What a way to end the year! Yesterday I got rear ended.
On not "that" rear ended, that's not my thing. Really.
Yesterday, while I was making my almost daily run to my local supermarket, I was waiting for the light to change so I could make a left hand turn on Rt. 16.
Then "BOOM!" WTF?
At first I thought someone banged my car with their open palm. Then I realized what happened, a truck behind me just bumped into me. WTF?
I immediately got out of my car to check the damage. And what do I see? A well worn truck full of Mexican landscapers. One of the short Mexicans (aren't they all short?) slid his short body down from his open driver's door to "meet" me.
I checked the damage to my car and sure enough, I had a "puncture" in the rear bumper. Not a huge dent but a puncture nonetheless less. Great! WTF?
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| Rear ended yesterday |
I immediately asked him for his insurance papers and registration and driver's license. Of course he had none. Of course. He had a lot of papers but none of those. He just shrugged his shoulders in exasperation. I actually felt a little sorry for him, and his crew. Not a whole lot but a little. I understand accidents happen. That could have easily been me. But it wasn't and now I had this complication for my day which I didn't want. My life is complicated enough. Neither of us wanted this. He gave some kind of explantation for why he bumped into my car but I couldn't understand him through his heavy Spanish accent.
By now the line was piling up behind us of other vehicles waiting to make a left hand turn. A few cars pulled out of the line and continued northward on Route One. Great! How long before someone becomes impatient and a nasty confrontation scene develops? I made a quick decision to pull through the intersection and pull over to the side of the road.
The guy who hit me followed me, and pulled in beside me. I decided to call the police to report the accident. I told her that I no one was hurt but that there was damage to my car. She said if I wanted to report the damage to my insurance company I would need a police report unless I "wanted to work something out beside the road." Ah ha! I think that is what I want to do and also my Mexican counterpart. I pointed to the damage and said "Five hundred." He said "three hundred." I said "OK". He pulled out four $50 bills from his pocket. He said something to one of his passengers and that guy pulled out another two $50 bills. He handed the six $50 bills to me. Hmmm, what are they doing with all that cash? Of course I'm being facetious. The Mexican landscapers I hire all insist on being paid in cash, which I do. Usually $50 bills. I wonder if they report that income to the IRS. Again, I'm being facetious. I'm not that all upset about that, after all they're just trying to make a better life for themselves and their families here in the US. And they do do a good job for a reasonable price. Most of the time anyway. Sometimes I get a greedy one that I have to remind I'm not one of those rich guys. Pat calls me "Ronald McDuck" but that's a running joke between us.
We completed the transaction and we both went our ways. Just another day In The Life. And how was your day yesterday?
10 comments:
Happy New Year Ron---
Please wish Pat a Happy Birthday for me--- One of my pet peeves is folks who call others "brother." It to me seems off-putting. Toxic masculinity?? Just say what you have to say but leave the "brother" out of it. And don't call me buddy.
Glad you were not hurt in your little finder bump--- I see some writing on the vehicle. If it is a business are they not supposed to have insurance? But many times it is better to deal with it off-book instead of trying to go through all the hassle.
Nothing but the best in 2023---
Best of health,
Victor
xoxo
That’s the first time I’ve heard of such a transaction occurring. It probably happens a lot, I just live a sheltered life. I wouldn’t have known how to deal with that. About a month ago a drunk driver ran a red light and crashed into the side of my 2009 Honda and totaled it. He hit on my side of the car just behind the driver side door. I guess the side airbags saved me, I wasn’t hurt at all. The driver wasn’t the owner but that insurance company paid me the appraised value of the car. He was taken to jail for being drunk, running the red light, and leaving the scene. I have another car, a newer one, so I haven’t replaced the totaled one and won’t. I guess I was lucky to not be hurt. Shit happens.
Jim
ouch
may 2023 be a better one - at least without being rear ended this way.
Victor,
I get your pet peeve about some people calling others "brother." However, the "brother" thing between me and Pat is an inside joke. We have so often been mistaken for brothers during our many travels. First time was in Lewes, DE, then in Canada, then in California and Philadelphia and also in Niagara Falls. All unsolicited from people who asked us if we were "brothers". I think it has to do with our physical resemblance to each other, something which Had not noticed until we started to get the "brother" questions. Not only are we similar in appearance, our personalities are very similar. Not exact but as close as anyone I've ever met in my lifetime. Perhaps that's why we get along so good.
Having straighten the "brother" thing out, I too wish you a happy new year Vic.
Ron
Ur-spo,
Nothing like being read ended to end the new year. Have a happy new year! And I hope you never get rear ended.
Ron
Jim,
I've been thinking about you. Haven't heard from you in a while. I missed your comments. You were very lucky you weren't injured in your accident. Back in 1963, when I first got a car, a driver hit my car on the driver's side and totaled it too. What a nightmare but I wasn't injured. Bill's father was killed in a drunk driving crash when he (his father) was only twenty-one years old. He left behind a widow with three children, of which Bill was the youngest. Bill grew up never knowing his father. He often talks about he wishes he knew his father. I've had some close calls with drunk drivers but been lucky....so far. I hope you have a happy and healthy new year Jim.
Ron
Jim,
By the way, the "roadside" transaction happens a lot. Pat accidentally backed into a car once when we were in Palm Springs. Minor damage and Pat gave the driver of the car all the money he had in his pocket to "settle" any "damages." That was the first time I heard or saw of that type of transaction.
Ron
I rear ended a car. It was a setup by a couple in their 70's who did this at this same intersection several times a year. This was 1987. It was a "love tap" sort of thing. I didn't even know I did it. I had barely taken my foot off the brake and rolled forward 3 ft. The couple in the car ahead went into a whip lash scenario. Off we went on a night mare adventure that dragged on for 2 years in the courts. It was early morning and an intersection. I had been traveling through this intersection for 5 years 5 days a week 2 times a day. Non rush hour travel. A school bus driver and three other drivers witnessed it. To make the long tale short I had seen these folks in 2 other "accidents" in this very ame intersection before. The school bus driver and the kids on the bus had seen the same thing happen there with the same couple before. The couple insisted on police and an ambulance ride to the hospital. They both would appear in court in neck braces. Yes they had done this very thing before and got away with it. What complicated things was the fact that my insurance company received my 6months premimium payment on the same day of the accident. It was on time and 5 days before the last day to pay. They canceled my insurance and refused to pay the claims made against the policy. One court case turned into 2. They had paid this couple before and were not going to do it again. Turned out that what the witnesses testified to could not be used because they had testified before in other cases against this couple. We had nothing to fight with and the judge knew what was going on. Fraud. But he could do nothing because the law at the time was the law. Here is the real punch in the gut. The couple contacted me ILLEGALLY and wanted to withdraw the case if I settled for a half million cash. I freaked out and called my team of attorney to handle this extortion. Turns out the couple knew who I was, the sole heir to a fortune because I was the only child left to inherit the family's wealth. We were rich and famous. In the end the wife of the couple said in court that she didn't want to drag things out and that her people told her I was worth personally $250K cash and they would settle for that. The attorney said do it and I did. Well I decided to see where they lived and did so. The wife was in the front yard using a gas powered lawn edger and the husband pushing a gas powered lawnmower and no neck braces to be seen. Jump forward 2 years and I am watching the nightly local news and the focus of the investigation being reported on was the couple who took me to the cleaners. They had pushed their luck one too many times. The law had changed and the prior court records could be used in court now. They both were now going to do jail time for what they were doing to another person at the same intersection. They could not be made to make restitution to me which sucked. Almost 24 fradulent cases had been made by them and almost 2 million in payouts were made to the couple. There is a lot more to this story and it a nightmare. When the court knows what the couple were doing was wrong but could do nothing because the records could not be used against them it made me and others feel helpless. Glad Ron got good old cash dollars for his rear ending.
From Woody in Ohio a Happy New Year to Ron Tipton and Bill Kelly. May 2023 be a better year for you both with stablized health and some happiness to brighten up things. And to those who frequently follow and comment on Ron's blog and those who may be lurkers and peepers Happy New Year to you also. It has just got to be a better year ahead. Don't you think it is about time?
Woody,
What an awful nightmare scenario. That could happen to anybody. I rear ended a car at an intersection like this once thirty years ago (my last "accident"). It was a bump or "love tap" as you say. I got out to check the car in front of me to see if there was any damage. The young girl driving the car that I bumped also got out and checked. There has NO DAMAGE at all to her bumper or mine other than a minor scratch. I admired to her that I was at fault (I was distracted). We decided not to call the police. All was quiet until a few months later when I got my new insurance premium bill. It was DOUBLE what it was before! I called to find out. Turned out the young girl's passenger was her mother and she claimed......yes.....whip lash! She settled with my insurance company for $500. Whiplash, yeah right. Ironically back in 1963 I was in another rear ended accident. This time I wasn't driving but was being taken by friends to buy a new used car. We were rear ended (bump again at a red light) but no one was injured and no WHIP LASH. Apparently this woman's mother was one of those immoral people who saw an opportunity and took it. Accident's can happen to anyone, no matter how good a driver you are. I'm sorry you had to go through such a horrendous experience. I hope your New Year is happy, healthy and prosperous.
Ron
P.S.
I dropped that insurance company and got a new one with even lower rate.
Ron
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