My beloved new Subaru has a big dent in it.
As I was returning from the golf show last night, rolling at about 70 mph in the right hand lane of the expressway, I was suddenly sideswiped by a silver sedan, who was weaving in and out of the traffic at an extraordinary speed. He bounced off the front of my Subaru, spun around, skidded off the right hand side of the road, flying over the ditch, down the embankment and ending up in the trees beyond.
Hitting the brakes, I quickly pulled off to the side. The idiot had been traveling so fast that his final resting place was about a six iron shot in front of me. Thinking he had to be badly injured, I immediately called 911. Another car stopped and a good Samaritan jumped out and went running toward the crash in the woods. But while I was on the phone with the State Police, the sedan backed out of the trees, pulled up the embankment and drove off at high speed.
I didn’t get a license plate.
The State Trooper who showed up about twenty minutes later said that he likely was drunk as a skunk and knew that if he had stayed, he’d end up in handcuffs. At this point, I regretted calling 911 first. I should have gone with my initial instinct and gotten out my camera to photograph the car and license plate.
The remarkable thing about the whole incident is that I’m apparently uninjured, and the Subaru seems to have suffered relatively minor damage. The Forester never swerved; the steering wheel required no correction; I stayed on-line in my lane and pulled off as if nothing had happened. In fact, until I saw the guy spinning out in front of me, my first thought was that I’d run over a dead raccoon in the road—all I felt was a little thump.
The other car literally bounced off me.
But I’m really annoyed. This is going to cost me time and money. I haven’t checked with my insurance company, and I don’t know what the deductable is going to be. It’s also going to mean that I’ll be out my vehicle for several days. Yes, I’ll get a rental, but those really suck.
The drunk was leaking something from his car. I hope it catches fire and burns his garage down.
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Ah, good. You’re intact at least.
At least you’re okay. But I can sure sympathize about it going to be a PITA…
Those Foresters are sturdy little cars. They’ll protect you with their lives. I had a 2001 and really liked it before trading it in for a Legacy (one of three Subys total).
Hope you can get it back to pristine really soon.
Ask the State Police for a police report to confirm your explanation of the accident. A “hit and run” accident is considered a not-at-fault accident. If you have broadform collision the deductible should be waived because the damage arose from a not-at-fault accident. If you can’t get the report, your insurer might accept a statement from you. However, the report is fool proof.
I’ve been in the insurance business for 35 years so my comments are accurate.
I assume that applies to Michigan, right? My insurance company of course did not mention anything of the sort … I suppose I’ll have to call them and raise a stink
The key issue is whether you have broadform collision. In Michigan, as a result of our no-fault law, we have three (3) forms of collision. The most commonly sold version is broadform, which waives the deductible when one is not at fault in an accident. Typically, insurers require a police report or some other evidence that you are not at fault. The other types are regular collision (deductible applies all the time, regardless of fault) and limited collision (only pays when you are not at fault – no coverage at all when you are at fault in an accident). Broadform is somewhat more expensive than regular, which in turn is more than limited.
Twice in the last ten years I have people run lights or stop signs and total my car. No deductible for me. No points on my license. No increased rates for my insurance.
Same procedure for being parked and arriving back at the car with a large dent. Call the police agency for the location. Typically they will take a report over the phone. Then, if you have broadform collision, the deductible is waived.
Frankly, I always have broadform collision on my cars until they hit around 100,000 miles. Then I drop coverage and take my chances.