First ever accident...in my new Tacoma. Ugh.

Well, in over 25 yrs of driving, I was in the first accident of my life tonight...in my not-even 4-month old Tacoma. I don't even have 4k miles on it. Ugh. Thankfully, nobody was hurt and my Tacoma is still drivable...but yeah, I'm angry.

A guy in his SUV turned right on red...right in front of me. I honked at him, and he was so butt-hurt by his dumb-assery he brake-checked me to the point of stopping dead in the road...and I ended up rear-ending him. I was surprisingly calm while he got out of his SUV and started rage yelling at me, I just called the police and started downloading my dash cam footage.

When the police arrived, the other driver gave his information and statement to the officer, conveniently leaving out that he turned right on red in front of me and brake-checked me.

Dash cam to the rescue...maybe the best $200 I have ever spent. When the officer asked me what happened, I just said it would be easier to show you...and I showed him the dash cam footage of the accident. He watched it twice, then went to write up the incident.

The other driver was cited, and of course started arguing with the officer when he received his citation. When the officer informed him I had dash cam video of the incident showing him turning into oncoming traffic on a red light...oh, and brake-checking me...he quieted down.

So yeah, while I'm happy the dash cam footage clearly showed his dumb-assery and that he was at fault, the front end of my Tacoma is pretty f*cked. The front bumper, grill, and grill surround are all busted up, and I imagine those parts...along with a bunch of stuff behind...will need to be replaced. I don't think anything is going "buff out" on those parts. Somehow, the sheet-metal (hood & front quarter-panels) and headlights/fog lights appear undamaged.

I know insurance will make it right, and I will get it fixed properly, I'm just angry about an immature man-child causing so much damage to my 4-month old truck. So apologies for wallowing in some self-pity tonight.

A gallery of the damage:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/media/albums/accident-sept-13-2022.73383/

TL;DR: Get a dash cam...a $200 investment saved me thousands of dollars tonight.

 

Glad it wasn’t worse, definitely updating my dash cam this weekend. Time for a slim line or C4 bumper!!!!

 

So,

you have stated, in a public forum, that you lost control of your vehicle, in traffic, and collided with a stopped vehicle, immediately after observing it being driven illegally/erratically and have evidence, shared with law enforcement, recording this…

 

breath deeply
then chuckle about how much the other guy's premiums are going to go up
and what make/model of cam, I need a new one

 

What type of download does your cam do? Wireless or card transfer? And what type of camera is it? Glad it worked out for you! I had some teenager all hyped up after I honked at him when he was going to turn into me also. He passed me and stopped in front. Kept bird dogging me until I pointed at my dash camera and he turned around and left me alone.

Wow…armchair lawyers are on it tonight!

 

Yeah, I've had a few laughs at that. I have a Garmin 57 w/the Dongar mirror adapter.

 

I have the Garmin 57. With an always-on WiFi connection, it will automatically upload footage into the cloud. I just use the Garmin Drive app...use the app to connect to the dash cam and export/download video to your phone.

 

Other driver have insurance?

 

You just won an ARB front bumper. Nice!

 

People in general have gotten much worse on the road. I feel like it’s because most people are on edge with how everything that’s gone on the past few years. I used to honk a lot at people cause of the stupid stuff they do, but I’ve stopped honking unless it’s to prevent something from happening versus after the fact. Not worth it these days.

This story was just posted. Prime example of just move on cause your life or your family’s life being altered isn’t worth it for an incident with a stranger that you won’t even remember a few days later:

https://www.click2houston.com/news/...hat-ignited-fire-severely-burning-2-toddlers/

 

My dash cam helped alot with law enforcement and insurance when a bmw driver passed over double yellow line, tried to shove my tacoma into a guard rail with my children in it with me, no room in front behind semi and car in front of me. Got out screaming and raging, and then settled down to seething hatred when I pointed at the dashcam.

Dash cam in van, made a deer strike a very simple process, except that Geico sucks, and the adjusters are not super bright.

If you don't have one, it is much cheaper than the deductible from someone lying.

 

Or, he stated that he showed a cop his dash cam footage and the cop agreed with his story.

 

Maybe, just maybe the person you're mad at just lost their spouse, lost their job, found out they have cancer...

 

Following too close. Next.

 

And that's cause to break check?

 

The other driver was cited for failure to yield right of way. The fact that he hit the brakes after doesn’t help this.

 

Is failure to yield right of way not an offense in some of your states? If someone pulls out of someone who has right of way, that person is at fault.

 

I assume that you were going straight through a light in the opposing traffic flow all the way in the left lane and an idiot made a right on red in front of you then decided to brake check you? Assuming you weren't speeding, that guy is an f'ing moron and deserves to have is ins premium doubles.

 

If you hit someone in the ass, it is almost always your fault for following too closely. There are very few exceptions, such as you being stationary and someone backs into you.
In this guy's case, all he had to do is slow down, let the guy in and give him space. You can tell from the post's tone that this guy is righteous and indignant and nothing is his fault. His dash cam footage just showed a dumbass. He says the cam saved him thousands, however, now he has to go through all the bullshit of getting his truck fixed. He could have saved it all if he would have just let the guy in and backed off.
This type of shit happens to all of us and thankfully, most of us just take a deep breath and do the right thing and move on.
We were taught this common sense rule: If someone pulls out directly in front of you and you hit their side from the front bumper to the middle of the vehicle, it is their fault. If you hit them from middle of car to back bumper, it's your fault for not paying attention. And every case of hitting someone in the ass (few exceptions) is your fault.
A long time ago I hit a stopped vehicle on the interstate. The guy ahead of me just decided to stop on a busy interstate. I braked hard but still hit him. It was my fault and I got a ticket. Move on.

Edit: Here's the rules from my state:
"If you have been involved in a rear-end car accident in South Carolina, and your car was the vehicle that was rear-ended, then the accident will almost always be the fault of the driver who hit you from behind. There are few exceptions to this rule, but they’re fairly rare with regards to rear-end crashes.

The exceptions to the rule of automatic fault in a rear-end car accident occur when:

• your brake lights or tail lights were not working, which may have been a factor in the rear-end car accident;
• a chain reaction caused several cars to rear-end each other; or
• your car had mechanical problems but you failed to move off the road."

This is the rule in most states.

 

Yep, people have gotten much worse...especially over the past few years. Which is exactly what I got a dash cam when I bought my Tacoma.