Months ago I was driving to work, same as I do five days every week, when I was rear-ended. A car in front of me had stopped suddenly, so naturally I stopped behind them. When I looked back in my rear-view mirror, I see a car coming up behind me pretty quickly. They didn't stop.
I moved over to the shoulder right there where it happened, and the other car followed. We get out of our cars to see the damage. My car had scratches and a little chipped paint on the rear bumper. The front end of his rusting POS was ruined; the grill was smashed, headlights smashed, radiator dented in, hood bent up, etc. He called the authorities, and they arrived to check things out.
Now, here's where it gets relevant. The driver was overweight, but probably not obese. His girl in the passenger seat, however, was a fucking ham. I didn't even notice her until the ambulance arrived, because she didn't get out until they arrived to carry her out. The both of them left on stretchers. I was late for work, so I just drove to work.
One of my hobbies is working on my car. I installed the brakes myself, and they're not just any brakes. Some internet research pointed me to affordable high performance street brakes. It's my responsibility as a driver to ensure my car can stop when it needs to. So, because I'm not a piece of shit on the road, my car stops when it has to, and I pay attention to when that is.
Fast-forward to today, and I just get off the phone with my insurance company. Apparently the fatties filed a lawsuit for medical damages. The insurance guy told me they have me covered with a lawyer and everything, but I'm pissed anyway. These greedy fat bastards didn't keep up with their car's maintenance, screwed up driving it, damaged my car, and now they want MY money? It's almost amusing that they think they have a chance at it. It's enfuriating that they think they're fucking entitled to it.
Update: I got a call back from my insurance guy. They settled. My company paid in $3000, and the other company paid in some as well. On one hand, I have nothing to worry about now. On the other, those hams just got paid for being dicks.
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[–] Ripley_Riae 0 points 44 points 44 points (+44|-0) ago
Law states you should leave like 5 cars length between you and the car infront of you just incase they initiate an emergency braking maneuver. They don't have a leg to stand on... nor will they once the diabetes forces them to be amputated
[–] 957558? 0 points 7 points 7 points (+7|-0) ago (edited ago)
That kind of depends which state or country you are in. In Texas, we use the "Three-Second Rule" (counting the number of seconds between the car in front of you passing a stationary object to your own vehicle passing the same object.)
Keep in mind, this is particularly relevant when we have 85 MPH speed limits. Heh.
[–] MaxRockinDankSeed 0 points 6 points 6 points (+6|-0) ago
If you rear-end someone in Texas, you better be ready to get bent over and used by the courts. It's pretty similar in the rest of the US, so hopefully OP doesn't get raked over the coals by a feeder/feedee couple.
[–] Effyoureddit 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
My god. 85mph?? That's unheard of in California (I think??)
Once some hooligan kids spray painted a backwards 3 on a 35mph zone. I think that was the closest
[–] NotPolice 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
In Texas, the law (ley) is "an assured clear distance."
If you hit someone from behind, and there isn't a good reason, it's your fault. Ask your particular officer investigating an accident what a good reason is.