Learn Me: My Daughter Totalled the berkeleying Car...

Because motorcycles are dangerous, didn't you get the memo?

At the very least, she should never be allowed to drive again.

Datsun1500 wrote:

Driven5 wrote:

rcutclif wrote: This woman stopped on the freeway for ducks in the median and will likely get a huge sentence for the people she killed.

There must be more extenuating circumstances than stated in the article to proclaim that she "killed" them after they rear ended her stopped car while speeding.

They were not speeding. She got out of her car in the left lane of a highway, on a blind curve. Why do you assume they were speeding?

Datsun1500 wrote:

Driven5 wrote:

rcutclif wrote: This woman stopped on the freeway for ducks in the median and will likely get a huge sentence for the people she killed.

There must be more extenuating circumstances than stated in the article to proclaim that she "killed" them after they rear ended her stopped car while speeding.

They were not speeding. She got out of her car in the left lane of a highway, on a blind curve. Why do you assume they were speeding?

In the 2nd paragraph of the article "Roy and his daughter were riding on his motorcycle on a highway south of Montreal in June 2010 when he hit the back of Czornobai's car, which was stopped in the left lane, according to the press account. Roy was speeding at the time."

I tend to run smack into animals if they jump out in front of me(had to give a good scrub to my brother's Mazda 3 after a ground hog attack).

Technically my insurance did not go up when I made a $1300 claim. Instead they took away my good driver discount which resulted in them getting all of their money back in under two years. They have gotten way more that $1300 back from me. Next time I have a sub-2K claim it is coming out of my pocket.

Datsun1500 wrote: They were not speeding. She got out of her car in the left lane of a highway, on a blind curve. Why do you assume they were speeding?

Really??

The linked blurb said: Roy was speeding at the time.

The first supporting article said: A provincial police officer testified at the trial that Roy, whose speed was estimated to be from 113 km/h to 129 km/h when he applied his brakes, collided with Czornobaj's car at between 105 km/h and 121 km/h. The jury was told the speed was higher than the prescribed 90 km/h limit on the road.

The second supporting article does mention some of the 'extenuating circumstances' I was looking for, but none of them make any mention whatsoever of a blind curve.

Datsun1500 wrote: Always hit the deer.

This. Stay on the road, hit the brakes. Swerve for nothing smaller than a dump truck.

Glad she's okay. Not sure what to do with the insurance since they probably won't pay for damage caused by voluntarily leaving the road.

Ian F wrote:

Woody wrote: On the bright side, the berkeleying raccoon survived without a scratch.

Time to drill it into her head again: STAY ON THE ROAD, WILD LIFE BE DAMNED. From everything I've heard, wild life damage is a no-fault collision. You hitting a tree trying to avoid wild life is your fault.

At least in MI, wildlife is covered under comprehensive, hitting the tree avoiding the deer is collision.

Glad to hear she's ok! This will be a learning experience for all.

Woody - glad to hear your daughter is OK.

GRMers -

I think we're being a little harsh on his daughter. Living in the same area as Woody, I see a ton of wildlife on a daily basis. Sometimes you have plenty of warning, and sometimes you have none. It's always better to hit the animal in the road, but if she's a newer driver, she may not have had time to think and then react. If she's 35 and has been driving for almost 20 years, I'd cut her less slack, but it sounds like she's a relatively new driver. If that's the case, I'm sure she's learned an important lesson. Knowing the right thing to do in a situation is one thing, doing it is another. That's where experience comes in...

We still don't know how old she is, but I'm wagering that if she is under 20 that the "raccoon" was more likely a text that OMG had to be read/sent right NOW! Knowing teenagers the way I do...

Then again, she could be telling the truth.

Woody,

Ignore everyone but Klayfish (and me, lol). We work in the biz. Glad you filed the claim; that's too much car to absorb. It's definitely toast. You can get an idea of it's street value at kbb.com if you look it up as 'private party'. If, on the off chance your rates increase dramatically, ditch your daughter from your insurance and make her get her own, then exempt her from driving any of your cars. Problem solved.

In reply to ddavidv:

Thank you.

Car is unquestionably totaled.

Woody wrote: In reply to ddavidv: Thank you. Car is unquestionably totaled.

That will buff out.

(too soon?)

Glad your daughter is okay.

I used to live up there. I once had a raccoon backing down a birdfeeder pole that deserved a warning buzzer.

beep...beep...beep...

They can be much bigger than a breadbox.

Nada avg retail is your likely payout (-deduct).

Glad she's OK.

Next car is a beater w/out the collision. You're using the insurance you paid for and w/ a no collision cheaper car here on out, you'll avoid the biggest hit to your premium.

Woody wrote: In reply to ddavidv: Thank you. Car is unquestionably totaled.

Damn what the hell did she hit avoiding the raccoon?

It's very easy to tell someone to not swerve for an animal but it's pretty much everyone's first reaction. As mistakes go that is an easy one to understand. Certainly easier that backing a truck out of Mom's driveway without realizing her Caravelle was behind it. Tough little cars those Plymouths. Once I got it off of the rose bushes no one knew a thing.

I'm glad your daughter is ok and probably learned a good though somewhat expensive lesson. The next one will be when she calls crying after she does hit one. I had to meet a friend's wife after she decimated a family of bunnies. We had a small service and buried them on the side of the road.

Wally wrote: It's very easy to tell someone to not swerve for an animal but it's pretty much everyone's first reaction. As mistakes go that is an easy one to understand. Certainly easier that backing a truck out of Mom's driveway without realizing her Caravelle was behind it. Tough little cars those Plymouths. Once I got it off of the rose bushes no one knew a thing. I'm glad your daughter is ok and probably learned a good though somewhat expensive lesson. The next one will be when she calls crying after she does hit one. I had to meet a friend's wife after she decimated a family of bunnies. We had a small service and buried them on the side of the road.

Starving people in the world and you buried little hopping pot roasts on the side of the road?

ryanty22 wrote:

Woody wrote: In reply to ddavidv: Thank you. Car is unquestionably totaled.

Damn what the hell did she hit avoiding the raccoon?

That looks a lot like what happens when you hit a culvert. That's a pretty serious hit. Glad she is OK.

No advice on the insurance. My son totaled my wife's car. Insurance paid out, but I don't remember our rates going up much if any. I'd claim it and move on.

ddavidv wrote: If, on the off chance your rates increase dramatically, ditch your daughter from your insurance and make her get her own, then exempt her from driving any of your cars. Problem solved.

Our insurance agent advised my parents for me to be on my own policy since getting my first crap car at 17. My parents helped pay the bill once or twice, but the policy was always my own for legal separation reasons. I suppose in some small way, having that regular bill while still in H.S. might have helped build my credit rating...

My first reaction when bambi jumps out in front of me (a constant occurrence driving through central NJ - where the deer are plenty and hunting areas few) is to nail the brakes. It's also why I generally stick to the speed limit anymore for most of my commute. After the (literally) hundreds of dead deer I've seen on the road over the past 18 years, I've just decided I really don't need to get anywhere that quickly anymore... regardless of how much I enjoy driving fast.

Except for Canadian geese... I aim for those berkers...

It will never cease to amaze me that you can pay for a service (insurance), use it (file a claim) then get zapped harder for that same service. Sounds like a damn racket to me. But I digress.

Yeah, glad she is OK. The Curmudgeonling and I had this very discussion when she started driving, to wit: we both love animals. Here in the 'hood at low speeds etc I will stop till Mr Squirrel finishes his St Vitus Dance attack in the road and scampers off. But if I'm doing 60 and Mr Cute and Fuzzy runs in the road, sorry but he/she is done for. It will hurt, I don't like to see dead/dying/injured animals. But at least I'll be alive to feel that hurt.

I still swerve a bit for turtles though, if at all possible. Somehow running over one of them seems so much worse than fuzzy stuff since they can live so long, and the shell pop creeps me out.

Woody wrote: It was, until we decided that it was too nice to get rid of...

There's always craigslist. Refer to your posting about awesome photos, and list accordingly

Damn, dude. That thing took quite a hit to rip that apart like that. Really glad she's OK.

Thank you.

That looks like a new enough car that it's got some kind of K Series under the hood...