Fender Bender - 05 April 2017

What have we learned? Rusl's avocation is an advertising sales representative for a biker magazine and as such his contacts include insurance companies, body shops and lawyers, and, now that we have been involved in a collision and been fukt around by Allstate and talked to other insurance companies, body shops and lawyers, here's what we have learned: Witness(es) Do whatever possible to obtain a witness's name and contact information; your spouse does not count because your spouse, like you, will lie about the facts, and although Allstate's insured person will lie about the facts (whether encouraged by Allstate or not, but, I suspect encouraged so Allstate will not have to pay anything), i.e., Allstate's insured will be "telling the truth" regardless of the facts. Injury Claim injury, e.g., neck, even if there is none; then when police arrive at the scene they must create a police report; however, if you say there is no injury then the police will not create a police report. You're in trouble with Allstate: First off they want from you a description of the accident - don't ask me why - your description does not matter UNLESS you have witness(es) [besides your spouse] and/or a police report. Allstate's conversation is very friendly and they want to know if there was any injury and promise to repair your vehicle at a repair facility of your choice -and- they promise to supply a rental car while your vehicle is being repaired - all lies UNLESS you have witness(es) [besides your spouse] and/or a police report. Procrastinate, Procrastinate, Procrastinate, ... All people I talked to said that Allstate is the absolute worst insurance company to deal with, e.g., consider Allstate repair estimate procedure: 1) Allstate low balls the repair estimate - I obtained and submitted 2 estimates, one for $1900+ and one for $1300+ - Allstate agreed to pay $68, yeah, riiiight - On my objection they sent an appraiser who agreed to $1150+ 2) Allstate wants your vehicle repair started/continued based on low estimate - shop must submit request for supplemental dollars - shop must wait for appraiser to visit and evaluate 3) Allstate low balls their supplemental estimate 4) Shop and vehicle owner are inconvenienced - shop must agree to perform repairs for less dollars - or vehicle owner must pay shop for shortage - or go to 2 to resume repair You're fukt with Allstate: "You're in good hands with Allstate"... if Allstate is your insurer; however, if Allstate is the insurer of someone else whose vehicle does damage to yours then you are in for a heap of trouble. As for me... So, although Allstate's business policies of being friendly to no end, of disregarding facts, of disregarding spouses testimony, of dragging out any payment to a repair facility may be good for Allstate's profit line, IMHO, Allstate's business policies suck and I will never do business with Allstate or such a company. 10MAY17 Update: final observation regarding Felicitas' changing report and Allstate's changing position. 1) The impact was a definitely jolting bump on the side of the Toyota, the road was smooth at the point of contact and there is no way that Felicitas could not have noticed that her Hyundai had run into our Toyota. 2) Felicitas attempted to leave the scene, i.e., hit-and-run, she just drove on after the impact, and after we passed her and got in front of her and motioned for her to pull over, she continued to attempt to just go around us and NOT pull over. 3) When Felicitas was blocked by traffic to her rear and our Toyota from the front and I approached her car to tell her to pull over and that my wife was calling the police she said "I did not hit you, I felt nothing." 4) When Felicitas finally pulled over and we were exchanging information and describing to the police what had happened and told the police that Felicitas denied that there was any collision, and Felicitas continued to deny there was any collision even when the police observed the paint from the Hyundai on the side of our Toyota and the white paint from our Toyota on the side of the Hyundai said our two vehicles had obviously collided. 5) Allstate said they would provide a rental car while our Toyota was being repaired and provided an estimate for repair, and a supplemental estimate for repair, and offered to give us a check for $1000 to enable repairs to be started. However, following the submission of a claim against Felicitas' insurance, we hear from Allstate nothing about Felicitas' original story that "there was no collision" (which there obviously was) but instead that Felicitas now claims "there was a collision and it was our fault," and now Allstate says nothing will be paid because the collision was our fault, yet, I hear nothing from our insurance carrier regarding a claim to repair damage to Felicitas' vehicle. Currently I am a retired software engineer, joint bachelor's degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz in math and computer science, and have lived at the same address in West Sacramento since 2002, and I commuted to work daily for over five years via Harbor Boulevard and am well aware of which traffic lanes go where. Note that on the 5th of April, 2017 my wife and I went to the Home Depot store in the Ikea shopping center on Harbor Boulevard to purchase some paint. Upon exiting the Home Depot parking lot I turned left into the right most lane of Riverpoint Court, the Ikea shopping center exit to Harbor Boulevard, knowing that that lane would allow me to make a right turn into the #2 lane on Harbor Boulevard which is the lane we would travel all the way to Industrial Boulevard where we would make a left turn, and, knowing that the #2 lane that we turned into on Harbor Boulevard would become the #1 lane on Harbor Boulevard at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and the west bound Highway 50 Harbor Boulevard exit. Felicitas claims that I changed lanes into her, but, what lane could she say I changed from that would even make any sense?... None (refer to the 1st sattelite image below to see where Harbor Boulevard lane #3 begins): - Suppose Felicitas' claim is that she was in Harbor Boulevard lane #1 and we were in lane #2 at the Evergreen intersection and we were to change into lane #1; that would mean that we intended to take Highway 50 east to return home, and that makes no sense (also, it makes no sense that Felcitas would have intended to take Highway 50 east to return home since she lives only a few blocks from our home). - Suppose Felicitas's claim is that she was in Harbor Boulevard lane #2 and we were in lane #3 at the Evergreen intersection and we were to change into lane #2; that would mean that we would have had to change into lane #3 which only commences just before the Evergreen intersection, and is the lane used to enter onto Highway 50 west or is used eventually to take Industrial Boulevard west... and then decide to go home instead of going west and then change back into lane #2, and that makes no sense either. If you think that I had no idea of how to negotiate Harbor Boulevard in order to return home then you must think that I was either unconscious or that I am mentally retarded, and I have never known any software engineers that were unconscious or mentally retarded. Furthermore, note that Felicitas' home is a mere few blocks from our home which we were all about five miles away from, and, it makes no sense to think that Felicitas was in the lane to get onto Highway 50 eastbound, rather, she had all intention of continuing on Harbor Boulevard, and, therefore I suggest that Felicitas' improper lane choice which led to the collision was because Felicitas was either unconscious or is mentally retarded and I suggest that her and Allstate's position that the collision was my fault is merely their position in order to avoid payment for damage to our Toyota. I have been driving both two wheel and four wheel vehicles for over sixty years and my driving record illustrates my ability to safely negotiate public roads, especially when on a motorcycle, however being hit on the side from the rear is not anything that can be seen happening and I am just thankful that we were not on a motorcycle at the time. So, what was my contribution to this collision? I was in the wrong place at the wrong time when a driver in my blind spot blind sided me. Now, if after you review the following notes on this collision, you believe the collision to be my fault then I must conclude that you too are either an unconscious or mentally retarded driver that I must watch out for in addition to all the inebriated, distracted, texting, speeding, etc. drivers when negotiating a vehicle on public roads in order to stay safe, and alive. Vehicle 1: Our 2001 Toyota Camry Solora Conv SE/Sle Photos taken when pulled over to exchange information (click on photo to see an enlarged view) (THEN click on the 4 arrows in the bottom right corner to view the original/full-size photo) ... photograph by Russell Holder ... photograph by Russell Holder ... photograph by Russell Holder ***WARNING *** WARNING *** WARNING *** WARNING *** BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR GRAY HYUNDAI SANTA FE (SUV) CALIFORNIA LICENSE PLATE >>> 7AOL880 <<< Vehicle 2: Felicitas Miranda's 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe (SUV) Phone: 916.374.1947 License Plate Number: 7AOL880 Alstate Policy # 699125676 Alstate Insurance: 800.255.7828 Photos taken when pulled over to exchange information (click on photo to see an enlarged view) (THEN click on the 4 arrows in the bottom right corner to view the original/full-size photo) ... photograph by Russell Holder ... photograph by Russell Holder ... photograph by Russell Holder ... photograph by Russell Holder Incident: Location: intersection of Harbor Blvd and Evergreen St, West Sacramento Traffic: south bound traffic is halted at a red light Vahicle 2 is south bound in lane 1 behind other vehicles Vehicle 1 is south bound in lane 2 behind a Ford Prius (this lane eventually becomes a left turn lane onto Industrial Blvd) Other south bound vehicles occupy lane 3 which just commenced Green light, all vehicles commence movement Note: at the controlled Hwy 50 west bound Harbor Blvd exit and Harbor Blvd intersection, South bound lane 1 becomes left turn lane for east bound Hwy 50 South bound lane 2 becomes south bound lane 1 South bound land 3 becomes south bound lane 2 After crossing that intersection, it is my guess that Vehicle 2's operator, a West Sacramento resident, presumably familiar with this section of roadway became aware that the current lane is becoming the left turn lane for the Hwy 50 east bound entrance and... ... began changing into Vehicle 1's lane which was still occupied by Vehicle 1. Drivers frequently do this manouver and avoiding a collision is simple enough if the driver is beside you or in front of you, i.e., you can see the vehicle; however, Vehicle 2, as evidenced by the photographs of the body parts that made contact, was behind Vehicle 1's field of vision, i.e., in a blind spot. Vehicle 1 immediately stopped, however Vehicle 2 attempted to "hit-and-run" and went past Vehicle 1 and continued in what has become south bound lane 1; Vehicle 1 went to becomes south bound lane 2, passed Vehicle 2, got in front of Vehicle 2 and began attempting to get Vehicle 2 to pull over... ... Vehicle 2 continued to attempt to get around Vehicle 1 until the situation of another vehicle close enough to Vehicle 2 that it could not back up allowed Vehicle 1 to back up to Vehicle 2 thus blocking that vehicle, Vehicle 1 operator exited Vehicle 1 and approached Vehicle 2 and told operator that her vechicle had hit Vehicle 1, she denied hitting Vehicle 1, said "I felt nothing," she was told to pull over to exchange information and that the passenger in Vehicle 1 was calling the police... she finally agreed to pull over. Stopped by Denny's Restaurant; during exchange, police arrive and position their vehicles to warn traffic of our pulled over vehicles, they verify no one is injured, say since no one is injured there will not be police report, make sure we exchanged information and remain until we have all safely resumed travel to our respective destinations. Resuming a position in lane 1... this lane eventually becomes a left turn lane onto Industrial Blvd) ... this lane now becomes a left turn lane onto Industrial Blvd... Now, the illustrated description of the incident... Location: intersection of Harbor Blvd and Evergreen St, West Sacramento - Overview of Harbor Blvd at Hwy 50 - ... photograph by ... Traffic: south bound traffic is halted at a red light Vahicle 2 is south bound in lane 1 behind other vehicles Vehicle 1 is south bound in lane 2 behind a Ford Prius (this lane eventually becomes a left turn lane onto Industrial Blvd) Other south bound vehicles occupy lane 3 which just commenced - Harbor Blvd at Evergreen Ave - ... photograph by ... Green light, all vehicles commence movement Note: at the controlled Hwy 50 west bound Harbor Blvd exit and Harbor Blvd intersection, South bound lane 1 becomes left turn lane for east bound Hwy 50 South bound lane 2 becomes south bound lane 1 South bound land 3 becomes south bound lane 2 - Harbor Blvd at Hwy 50 West Bound Harbor Blvd Exit - ... photograph by ... NOTE: at the Hwy 50 west bound Harbor exit there is a slight shift in the lane dividing stripes (indicated by the RED lines - notice the distance change between the white road stripes and the red lines), but, not so great as for a reasonable person to think that south bound lane 1 of lanes 1, 2 &3 on Harbor before Evergreen would become south bound lane 1 of lanes 1 & 2 going over the the overpass; this is more evidenced in the edited image below and in the "driving" road level photo sequence way on down below... ... photograph by ... I object to Felicitas' claim that I changed lanes into her lane, and I am not crazy about arbitration, and I am not crazy about making a trip to see Judge Judy. Felicitas' was adamant about having not hit us and claimed she did not hit us because she felt nothing and now she is claiming I changed lanes on her. That is just not so with respect to the point of collision (that IS SO well after the point of collision). So, I submit a little more to help clarify what I was trying to describe about the lanes; there is a slight shift in the lanes (indicated by the RED lines - notice the distance change between the white road stripes and the red lines) and my middle lane does not become the right lane on the overpass any more than Felicitas' lane becomes my next-to-the-right lane on the overpass; *IF* Felicitas thinks that the lane 1 from Harbor at Evergreen becomes the next-to-the-right lane on the overpass then she is sadly mistaken and is likely to have another wreck in the near future. Now, Felicitas says there was no collision, says "I felt nothing," and that anything that happened was my fault for changing from the far right lane into her lane; and, it is true that I changed from the far right lane into her lane and there was no collision and she felt nothing and that is all true because the collision happened before that point; when she failed to pull over after the collision I sped up and changed from the right lane (that I had shifted into in order to avoid any further damage) into the left lane well in front of her (without any vehicular contact) and then I stopped and began motioning for her to pull over; she attempted to go around me several times which I prevented until such time as traffic blocked her moving at which time I backed up to completely block her vehicle movement, got out of my car and told her to pull over - this sequence of movements is abbreviated here for illustration purposes although it took place over the whole north half of the overpass. Hope this helps... ... photograph by ... After crossing that intersection, it is my guess that Vehicle 2's operator, a West Sacramento resident, presumably familiar with this section of roadway became aware that the current lane is becoming the left turn lane for the Hwy 50 east bound entrance and... - Harbor Blvd at Hwy 50 Over Pass North Side - ... photograph by ... ... began changing into Vehicle 1's lane which was still occupied by Vehicle 1. Drivers frequently do this manouver and avoiding a collision is simple enough if the driver is beside you or in front of you, i.e., you can see the vehicle; however, Vehicle 2, as evidenced by the photographs of the body parts that made contact, was behind Vehicle 1's field of vision, i.e., in a blind spot. - Harbor Blvd at Hwy 50 Over Pass North Rise - ... photograph by ... Vehicle 1 immediately stopped, however Vehicle 2 went around Vehicle 1 and continued in what has become south bound lane 1; Vehicle 1 went to becomes south bound lane 2, passed Vehicle 2, got in front of Vehicle 2 and began attempting to get Vehicle 2 to pull over... - Harbor Blvd at Hwy 50 Over Pass Crest - ... photograph by ... ... Vehicle 2 continued to attempt to get around Vehicle 1 until the situation of another vehicle close enough to Vehicle 2 that it could not back up allowed Vehicle 1 to back up to Vehicle 2 thus blocking that vehicle, Vehicle 1 operator exited Vehicle 1 and approached Vehicle 2 and told operator that her vechicle had hit Vehicle 1, she denied hitting Vehicle 1, said "I felt nothing," she was told to pull over to exchange information and that the passenger in Vehicle 1 was calling the police... - Harbor Blvd at Hwy 50 Over Pass South Decent - ... photograph by ... she finally agreed to pull over. - Harbor Blvd at Hwy 50 East Bound Harbor Blvd Entrance - ... photograph by ... Stopped by Denny's Restaurant; during exchange, police arrive and position their vehicles to warn traffic of our pulled over vehicles, they verify no one is injured, say since no one is injured there will not be police report, make sure we exchanged information and remain until we have all safely resumed travel to our respective destinations. - Harbor Blvd Information Exchange - ... photograph by ... Resuming a position in lane 1... this lane eventually becomes a left turn lane onto Industrial Blvd) - Harbor Blvd - ... photograph by ... ... this lane now becomes a left turn lane onto Industrial Blvd... - Industrial Blvd - ... photograph by ... After exchange of information, we circled back and took photos of the intersection (looking north at the south bound lanes we were in)... ... photograph by ... ... and then, driving the route south again, took photos of the intersection, the overpass and where we pulled over to exchange information... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... NOTE: at the Hwy 50 west bound Harbor exit there is a slight shift in the lane dividing stripes, but, not so great as for a reasonable person to think that south bound lane 1 of lanes 1, 2 & 3 on Harbor before Evergreen would become south bound lane 1 of lanes 1 & 2 going over the the overpass. - Clearly south bound lane 3 of lanes 1, 2 & 3 on Harbor before Evergreen becomes south bound lane 2 - Clearly my south bound lane 2 of lanes 1, 2 & 3 on Harbor before Evergreen becomes south bound lane 1 - And, clearly Felicitas' south bound lane 1 of lanes 1, 2 & 3 on Harbor before Evergreen becomes a left turn lane for east bound Hwy 50 ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ... ... photograph by ...