I got rear-ended ...

[cassiesmom]

I got rear-ended this morning on my way to work. I was late and the tollway was backed up, which made me even later. So I got off at the first exit after I got on, figuring I'd do better on the road than on the tollway. We have a staff meeting on Wednesday mornings and the meeting room is about a 10-minute walk from our office, so I'm in a bit of a hurry. First traffic light after the exit, the light changes from green to amber and a couple cars in front of me sneak through. That's in a suburb where it's easy to get a traffic ticket for a minor mis-step and I don't want that, so I stop. I'm waiting, hoping the light will change quickly and boom, I get rear-ended by a man driving an SUV. Now I'm going to be late to work for sure. The other driver asked if I was okay and then got back in his SUV. Now what do I do? So I turned through the intersection, pulled over and called the police. Jotted down the other driver's license plate number. There are three little round marks, each about the size of a nickel, on my back bumper. Saturn bumpers have plastic (I think) covers, which I learned when I got rear-ended two cars ago.

The police officer told me I could go to the police station if I wanted to make out a report. Which I didn't, because I wasn't sure what information that might turn up about me. So I kept going. It was a beautiful sunny morning; it could have been much worse at that intersection, coming off the tollway, where the two streets intersect at a subtle angle. But I can't stop thinking that if I'd left five minutes earlier or stayed on the tollway or turned on the amber, this wouldn't have happened. I'm a pretty careful driver because I had a collision with my first car. I'd like to give the other driver a piece of my mind... what the heck were you doing in your big ol honkin' SUV? I'm at a full stop, behind the line, in a bright red car. You obviously weren't looking where you should have been. You hit me hard enough that the stuff on the passenger seat (my jacket and lunch) fell to the floor. You're lucky I let you drive away. Every time I see those little circles on my bright red back bumper, I'm going to wonder.

Sorry friends, I just needed to rant for a minute. I told my manager but no one else.

[happylabs]

That really stinks. Sorry you had such a bad morning. So, the one that hit you just drove off?

[Freedom]

Glad you are OK, Elyse!

[Lady's Human]

Glad to see you're okay. Sheet metal and plastic can be repaired.

I would have your rear bumper checked to make sure the bumper mounts are still intact.

[ToBeEvergreen]

That bites, good thing there wasn't more damage! At a full stop too, which is kinda ridiculous. The what ifs could make your head spin, there are too many in life to think about, specially with something so unpredictable.

[pomtzu]

Elyse - you are okay, and that's what counts.

I was rear ended once while waiting to pull out onto the highway from a shopping center. The idiot claimed she didn't see me. HUH??? - it was high noon on a sunny day. Police came and took info - unfortunately hers was all counterfeit and they never found her once she was released to leave. No big deal, she only bent my license plate frame and put a small crack in the fiberglass bumper.

I can't believe that this guy that hit you just drove off. He'd get his butt arrested here in Delaware for doing that, and he should have given you his insurance info at least. Maybe he didn't have any, and that's why he took off.

[cassiesmom]

Glad to see you're okay. Sheet metal and plastic can be repaired.

I would have your rear bumper checked to make sure the bumper mounts are still intact.

Update. When I got back to my car in the parking lot after work, I noticed that the left-hand plastic cover over the rear lights is sort of sticking out. The bigger problem was that I couldn't get the trunk open. I did file a police report this morning and the police officer got the trunk open for me so I could get my flute and music out for my rehearsal tonight. But it's definitely not closing securely. LH, the officer told me the same thing you did, get the rear bumper checked and also said to make sure the rear lights all work (top, left and right). I have to get an estimate and submit a report to the Illinois department of transportation.

While I was at the police station they tried a few times to reach the owner of the other vehicle- or the one they're assuming was the other vehicle unless I wrote the plate number down wrong. It would have been a stronger identification if I had noted the brand of the other vehicle as well as the number. No answer so they have asked the police department in that town to contact the owner and have them get in touch with the investigating officer.

What else did I learn? It is scary how much information about me is hidden behind the license plate number. (previous tickets, traffic stops, accidents etc going back almost 10 years, and I'm sure they could get more if they just dig) And if ever I get rear-ended again I am not going to be as nice. And that I should be even more careful when stopping at traffic lights so as not to be the rear-ender instead of the rear-endee.

There is a big push around here right now about not using a cell phone in a school zone, because it is back to school time. And about distracted driving in general. It's a good reminder.

Thank you for letting me share again,
elyse

[happylabs]

I was rear-ended one time at a stop sign. There was one car in front of me and one car behind me. When the first car pulled out, I inched up and stopped at the stop sign like you are supposed to. All of a sudden I feel crunch. Grrrrrrrrrrrr

I was so mad I couldn't even get out of my car, I just sat there fuming for a minute. She got out of her car and came up to the window. I am sure I may have used a few unkind words (I learned from my dad). Know what she said? I thought you were just going to keep going. I said...it's not a stop light turning green, it's a stop sign!!!!! She probably thought I was a real B*tc* but I was on my way to work and late as it was. I didn't have much damage on my rear bumper but when I looked back, her hood was in a v-shape. I was driving a Subaru Forester at the time, I think, or a Subaru Legacy. Her insurance paid for the new bumper. Anyway. Sorry to hijack your thread.