There is a current thread in GD about motor vehicle insurance, and it occured to me that in the approximately 25 years I have been driving, I have never filed a claim. I’ve never been in an accident or damaged my car(s) in any way.
Last year, my car was hit while parked (I wasn’t in it), but the other drivers insurance paid for the new bumper. That was the first time I have ever had to involve an insurance company.
So what is your record like? How many years have you been driving? How many accidents? Your fault or not?
P.S. My record is not perfect, I have three tickets - two for speeding and one for failing to stop at a stop sign (rolling stop - but that was a sting operation, the cop was apologetic but he had to do it because a neighbor had complained about the frequency of these occuring).
Two minor faults in my driving test, was stopped and cautioned by the police for doing 40 in a 30 zone when I had my “R” plates up, bumped the rear bumper of Mum’s car off a very low, ivy covered wall.
I’ve had one accident when I was 19. I pulled out of my parking spot curbside as a taxi came up the hill and around the corner - he nailed me. Nobody hurt, the taxi was fine, but my car had a little damage. My fault, but I learned a lesson.
Another incident, a guy hit my parked car, but he paid out of pocket for repairs, no insurance company involved.
Other than that, I just have speeding tickets. I’ve been driving 25 years and like to think I’m a good driver.
Aside from a bunch of parking tickets, my record is clean as a whistle. (In the traditional sense- I’d imagine whistles would get pretty grimy what with all the saliva and such.)
Let’s see I’ve had 4 speeding tickets; one at fault, very minor fender-bender, two accidents that were totally not my fault. I’ve been pulled over, but not ticketed two times. Once for doing a rolling stop at a stop sign, and one, I think, for just being young and cute. He said I was speeding, but I wasn’t.
I was in an accident when I was 15 that actually scared me out of even getting my license until I turned 18. Add to that the fact that the day I bought my first car and was heading home with it, I got a speeding ticket, and you understand that my driving habits were shaped early on.
I’ve been pulled over three times since I had my license. The first, mentioned above, the second for a busted tail light, and the third for running through a crosswalk that had a pedestrian in it (the road was very wide, and I didn’t quite understand the law about it then) back in '97. No tickets since then.
I’ve never been in an accident that was my fault. I was rear-ended on the freeway back in 2000. The only other accident I was involved in that got reported to insurance was when someone in front of me ran over a piece of sheet metal that got kicked up in the air and went through my hood (and I’m still thankful it didn’t go high enough to hit the windshield, because I’d have had a seriously problem then).
So, I’ve been driving 12 years, 3 tickets, one serious accident that wasn’t my fault. I think I’m a pretty decent driver.
**Troy ** - do you keep your tickets as a San Franciscan’s badge of honor?
I’ve had one or two minor SF parking tickets, and a couple for forgetting to put out the commuter passes at the BART parking lot. (At least those have been overturned when I mailed in copies of the passes)
Insurance claims-wise, I had one at-fault rear-ending at the Bay Bridge toll plaza. Did $5000 damage to my car as it slid under the excessively high bumper of a Suzuki Rodeo. The SUV suffered no damage at all, other than some of my paint rubbing off onto their already scuffed and ugly bumper. My car, OTOH, was all plastic for the first foot or so, and it all gave way, leaving no protection for the very fragile battery and radiator. :mad:
I’ve been rear-ended twice. First time was just two small gouges from the other car’s license plate bolts. Second time was stopped at a red light and the other driver’s sandal got snagged in the pedals. That one was bad enough to require replacing the rear bumper assembly. IIRC, their insurance paid out about $1500 for it.
I forgot to mention I had the stereotypical elderly driver experience. I was in a drive-thru at Carl’s Jr. waiting to pay at the window. An elderly woman was quite a ways behind me pulling forward when she stepped on the gas instead of the brake.
She was so apologetic afterward, and no one was hurt – I couldn’t bear to worry about insurance issues. Besides, my bumper was already a little scraped up, and all the damage she did was to leave the imprint of her license plate on my car.
I’ve had a license for 18 years, and have had to call my insurance company twice: the first time, someone hit my car while it was parked and didn’t leave a note (grumble); the second time, someone hit my car while I was in it but it was clearly the other driver’s fault and her insurance paid for my repairs.
I’ve been involved in one other incident, a fender bender in a shopping center parking lot almost exactly a year ago, but there was no damage to my vehicle and apparently the adjustor for the other guy decided it was his fault because my rate didn’t increase with the new coverage period and when I called Allstate my rep saw nothing on my record about it (I was backing out of a spot – carefully and slowly, honest – and he hit my bumper). I get Allstate’s “safe driver” discount.
I’ve gotten a few speeding tickets, but have gone to court every time: until I moved to Virginia, the points were always removed by the judge. I’ve had one speeding ticket here, and learned that Virginia judges aren’t allowed to remove points the way Maryland judges are. So that one ticket here has been the only spot on my record. It was a 3-point violation that was to stay on my record for 5 years; I don’t remember exactly when I got it, but I know it was before I started the job I have now so those points should be coming off within the next year.
Just FYI, Virginia drivers can view their record online for an $8 fee (it shows your point balance, but doesn’t show when or why the points were obtained).
I’ve never been in an accident while behind the wheel. Like Asimovian I was the passenger in an accident when I was 15 that scared me away from learning to drive for a while (although only for a year or so). No one was hurt, but I would have gone through the window had I not had my seatbelt on, which I wore about half the time in those days.
I drive pretty fast and get a ticket every once in a while. Last one was two weeks ago. The last one (Oct. 29, 2001 – I remember because it was the day I got sworn in to the Bar) I had to go to court for. There were folks there who got tickets like every couple weeks. :eek:
Let’s see. I’ve been driving for 12 or 13 years now, and I’ve never had a moving violation or a traffic accident. I only have two little blips.
The first is from when I was 19 or 20, just starting to make it on my own, and had no money to spare. I didn’t register my car, and got a ticket for driving an unregistered vehicle. I never took care of the ticket, so I wasn’t able to renew my license until I paid up. So, I guess I was driving unlicensed for a little while. Uh, oops?
The other thing was more comedic. Asimovian and I were just friends then, and he had an old, sad, beater of a car (an early 80’s chevette in “Never Been Washed” beige). I was visiting him at work and pulled into a spot next to him. I misjudged the turn and nudged the chevette in the rear quarterpanel. I didn’t dent it, but scratched it a little bit. Asi and I were good friends, but I was broke, so I didn’t tell him and just hoped he wouldn’t notice. He never did. Finally, about 4 years later, I told him and we both laughed a lot, but at the time, I was petrified that I would have to shell out to get it fixed or something.
front end got smushed after I slid off the road in snow
right front corner torn off by street sign I ran into
right front corner smushed by big heavy van I hit (not clear whose fault it was; long story but other driver left the scene)
pulled over once for turning through a red light just after it changed; no ticket
My insurance remarkably hasn’t been affected by the claims!! At least, it hasn’t gone up–I guess it may have gone down without them but I’m happy it’s level at ~$800 a year.
I’m trying to do much better now. :o
I was a passenger in a car when the driver tried to make a left turn on a green arrow and got T-boned. Obviously, no auto insurance claims filed by me, but lots of medical bills and a nasty legal fight with the driver.
I rear ended a car which was driving without lights at 2 AM on a Los Angeles freeway. I was cited at fault.
2005: I was T boned by an SUV which ran a red light. Insurance claim had me not at fault and no rate hike.
Three claims all withihn two years of each other (for the record I have been drving for 20+ years). My first claim was a hit and run in a parking lot. I didn’t even notice it right away, as it was on the passenger side. Huge dent on my door. Second one was when I got rear-ended and was pushed intot he truck ahead of me. No fault to me. The third was when some debris on the highway came flying at me, destroyed by driver side mirror cracked the driver side window and dinged up the driver side door. I was actually lucky because if it was one foot over it would’ve smashed through the windshield and who knows what then. I had no rate increases from any of those.
Nah… what little amusement that may have existed ended when I got booted. Suddenly, that $70/month parking fee at work looked a lot more reasonable. I do have this bookmarked, which I suppose is a bit entertaining.
