Blame the Victim

[scandium]

A bit of a mini-rant here after an (ongoing) experience I've just had, and because its still ongoing I'm going to be intentionally vague about some details:

Last weekend while crossing the street (walking across) after midnight, I was hit by an SUV on the 4 lane highway I had to cross on my way home. There was almost no traffic, it was a clear night, I thought the street was clear and had not, at any point, seen (or even heard) the SUV that hit me - my only warning was the impact itself.

Anyway, while I was lying in the street a witness called 9/11 and the police were the first to arrive. I was concious and could hear what was being said to me and around me. I was asked, at least once, while lying on the road curled into a fetal poston and trying to catch my breath (I thought, among other things, that my ribs had been broken) if I had been drinking or had taken any street drugs (no on both counts).

Later, in the ER, while still attached to heart/blood pressure monitoring equipment and hooked up to a respirator, while lying flat on my back and in a neck brace, and after the ultrasound of my internal organs but before the CT scans and X-rays, I'm visited by another police officer. He again asks, (while I can still only barely speak) if I'd had anything to drink or taken any drugs, and then mentions before departing that he'd popped in to let the driver, who he said was "very shaken up about the whole thing", know that I was "ok".

Then several days later, after being discharged from the hospital, I'm visited by an insurance adjuster from the driver's insurance company. He shows me some pics of the damage to the SUV, mentions the dollar figure of the assessment that the damage my body had inflicted upon it, takes a statement from me and on his way out the subject of "liability" comes up, and he makes a point of mentioning that I had not crossed at the crosswalk that is much further up the street (and in my opinion more dangerous to cross at night because of the speed people drive at and the limited visibility there to both driver and pedestrian) and asks me if the police had ticketed me for jaywalking.

I should add that I'd crossed three of the 4 lanes I needed to cross to get to the sidewalk on the other side before being hit in the 4th lane by the driver who never saw me, and who then stopped and used their cell phone to call a friend/family member but not 9/11 (that was done later and by somebody else). And somehow, at every point along the way, this has been portrayed - from my perception- as my fault. :dead:

I should mention that, at any rate, I was extremely lucky. While there's quite a bit of tissue/tendon/ligament damage (and cuts, scrapes, and bruises and swelling like you wouldn't believe) nothing was broken and no internal organs were damaged. But at the same time I can't keep from feeling very bitter about the whole thing.

[Kapitan]

Should take it to court you shouldnt be liable and if something like that had happend to me id find the guy and me and a few brothers would make absolutly sure he didnt have a car to drive the next day.

[Fish]

Glad you are ok afterall Scandium. :rock: In my country the driver should be accused. Walkers and bikers are very well protected by law.

[Takeda Shingen]

I have never struck a pedestrian, nor have I ever been struck, but I would like to think that I would get out of the vehicle and check on the victim. I am not clear on the law according to this matter, as it varies from locality to locality. None-the-less, I am glad to hear that you are still among the living. Is there anything in the way of permanent damage?

[waste gate]

I'm glad you are well after what was certainly a harrowing and painful experience.

If you don't mind, lets explore your experience further. Did you sign any admission of liability with the insurance company? I hope, and knowing you, you didn't. I suspect the insurance reps mission was to scare you away from filing a claim. I would suggest you obtain a copy of the police report regarding your incident. The insurance company certainly will obtain a copy. Was the fellow who hit you given a sobriety test? What was his/her status? The insurance company is trying asses its liability. If you were both inibreated its a 50/50 split. You get the idea from the ins. company's position.

As far as the police questions regarding your sobriety, you are assumed to be less than sober, when the police contact you after midnight layng in the road having crossed in an area not specifically designated as a pedestrian crosswalk. Not to mention being struck by a vehicle on a clear night where headlights would be seen easily.

Your situation is unfortunate but............next time use the cross walk where operators of motor vehicles can expect to find pedestrians, and the crossing is controlled by light signals.

You are a vey lucky soul. Most folks die in these encounters. You must have something to do in your life.

P.S. You may not remember seeing the lights. A number of years ago I was involved in an auto accident which put me in hospital for six days, emergency surgery and all that. I could only remember bits of the incident. I enquired with the medical folks and the informed me that it was quite common for amnesia (ie your brain protecting you from traumatic experiences) to occur.

[STEED]

Scandium, if you was hit here in the U.K. the driver would had pressed charges of you damaging his car and won the court case. :nope:

Glad to here your OK. :up:

[Kapitan]

That sounds about right steed seeing as burglers here sue thier victims if they injur themselves on the victims property.

If that had happend to me scandium id make absolutly sure he couldnt drive that car again you would be amazed what brake fluid and a sledge hammer can do !

But the main thing is you are ok but even so not your fault.

[SUBMAN1]

This one is a bit of a sticky situation. Not crossing in a crosswalk means you were commiting jaywalking. The problem with this is, it gives the driver a defence, and the insurance company an out. Sorry to hear about this, but you may be on equal footing in trying to press for damages, and the insurance company knows this.

The good news is, the insurance company would rather settle out of court than risk losing bigger in court, so you better analyze what they have to offer and take some sort of agreement.

Just my 2 cents.

-S

PS. THis is why he asked you about a jaywalking ticket because this makes it slam dunk case for him. WIthout the ticket, his job got a little harder.

[August]

If that had happend to me scandium id make absolutly sure he couldnt drive that car again you would be amazed what brake fluid and a sledge hammer can do !

You're quite the thug Kapitan. Someday that attitudes gonna get you in real trouble.

[joea]

Wow Scandium I'm really glad you're ok! Be glad you don't have to put up with European, especially French drivers (we get a lot who work in Geneva) like I do. :nope:

[Kapitan]

Its more you sh*t on me il sh*t on you if he is in the wrong and he knows it then he will pay one way or another, using of force is last resort but if some guy did do that to me then yeah why the heck not why should he sit pretty laughing whilst im sitting there crippled?

Would you sit there and let it happen i dont think so he ruined my life so id ruin his the way i see it.

But i cant see how scandium there is in the wrong i realy cant, so what if he didnt use a crossing he was 3/4 the way accross the road the driver should have slowed down or something.

[Dan D]

Inform the surveillance for the insurance industry about the incident (you got a visit "omlette surprise" by a freak from the opponent's insurance company at you private place, who did not contact you before to ask for a permission to visit you), and to enforce you claims, contact a lawyer immediately.
Don't even try a claims settlement with the insurance company on your own, you will just waste your time. The visit of that freak probably gave you an idea with whom you are dealing with. So be warned from now on.
Your lawyer won't be happy that you have been talking to the other side already. That sure does not make things easier. The other side will nail you on what you once said if things get tough.
If I get you right, you crossed a 4 lane street in the dark and you did not use the pedestrian's crossing? I would not be surprised, if the claims settlement would come out as, let's say like a 20:80 quote to your disadvantage. Depends on what your traffic law says. You have a liability insurance? A 20:80 quote for example means, that you have to pay 80 % of the damage on the car and the driver pays 20% of your loss, like your compensation for pain and suffering will be reduced to 20 % of the total sum.
I wish you a speedy recovery.

[August]

Its more you sh*t on me il sh*t on you if he is in the wrong and he knows it then he will pay one way or another, using of force is last resort but if some guy did do that to me then yeah why the heck not why should he sit pretty laughing whilst im sitting there crippled?

Would you sit there and let it happen i dont think so he ruined my life so id ruin his the way i see it.

But i cant see how scandium there is in the wrong i realy cant, so what if he didnt use a crossing he was 3/4 the way accross the road the driver should have slowed down or something.

I didn't say Scandium was wrong, and where did you get the idea the driver considered this a laughing matter? From what i read the cops said the guy was really shaken up about the whole thing.

We only have a few details told by only one side in this incident, which may i remind you happened late at night. Are you so sure of the drivers ill intent that you would commit a crime to avenge it?

[Kapitan]

hold on august one part of that post was adressed to you the other was not youve done the whole thing which reminds me next time remind me to put a line in it so we know.

This isnt a laughing matter no! late at night scandium i cant see being in the wrong but yes theres always 2 sides to one story, however how comes the driver didnt see him? what was he doing ? using a mobile phone? head lights dipped? a whole range of things.

And why would he send an insurance man round so soon? got something to hide? wants to nail scandium before scandium can nail him?

[Yahoshua]

I was wondering where you'd been Scandium.

Cryin ass shame about the incident, but it's a good thing you're still around. :D

Take care of yourself (you did look both ways before crossing right?).

[August]

And why would he send an insurance man round so soon? got something to hide? wants to nail scandium before scandium can nail him?

At fault or not, the driver has an obligation to report the accident to his insurance company as soon as possible and they take it from there. Far from sending the insurance man, i'd bet the driver wasn't even aware that Scandium had been visited.

[waste gate]

I was just about to say the same thing August. Its the insurance company that wants to reduce or eliminate its liability.

[LoBlo]

How fast were they going?

[Sailor Steve]

I'm just glad you're alive, and hope you'll recover fully.

It's true that the insurance company will do everything they can to avoid paying, and that means trying to prove that you are in the wrong from the start. Use any legal means you can to keep that from happening, and don't give in!

[waste gate]

I think scandium has every right to be discouraged from his point of view.

However, we are only getting one side of the story, which by his own admission brings his liability into question.

Last weekend while crossing the street (walking across) after midnight, I was hit by an SUV on the 4 lane highway I had to cross on my way home. There was almost no traffic, it was a clear night, I thought the street was clear and had not, at any point, seen (or even heard) the SUV that hit me - my only warning was the impact itself.

'it was a clear night' headlights are easily seen by a pedestrian,

'I thought the street was clear ' he made a judgemnent as to the safety of his progress onto a four lane automobile road,

I should add that I'd crossed three of the 4 lanes I needed to cross to get to the sidewalk on the other side before being hit in the 4th lane by the driver who never saw me, and who then stopped and used their cell phone to call a friend/family member but not 9/11 (that was done later and by somebody else). And somehow, at every point along the way, this has been portrayed - from my perception- as my fault

'I should add that I'd crossed three of the 4 lanes I needed to cross to get to the sidewalk on the other side before being hit in the 4th lane'

Was scandium looking for auto traffic during the entire crossing of the four lane road? Crossing three out of four lands a person in hospital.


'who then stopped and used their cell phone to call a friend/family member but not 9/11'

The driver stopped the vehicle and did not leave the scene. I suspect he was under no other legal responsibility. Although we all hope to act in the correct and hreoic manner portrayed on the TV human nature is not always scripted. Also where did scandium get this information, his tale says he was near coherent at best during the incident.



Later, in the ER, while still attached to heart/blood pressure monitoring equipment and hooked up to a respirator, while lying flat on my back and in a neck brace, and after the ultrasound of my internal organs but before the CT scans and X-rays, I'm visited by another police officer. He again asks, (while I can still only barely speak) if I'd had anything to drink or taken any drugs, and then mentions before departing that he'd popped in to let the driver, who he said was "very shaken up about the whole thing", know that I was "ok".


Taken apart from the police checking for intoxication, the driver was concerned for scandium's wll being.


he makes a point of mentioning that I had not crossed at the crosswalk that is much further up the street (and in my opinion more dangerous to cross at night because of the speed people drive at and the limited visibility there to both driver and pedestrian)


' had not crossed at the crosswalk ............in my opinion more dangerous to cross at night because of the speed people drive at and the limited visibility there to both driver and pedestrian'

This statement will get ya wacked by any insurance company. Crosswalks are designed to control both pedestrian and auto traffic in a safe and judicious manner. If one chooses to diregard the designated crosswalk or roadway the liability rests upon the individual who chooses to disobey the legal crossing.

[August]

Well i just hope Scandium is alright. Who else would i have to argue with on the Subsim forum?

[scandium]

I appreciate the well wishes from everyone, and I'll try and answer what I can.

First, here in Canada (or at least this part of it) my understanding of liability in motor vehicle pedestrian accidents is that the greater burden of responsibility is upon the driver; this at least was how I understood it when I used to drive and pay insurance. "Public Liability" is therefore mandantory, not just for pedestrian collisions but also to cover vehicle-vehicle accidents where, once liability is established, its the negligent party whose insurance pays. But I have not driven in a while, have never been involved in a lawsuit, and am a real newb when it comes to this stuff. Many drivers also have optional "colision" coverage which is why, I'd image, a damage assessment was done on the SUV for the insurance company (the driver/owner, I believe, intends to have their insurance company pay for the damage to it under the Colision portion of their policy, if they have it and they probably do).

I have (only very recently) seen the statement from the driver who hit me so though you're only getting it from me, you are getting both sides as well as I can convey them and based upon what she had said to me at the scene and in a statement by her that was shown to me.

The driver that hit me was very young and an inexperienced driver. Her position is that she had not seen me. On the side of the road that she hit me was a bright street light adjacent to the sidewalk and which would have been directly above me (had I made it to the sidewalk I'd have been standing right next to it). I had walked across 3 lanes before she hit me. I don't know how she could not have seen me, but at the same time I don't know how it was that I didn't see/hear her either (it was a female driver who hit me). I have crossed that street, at that point, hundreds of times in all different kinds of weather - rain, snow, fog, etc.

I don't know the driver, and I have no reason to believe there was any ill will or "intent" on their part - most likely she was distracted from watching the road and really didn't see me. Though that doesn't erase the experience, damage, or bitterness.

It is too early to know if there will be any permanent damage anywhere - it was all of the "soft tissue" type so I suppose it'll depend on how well things mend in the critical points around the joints and such. Mostly I am still sore, though taking prescribed pain killers, and I probably won't be too bad off no matter how well I heal, in the sense that I can walk, talk, think, and type; but there's a lot of grey area between that and 100% pre-accident and I'm still healing. In the hospital I was given morphine for pain and two anti-inflammatory drugs every 4 hours, day and night. So the pain was "managed", and still is though with different prescriptions now, but the experience has been a downer (to put it mildly). Sleep is difficult and I find myself still pre-occupied a lot by the accident.

Ultimately it could have been a lot worse. My entire thigh muscle, which bore the brunt of the impact by the SUV, was turned to hamburger but the bone didn't break. And though various other parts of my body, including my head and face, had impacted I don't know what - SUV, road or both, again nothing broke.

[Edit] as to the speed she was driving at, I have no idea. The speed limit on it is somewhere around 70 km/h but drivers routinely exceed that by 10-20 km/h, particularly late at night.

[Iceman]

This is always how I understood the definition of Jaywalking ...

State law allows individual communities to decide what is or isn't jaywalking, but most communities follow this simple standard: If you are within 300 feet of a crosswalk, you must use it. If you're not, you can legally cross the street.
The bad news for drivers, of course, is that pedestrians maintain the right of way even when they walk against the light or dash anywhere across an open road.
``Yeah, the pedestrian is at fault," says Sergeant Larry Fitzgerald of the Brookline Police Department, which hasn't issued a jaywalking ticket in years. ``But if you run over the pedestrian, the judge is going to say shame on you. And that person's family is going to be living in your house."

You are not liable even if you were not in a crosswalk...Sue Them. :)

[August]

I once read something about bright street lights making it harder for drivers to see objects in the darkness adjacient to the pool. Something about the eyes having difficulty in making the transition from light to dark quickly enough.

I dunno the situation but could this have happened?

[Yahoshua]

That very well could be. And it also depends on the type of bulb used to light the street.

The standard bright yellow bulbs blind me when I drive at night sometimes, so I drive slower to make sure I'm even in the right lane. The newer more red-lights are brighter and aren't as hard on my eyes at all.

It's possible that the streetlight could've blinded her or, if Scandium were on the edges of the light placement, she couldn't have seen Scandium due to a "Gray Zone" where the transition between night/light vision balance for the eyes is present and prevents the eye from picking out details in that area.

To give an example, if you're next to a yellow-bulb streetlamp and you try to look at things in the dark from the light, you can't because your eyes are light acclimated. Conversely, when you look from the dark to the light, you can percieve most of the surrounding area (no real visible details other than broad shapes depending on the moonlight), and you can see objects clearly illuminated from the light. But how well are you able to spot a moving object only on the fringes of the light? Or for that matter, clothes that will absorb yellow light will actually help to conceal a person, because the clothes take on the look of the street light on the pavement.

This is the "Gray area" of nightvision vs yellow-bulb streetlights.

Now time to complicate things: Move from one light to another (light to dark), and try to pick out a vague object on the fringe of the light before you arrive to the light itself (dark to light tansition). Depending on how bright the light is, and how fast you are moving, you will pick up a moving object when moving slowly. But if you're moving really fast, then the constant strain on your eyes of light to dark to light again transition will only allow you to see the extremes of the spectrum. Either you see it or you don't.

So most likely, the girl was driving too fast, and the light transitions blinded her to seeing objects on the fringe of the light. And by the time she starts noticing a moving object, this nearly camouflaged persons' clothing is complicating the sight picture she has. Then she hears a *thump* from the vehicle. And that my friend, is more than likely what happened.

[scandium]

Ice, your understanding of the rules of the road regarding pedestrians and jaywalking pretty much mirrors my own.

As to August's and Yahoshua's light theory, I have no idea. Physics was never my strongsuit and most of the little bit of stuff I've encountered before on light and optics was way over my head.

My alternative theory, though I'll never know whether its correct or not, was that she was momentarily distracted by one of the many things that can distract a motorist: the buttons on the radio, a ringing cell phone (or one she may have been talking on), something else she may have been reaching for, or perhaps she was even applying lipstick in her rearview mirror. Or maybe none of the above, maybe I was in her blindspot and she had simply not caught the motion of me walking across the street. Any are plausible, maybe some more than others.

I'm as clueless as to how she didn't see me as I am to how I could not have seen or heard her. Anyway, so it goes. She is probably asking herself the same questions.

[Dan D]

First, here in Canada (or at least this part of it) my understanding of liability in motor vehicle pedestrian accidents is that the greater burden of responsibility is upon the driver;
As a general rule this is the same over here.
The reason behind is the operational risk of a car in movement, a thing that weighs 1 ton or more. Because of that operational risk, you need to have a transport and traffic insurance if you want to drive a car. It can't be that the victims of a car accident don't get compensation, because there is no money around. With a car you can cause terrible losses.
I recall, when I rented a car in Montreal/Canada some years ago ( I made 3000 miles :rock:, no accidents), I had to sign such an insurcance.

In car-car accidents, you come up with a 50:50 quote if there was a "bang" and everything else remains unclear (both tell opposed stories), because of the op.risk of each car.
This is different in car-pedestrian accidents. Over here, the general tendency is a 50:50 quote even when the pedestrian was jay walking and was also careless ("I did not see the car coming"). A different quote is possible, e.g. if the traffic regulations say that it is strictly forbidden to enter a 4 lane highway as a pedestrian. Then you can't say, a driver has to reckon that negligent pedestrians do that (cross a 4 lane highway). At least, if you cross an interstate, it has a different quality then if you cross a side street to buy some milk, that is what I mean.
Btw, I think the police is investigating for bodiliy injury because of negligence against the driver, probably the reason why they questioned you. Such accidents are taken very seriously.

Because you were not driving a car, the question arouses, if you have a private liabilty, because the traffic liabilty does not apply here. If the damage on the car is high and your compensation for pain and sufferung is low compared to that, this depending on the actual quote might be not good.

Out of curiosity, I would be very interested to hear what the whole thing turned out in the end. So please pm me, if you think it is okay.

[XabbaRus]

Scandium, if you was hit here in the U.K. the driver would had pressed charges of you damaging his car and won the court case. :nope:

Glad to here your OK. :up:

I think that's a bit overboard.

Glad to hear you are well. I don't think we have jay walking laws in the UK so the onus is on the driver of the vehicle to be aware fo his environment.

[Onkel Neal]

My alternative theory, though I'll never know whether its correct or not, was that she was momentarily distracted by one of the many things that can distract a motorist: the buttons on the radio, a ringing cell phone (or one she may have been talking on), something else she may have been reaching for, or perhaps she was even applying lipstick in her rearview mirror. Or maybe none of the above, maybe I was in her blindspot and she had simply not caught the motion of me walking across the street. Any are plausible, maybe some more than others.

I'm as clueless as to how she didn't see me as I am to how I could not have seen or heard her. Anyway, so it goes. She is probably asking herself the same questions.

Glad you weren't hurt too badly, mate. Really strange, how you missed seeing a big car coming at you while you were crossing the road. You must have been lost in deep thought, thinking of a rebuttal for a forum topic :hmm:

[scandium]

Dan, nothing much to add at this point as its still an ongoing affair ... though it was neither quite a residential street, nor an interstate. Its one of the more major traffic routes but it also has apartment complexes adjacent to it, some of which have entrances and walkways leading to the sidewalk there with some of these entrances within about 25 feet of this street and I was struck not far from one of these apartment buildings.


Neal, I don't know how I could not have seen it either. I was aware of every other part of my surroundings - other (minimal) traffic, pedestrians - and was able to describe where they were in relation to me as I crossed the road, so I don't think I was distracted or lost in thought; yet I somehow missed the elephant in the desert.

[Onkel Neal]

Well, the important part was you weren't killed or mangled.:yep:

[scandium]

Well, the important part was you weren't killed or mangled.:yep:

This is going to sound a little nuts, but afterward, even an agnostic like me has had to wonder if I wasn't being "nudged" toward something, or away from something. I have, for a while now (long before the accident), been gloomy, pessimistic, and feeling stuck in a bit of an unhealthy rut - routine, whichever. Maybe that was my wakeup call. Or maybe just wrong place, wrong time. :) But things like this change you I think, even if only psychologically - my choice is if it'll be for the better or for the worse.

[STEED]

Scandium, if you was hit here in the U.K. the driver would had pressed charges of you damaging his car and won the court case. :nope:

I think that's a bit overboard.



It's true I have read two case's (may be three) over the years where this has happen. I think in those case's the result's were fines and the cost of repair bills for the driver. :nope:

[Gorduz]

In Norway, If you hit a pedestrian, nomatter how negligent he/she has been. You are automaticly stripped of your drivers licence. The pedestrian is never legaly responsible for anything, at least not the damage to your car. If you kil someone you can even be convicted for murder! But everyone in Norway that drives no this, so you have to be carefull..

[HunterICX]

I sometimes hate the traffic
especialy those ''Rich sigarsucking BMW/Mercedez or SUV drivers''
Arrogant and think they are the King on the road and that we have to respect them

I was on my Bike behind an Car, the space between the car before me and myself was about 2 Meters going 50 - 60 Km/h

Now...Some arrogant bastard in his BMW passed me and Pushed me off the road going into Sand and small stones....I could hold my bike without falling off it......I really mind exploded....I went back on the road...and I saw the BMW before me I putt my Right foot out and Kicked his mirror of his (BLEEP) car. :x

Her started to Horn at me but I didnt care what he did I just continued and never saw him again...

[Takeda Shingen]

This is going to sound a little nuts, but afterward, even an agnostic like me has had to wonder if I wasn't being "nudged" toward something, or away from something. I have, for a while now (long before the accident), been gloomy, pessimistic, and feeling stuck in a bit of an unhealthy rut - routine, whichever. Maybe that was my wakeup call. Or maybe just wrong place, wrong time. :) But things like this change you I think, even if only psychologically - my choice is if it'll be for the better or for the worse.

The fates work strangely. You may be right about change.

[Sharkstooth]

I have never struck a pedestrian, nor have I ever been struck, but I would like to think that I would get out of the vehicle and check on the victim. I am not clear on the law according to this matter, as it varies from locality to locality. None-the-less, I am glad to hear that you are still among the living. Is there anything in the way of permanent damage?

In Chicago, if you hit someone and get out of the car, or even stop to check on them, you are liable to get mobbed by an angry crowd. Best thing to do here is drive to police station---isn't that sad?

I am also glad you are ok Scandium.

[Sailor Steve]

Shoe-on-the-other-foot department:

Just yesterday I watch a guy cross a busy street in a crosswalk...against the light. When the oncoming cars honked at him, he stopped in front of them and started cursing them. A cop could have given him a ticket or even arrested the jerk, but all the drivers could do was sit there and wait.

[SubSerpent]

I think it should be forbidden in any country for a person in an automobile to hit someone and it be the pedestrians fault in any way, shape, or form. Unless perhaps the pedestrian was trying to commit suicide and jumped out in front of the car on purpose. It is a shame that the world protects the guilty so much and punishes the innocent. What ever happened to a world where a person could walk where the hell they wanted to freely?

My only explaination for what happened in your case and not seeing the SUV that hit you is that the female operator of the car must have been hauling ass.

It's a shame that she was not taking every effort to ensure pedestrain safety nor her own. That is reckless driving in the fullest form and she should lose her ability to drive.

Now, imagine had you been the hitter instead of the hitty... You being a male and her being a female. How would the community around you have viewed that? Most likely you would be in jail right now, you would have been sued out of all your money and assets and you would most likely have lost your license to drive for quite some time. Males are ALWAYS looked at as guilty on the road for some reason. In the USA males under 25 pay nearly double the payments on car insurance compared to women in the same age group. Thought this was the USA, so what's up with this sexist BS price gouging that insurance companies are allowed to commit? They claim that it's becasue males wreck more than females in that age group by using statisics. Well, if that's the way it is then why can't an employer refuse to give a job to a black man knowing full well that the black man is most likely going to rob from him - given the statistics and all - that a black man usually commits a crime compared to a white man by nearly 90%.

[Fish]

I once read something about bright street lights making it harder for drivers to see objects in the darkness adjacient to the pool. Something about the eyes having difficulty in making the transition from light to dark quickly enough.

I dunno the situation but could this have happened?

What about calling here friend with her mobile phone, putting a new CD in her CD-player or searching for her cigarettes.
You won't believe what people do while driving 1500 kilo's of steel through a neighbourhood.:doh:

[Yahoshua]

I have seen some of the craziest things going on in cars when I used to live in San Diego.

People would: Change clothes, read a newspaper that is completely unfolded and blocking even their view of the dashboard, looking in the mirror and putting on lipstick (both sexes eww..), drying their hair, men who were shaving (with a razor and shaving cream), reading a book, and one time even having a little nooky in the car.

And all this while in bumper-to-bumper traffic at apx. 50 mph.

They're just asking for a world of hurt.

[August]

It wasn't quite 50mph but i once saw a guy simultaniously talk on a cell phone, peel an orange and read a newspaper while driving in bumper to bumper traffic on Rt 128.

[Yahoshua]

:o


One of the things I loved doing when I was merely a passenger in my parents car was to mimic and make fun of people doing this crazy stuff in cars. T'was great fun, the faces were unforgettable in some situations. :rotfl:

[em2nought]

After midnight? The skeptic in me thinks she was drinking, had her lights off after leaving wherever she was drinking at, and is "hooked" up. Daddy is a local cop or something.

[Konovalov]

Scandium,

I'm glad to hear that you are still in one piece. Take care. :)

[SkvyWvr]

Man, I'm glad your still around to tell the story. I don't know what country your in but usually pedestrians have the right of way. I agree with one of the other posts. Take her and the insurance company to court.

[scandium]

I was very lucky. I'm not suing the driver. I think psychologically it was probably as traumatic for her as it was for me, but I do have an attorney and she does have liability insurance - whether or not that goes anywhere remains to be seen, but at this point that is all being handled "behind the scenes" so I try not to dwell on it anymore, beyond dealing with the injuries that are still healing (I don't know yet if any are permanent but all the vitals are intact), and just move on.

I had almost walked away from an accident that has been fatal for so many others, so now I focus on that rather than the bitterness and gloom that dogged me earlier.

[U-104]

get well soon.

[Skybird]

Haven't red this thread earlier. Wish you a full recovery and an agreement over that insurance issue. Bitterness is a human reaction to such a queer twist in the story (know something comparable from my own experience), but don't actively invite it to stay. It's no welcomed guest, and should be told just to travel through.