- Joined
- 23 March 2008
- Messages
- 123
the following story could possibly be embellished for dramatic effect, and contain both fictional and non fictional details, and can not be used in a court as evidence:
Girlfriend was on vacation in mexico so i was at home bored. I went out alone to the club saturday night, had the NSX valet parked next to the mercedes and ferrari that was parked in the lot at the front where they put all the fancy money looking vehicles. I had 3 beers, a heineken, amstel light, and a corona. When I left I felt i was completely safe to drive, i didn't even feel buzzed at all.
On the way home, i raced a sportbike at around 120mph-??? speeds, we kept pretty even, at lower speeds like 80mph he would pull on me though - this was on a long bridge with no cars at all on the bridge, we were all alone.
Then, after that bridge i got on another bridge. I was chillin, going the same speed as other cars, mainly because someone called me on my phone. I decided to pass and get in front and away from the pack of cars (i always like to be driving where i have a lot of distance between me and other cars, it makes me nervous if i am surrounded with close proximity). Towards the end of the bridge 2 cop cars were sitting on the side and put their lights on and got behind me and pulled me over. Apparently on the bridge they have this robotic thing that snaps a picture of you and your plate if it reads your speed over a certain amount, and then it shows up on the laptop screen in the cop car up ahead. this allows them to catch speeders without having to be parked on the small shoulder on the bridge which is too narrow to be safe.
After asking why i was pulled over he immediately asked me to get out of the car and gave me a field sobriety test. Well I passed all the balancing acts, walking the line, the eye following the pen light test, and then i did a breathalyzer. He asked me "so how much did you say you had to drink tonight?" and i told him it was 3 beers and even told him what brand of each. And he said "guess what? you lied. you blew a .09. you had more than 3 beers. you're going to jail. you better call a friend to take your car home". (the legal limit is .08). i waited next to the cop car. the cop comes back and asks me to sign a ticket for speeding 86mph in a 55mph zone. he said "ok you're not drunk, but you have been drinking, you barely blew over the legal limit, so you're only getting a speeding ticket for 30 over which requires a court appearance. i want you to know you're real lucky tonight and we're giving you a big break, but if you fight this ticket i will show up in court and tell the judge you blew a .09, so don't even think about fighting this ticket".
he of course would not let me drive home so i was only able to find one friend who could drive me home but she didn't know how to drive a stick. so i had to leave the nsx on the side of the road there at 4am. i asked if i could pull it over more off the road for extra safety but he wouldnt let me even do that, but after talking to my friend and confirming she cant drive a stick he agreed and said do it very slowly as he walked backwards in front of the car directing me off into the grass off the shoulder.
i kept trying to call and find a friend that can drive a stick who could give me a ride back to the nsx and drive it home. i had to wait until morning at 10am when i found someone to drive me there. but when we got there, to my shock, the nsx was gone! no longer there!
the hunt began to find it. i called the area's police dept, but they said they had not towed it, they suggest i call the county police dept, they said no as well, they suggested i call highway patrol, and finally, yes, they reported they towed it. they said it was an abandoned vehicle so they towed it.
i called the collision repair/impound lot where it was towed to. the guy asks "red acura, damage on left side" i said oh, no, not that one, mine is the red acura without any damage. but then he asks "red acura right?" yea, "sporty looking thing?" yea, "about 6am off bayside bridge?", yes, "yea, trust me, thats the one, we didnt tow many cars last night buddy, actually thats the only car we towed from that area last night". but i said "yea but theres no damage on the left side, thats impossible, theres just no way, i dont believe it". after talking to the tow truck driver on a walkie talkie while on the phone with me he said "its ok man relax, its not that bad, he said somebody clipped you, says the damage is minor, you're alright bro! don't worry! do you want to meet me at the gate so you can take it home?". i ask how do you know it was clipped? how do you know it wasnt some hitchhiker that walked by it and vandalized it with a bat or something? he said "because we also got the car that hit you right here, a brown kia, we have both cars. the officer reported 2 abandoned vehicles and called us to tow them".
when i arrived at the lot, key in hand, ready to drive home, this is what i saw:
http://www.photodump.com/Guest/04857a8d9307815e.JPG.html
http://www.photodump.com/Guest/1d96dc38acf01c5c.JPG.html
http://www.photodump.com/Guest/febb911512cb29d0.JPG.html
then he says oh, here's the guy that hit you, and points to the crappy 2001 kia with ghetto cheap plastic'y 15" wheels on it, which is parked right next to the nsx. he says "you can bet all your money this guy definitely had a reason to leave the scene of the accident, he was probably drunk or something". then he points to the spare tire on the corner of the kia that hit my car, "see right here, ive been doing this for 28 years, i know exactly what this guy was doing, he tried to put on his spare tire and drive away, and when he realized after putting the spare on that the damage was too bad for the car to drive away, he left". it was obvious the spare tire had never been used before by looking at the fresh tread, it looked brand new. he said "i im sure the police are very interested in speaking with this individual, so they'll probably be calling him or visiting his house very soon, actually, probably right about now".
the guy at the shop ran the kia's tag and asks me "you said you got traveller's insurance right? well out of all the insurance companies out there, which one do you think this guy's got? yup, traveller's. you guys both have the same exact insurance company, so that should make it even easier/quicker".
well the full estimate is in ... $16,000 quote for repairs. here's the problem or dilemna i face, and i wonder what decision i will make to deal with it: the guy that hit me, only has $10k in liability coverage, which is the state minimum required (same as me actually). this means my coverage will cover the remaining $6k, which means i have to pay my $1k deductable. my rates will not be affected because its not my fault ... i was the one who got hit. so i am tempted in giving this guy a visit and asking that he pay me $1k. from his address, it looks like he lives in the ghetto, its a bad area. my dad says he'll go with me, that its a good idea, and that if the guy gives us a hard time we'll tell him we'll force a legal judgement against him which will show up on job applications and credit reports and filed in county courthouse.
thing is, if this guy is dirt poor like i think he most likely is, i would feel guilty asking him for $1k, considering i have a good paying career and he's already probably in a world of shit of trouble from leaving the scene of an accident (i hear the penalty for that is still pretty bad even if no injuries are involved). that and considering i already got a lucky break, i should take the situation for what it is and be gratefull.
what i have learned from all of this, besides the details of how these types of insurance claims work and the ins and outs of the auto insurance industry and state legislation (its been quite educational and ive learned a lot from this accident), is that this was basically a big wake up call in my life ... that i need to chill the fuck out. im 32, im not 17 anymore. even though i felt i was perfectly ok to drive, fact is i was technically intoxicated to some degree, and to be speeding around is plain stupid. my girlfriend and i have made a pact that we are going to completely quit drinking during the week, and only drink on the weekends, and will only use a cab or a friend to drive us when we go out - even if we feel sober enough.
Girlfriend was on vacation in mexico so i was at home bored. I went out alone to the club saturday night, had the NSX valet parked next to the mercedes and ferrari that was parked in the lot at the front where they put all the fancy money looking vehicles. I had 3 beers, a heineken, amstel light, and a corona. When I left I felt i was completely safe to drive, i didn't even feel buzzed at all.
On the way home, i raced a sportbike at around 120mph-??? speeds, we kept pretty even, at lower speeds like 80mph he would pull on me though - this was on a long bridge with no cars at all on the bridge, we were all alone.
Then, after that bridge i got on another bridge. I was chillin, going the same speed as other cars, mainly because someone called me on my phone. I decided to pass and get in front and away from the pack of cars (i always like to be driving where i have a lot of distance between me and other cars, it makes me nervous if i am surrounded with close proximity). Towards the end of the bridge 2 cop cars were sitting on the side and put their lights on and got behind me and pulled me over. Apparently on the bridge they have this robotic thing that snaps a picture of you and your plate if it reads your speed over a certain amount, and then it shows up on the laptop screen in the cop car up ahead. this allows them to catch speeders without having to be parked on the small shoulder on the bridge which is too narrow to be safe.
After asking why i was pulled over he immediately asked me to get out of the car and gave me a field sobriety test. Well I passed all the balancing acts, walking the line, the eye following the pen light test, and then i did a breathalyzer. He asked me "so how much did you say you had to drink tonight?" and i told him it was 3 beers and even told him what brand of each. And he said "guess what? you lied. you blew a .09. you had more than 3 beers. you're going to jail. you better call a friend to take your car home". (the legal limit is .08). i waited next to the cop car. the cop comes back and asks me to sign a ticket for speeding 86mph in a 55mph zone. he said "ok you're not drunk, but you have been drinking, you barely blew over the legal limit, so you're only getting a speeding ticket for 30 over which requires a court appearance. i want you to know you're real lucky tonight and we're giving you a big break, but if you fight this ticket i will show up in court and tell the judge you blew a .09, so don't even think about fighting this ticket".
he of course would not let me drive home so i was only able to find one friend who could drive me home but she didn't know how to drive a stick. so i had to leave the nsx on the side of the road there at 4am. i asked if i could pull it over more off the road for extra safety but he wouldnt let me even do that, but after talking to my friend and confirming she cant drive a stick he agreed and said do it very slowly as he walked backwards in front of the car directing me off into the grass off the shoulder.
i kept trying to call and find a friend that can drive a stick who could give me a ride back to the nsx and drive it home. i had to wait until morning at 10am when i found someone to drive me there. but when we got there, to my shock, the nsx was gone! no longer there!
the hunt began to find it. i called the area's police dept, but they said they had not towed it, they suggest i call the county police dept, they said no as well, they suggested i call highway patrol, and finally, yes, they reported they towed it. they said it was an abandoned vehicle so they towed it.
i called the collision repair/impound lot where it was towed to. the guy asks "red acura, damage on left side" i said oh, no, not that one, mine is the red acura without any damage. but then he asks "red acura right?" yea, "sporty looking thing?" yea, "about 6am off bayside bridge?", yes, "yea, trust me, thats the one, we didnt tow many cars last night buddy, actually thats the only car we towed from that area last night". but i said "yea but theres no damage on the left side, thats impossible, theres just no way, i dont believe it". after talking to the tow truck driver on a walkie talkie while on the phone with me he said "its ok man relax, its not that bad, he said somebody clipped you, says the damage is minor, you're alright bro! don't worry! do you want to meet me at the gate so you can take it home?". i ask how do you know it was clipped? how do you know it wasnt some hitchhiker that walked by it and vandalized it with a bat or something? he said "because we also got the car that hit you right here, a brown kia, we have both cars. the officer reported 2 abandoned vehicles and called us to tow them".
when i arrived at the lot, key in hand, ready to drive home, this is what i saw:
http://www.photodump.com/Guest/04857a8d9307815e.JPG.html
http://www.photodump.com/Guest/1d96dc38acf01c5c.JPG.html
http://www.photodump.com/Guest/febb911512cb29d0.JPG.html
then he says oh, here's the guy that hit you, and points to the crappy 2001 kia with ghetto cheap plastic'y 15" wheels on it, which is parked right next to the nsx. he says "you can bet all your money this guy definitely had a reason to leave the scene of the accident, he was probably drunk or something". then he points to the spare tire on the corner of the kia that hit my car, "see right here, ive been doing this for 28 years, i know exactly what this guy was doing, he tried to put on his spare tire and drive away, and when he realized after putting the spare on that the damage was too bad for the car to drive away, he left". it was obvious the spare tire had never been used before by looking at the fresh tread, it looked brand new. he said "i im sure the police are very interested in speaking with this individual, so they'll probably be calling him or visiting his house very soon, actually, probably right about now".
the guy at the shop ran the kia's tag and asks me "you said you got traveller's insurance right? well out of all the insurance companies out there, which one do you think this guy's got? yup, traveller's. you guys both have the same exact insurance company, so that should make it even easier/quicker".
well the full estimate is in ... $16,000 quote for repairs. here's the problem or dilemna i face, and i wonder what decision i will make to deal with it: the guy that hit me, only has $10k in liability coverage, which is the state minimum required (same as me actually). this means my coverage will cover the remaining $6k, which means i have to pay my $1k deductable. my rates will not be affected because its not my fault ... i was the one who got hit. so i am tempted in giving this guy a visit and asking that he pay me $1k. from his address, it looks like he lives in the ghetto, its a bad area. my dad says he'll go with me, that its a good idea, and that if the guy gives us a hard time we'll tell him we'll force a legal judgement against him which will show up on job applications and credit reports and filed in county courthouse.
thing is, if this guy is dirt poor like i think he most likely is, i would feel guilty asking him for $1k, considering i have a good paying career and he's already probably in a world of shit of trouble from leaving the scene of an accident (i hear the penalty for that is still pretty bad even if no injuries are involved). that and considering i already got a lucky break, i should take the situation for what it is and be gratefull.
what i have learned from all of this, besides the details of how these types of insurance claims work and the ins and outs of the auto insurance industry and state legislation (its been quite educational and ive learned a lot from this accident), is that this was basically a big wake up call in my life ... that i need to chill the fuck out. im 32, im not 17 anymore. even though i felt i was perfectly ok to drive, fact is i was technically intoxicated to some degree, and to be speeding around is plain stupid. my girlfriend and i have made a pact that we are going to completely quit drinking during the week, and only drink on the weekends, and will only use a cab or a friend to drive us when we go out - even if we feel sober enough.
