First week first wreck

A good friend of mine was forced into the guard rail by a 16 yr old kid who's hood flew open and blocked his vision... My friend scraped the guard rail to try and avoid the kid going under his trailer.

The only damage was a few scraped up fiberglass cowlings on the truck and lost all lug nuts covers off passenger steer tire... Guard rail had some red paint on it and few very small dents.

Report put all fault on the kid and my buddy went down the road... Over a year later the state contacted my friend and wanted $5000 for the damage to the guard rail. Luckily my friend still had the accident report and photos as well as a personal ledger that he documents all the facts of every single incident he is involved in... (Even stupid ones like when he bumped a concrete barrier in a parking lot that didnt even scratch his paint.)

Because he had all of this the state then went to the kid for the $$$$ for the guard rail.

The lesson here??? Document EVERYTHING... And then KEEP IT FOREVER!!!!

 

In general CMV or none CMV you should NEVER throw away a ticket payment receipt, your copies of ALL documents generated in regard to your drivers license or motor vehicle. I still have my copies of tickets and receipts where I paid them going back over 20 years. Their just sitting in a file. I still have my copies of all my inspection reports.

 

I got rear ended in my big rig by a drunk driver who then fled the scene. No damage to my trailer but his car looked like an accordion. They caught the guy hours later and he blew a 1.5 on the breath test. They show an accident on my DMV report for ten years. It finally drops off next year.

 

My heart broke reading this, I have 2 teen drivers right now. Think we'll be having a sit down here and discussing this post.

And buying some good walking shoes....

Thoughts and prayers man, I hope everything works out for you.

 

We spend all of our time worrying about and trying to protect our kids, but we need to protect ourselves as well. If I had to do it all over again with what I know now. I would have bought all 3 of my kids their own cars and REGISTERED IN THEIR NAMES. That is the kicker in all of this. It doesn't matter if they are on your insurance, it matters that they are driving YOUR vehicle and as the registered owner you are responsible. It sucks, but that is the world we live in today.

I appreciate the kind words.

 

"]I was trucking a few miles over the limit on cruise control in a construction zone with a empty flatbed."

Regardless of the rest of the story, this part alone is just wrong.

 

It seems no matter who's at fault.. The truck driver is going to be

This is truly painful to read...So other than feeling sorry for the family, was there any other specific reason by which they forced you to pay the family? Rationally it makes no sense, one could easily make the argument that the parents of the kids were neglectful and have CPS called on them, but then why are you at fault more than the neglect of the parents? How is this justice by any means?

 

I think they changed it some time back but originally there were certain criteria for an "accident", no matter who was at fault-- it would be reported on the driver's and their carrier's PSP and CSA respectively. One criterion was if one or more vehicles was towed, another was an injury or death, stuff like this.

In December 2010 I was side-swiped by an SUV which bounced off and ended up in the median. State Trooper came out and took care of all the details. No inspection performed on me or the truck/trailer at all. However, I did carry this "accident" on my PSP for 5 years afterward. Not sure who reported it, perhaps the Iowa state troopers to FMCSA or even my carrier self reported it, just don't know.

 

There is no rationality behind the decision of the jury at all. They simply felt that they were acting in the best interest of the kid, even though the medical bills had already been paid for by my insurance and the child made a full recovery. Their attorney kept asking why the child should continue to suffer living in poverty, and kept pointing out how MY money could change the lives of their family. Well, it did change their lives, and ruined the lives of my family. They got my life savings and retirement that I worked 30 years to earn and paid taxes on, and they get it tax free. Last I heard they moved to Hawaii and were living high on the hog.

Never forget, people can sue you for ANYTHING and win if they get a good lawyer. It's a major reason why the world has changed so much over the last 40 years. Everything is about potential liability and jury awards. It has changed how the world works.

 

how did it impact you on your job / insurance?