at a 45 degree angle... not to mention it looks like the Hulk punched my car in the face

but since the wreck wasn't my fault, it's all getting fucking fixed. so 35 minutes after i hospitalized someone and wasn't charged, i was smoking the first bowl of the day (thank GOD in retrospect) and was treated to Walk Hard, which might be one of the best fucking movies ever.

pics tomorrow in daytime

edit: the best part is, this is pavement's future vehicle, so... ahahaha

[Facetious]

i thought if you rear-ended someone it was always your fault

[Zerzera]

i thought if you rear-ended someone it was always your fault

Same, at least here, you always have to keep enough distance to be able to stop in time.

[Jerome Scuggs]

that's why it was weird... if a cop hadn't been there, i would be in a world of shit right now... but the cop saw that it really wasn't my fault... if anything, the cop's presence is what caused the chick to freak out and slam on her brakes a hundred feet from a light that was a pretty fresh yellow.

in retrospect, i think the driver and passenger were high or something, because they were unusually quiet, which was weird considering they were two pretty ghetto-fabulous black chicks... i mean, not to be racist or stereotypical, but they aren't well known for their amazing levelheadedness and restraint, especially during periods of trauma

[Ephemeral]

When you hit someone from behind, you are always liable. The person in front of you can be passed-out drunk over the wheel, and you are still at fault. If you did not get a ticket, you can be sure that the insurance companies will hold you responsible.

[MetalHeadz]

...but they aren't well known for their amazing levelheadedness and restraint, especially during periods of trauma

Lol.

[Zerzera]

Obviously, they backed into his car.

[a21ozcoldcup]

When you hit someone from behind, you are always liable. The person in front of you can be passed-out drunk over the wheel, and you are still at fault. If you did not get a ticket, you can be sure that the insurance companies will hold you responsible.

"Fault" as such isn't codified as law. For one thing, no law could possibly anticipate all the possible variations in accidents. For another, "fault" is a matter between *private* parties. The state cares if you violate a law including the Vehicle Code), but it doesn't care who's "at fault" in a private dispute about a car accident or a "slip and fall" or any other civil wrong, or tort. Insurance companies offer to settle claims based on their (usually accurate) estimate of what would probably happen if the case came to (civil) trial--who would be found at fault, and for how much in damages.

And it's true that, by and large, people who get rear-ended aren't seen as negligent, while those who rear-end them are. But the circumstances vary from case to case , and there's also (in California) a doctrine called "comparative negligence," which lets juries determine, on the basis of the facts of the particular case, whether *both* parties were at fault, and to what degree.

Insurance companies are against you.. typically assuming anyone who rear ends another is at fault- because you should be maintaining the same speed as them and theoretically a safe distance... however this doesn't account for incidents where someone pulls in front of another at the last minute or doesn't repaire a mechanical fault (eg: brake lights) ... and there have been cases where a person rear ended another and wasn't held liable (but very rarely).

[Dameon Angell]

With the Cop's testimony of him not saying you are at fault for their negligent braking, you can definitely argue and win in this. At the least, break even with the insurance in a "50/50" (ie: you cover your own, they cover their own).

And I definitely wanna see this car.

[Fit of Rage]

If the cop wasn't there you'd be fucked, you're right. I hope you took pictures if possible, that's the best evidence besides the cop himself.

[Jerome Scuggs]

let me re-iterate, i am not at fault. i know legally i should be, but thank god that there was a cop there to defeat the inherent bullshit of a law that probably would have fucked me

[gran guerrero]

but thank god that there was a cop there to defeat the inherent bullshit of a law that probably would have fucked me

Is it me or does anyone else think of Paolo's sig: "It tastes irony" when jerome said this?

[MirrorriM]

Wow, that is pretty lucky.

My brother crashed into the side of a metal trailer that was being dragged behind a truck and he was found liable. The truck was right below the top of a hill and crossing the street, so no one coming from the opposite direction would see the car until as soon as they clear the top. What I find most disturbing is my brother was unconscious for about 10 mins, and the guy he hit is a paramedic. The guy did nothing but sit and wait for the police while my brother was knocked out. He also told the police he "could see at a certain angle" so he knew when traffic was coming--all bs. The cop told my brother that he should have slowed down when going over a hill (my brother was below the speed limit after the tests were made) so he was liable. This makes sense in one way, but I believe this is also the fault of the driver--he's the one crossing traffic and the right-of-way, so it shouldnt solely be my brother's fault.

Anyways, long story short--my brother had the opposite effect. The insurance company saw through the bs of the cop and paramedic and didnt increase his insurance.

[Pandagirl!]

You hit them going 35 and sent them to the hospital? How bad were they hurt? I got rear-ended when I was stopped at a light by someone going 45 and I walked away just fine, save for the whiplash that hit me the next day. But I guess it was another small car that hit me, not an SUV.

[PaulOakenfold]

Is it me or does anyone else think of Paolo's sig: "It tastes irony" when jerome said this?

What has this to do with anything?

By the way: god does not exist.