francisurquhart
12-16-2005, 05:23 PM
I was in an accident this morning, my first serious one since one right after I started driving.
My car (a 2002 Saturn SL-1) would, after the accident, start - but would not drive. What can cause that?
The guy who towed my beautiful Saturn away told me that Saturns (and some other GM Cars) have a computer which, when in an accident, sometimes needs to be restarted. Has anyone heard this before?
Finally, I'm a little concerned about the circumstances of the accident. I'm of the belief that I am 100% not at-fault, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make the case.
My concern is that the two people in the Van that hit me barely speak English and that, about ten minutes after the crash, several of their friends showed up and, after an extended conversation in Mandrin, the man began telling me in broken English that I was at fault (prompted, I'm sure, by his friend) and I've got a sneaking feeling that they might suddenly become "witnesses" to the crash.
Basically, there are two factors:
1) The damage to my Saturn's body is entirely along the extreme left side, whereas the damage to the body of the Voyager is more along the front. If I'd really been driving, as he asserted, on his side of the road, wouldn't the damage to my front-end be broader? I'm far from an expert, but I know a little about physics. The collision occured as we were coming around a corner. It sounds to me a lot like he continued straight forward and clipped me as I was coming around.
2) There was another car, parked directly along the curve of the road (which, whatever the other driver did, is probably the actual cause of the accident). Does anyone have any idea if I can drag them into this somehow to mix up the liability mix a little more?
Basically, we have a standard suburban street, with a very sharp curve, and with a car parked along the curve.
My car (a 2002 Saturn SL-1) would, after the accident, start - but would not drive. What can cause that?
The guy who towed my beautiful Saturn away told me that Saturns (and some other GM Cars) have a computer which, when in an accident, sometimes needs to be restarted. Has anyone heard this before?
Finally, I'm a little concerned about the circumstances of the accident. I'm of the belief that I am 100% not at-fault, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make the case.
My concern is that the two people in the Van that hit me barely speak English and that, about ten minutes after the crash, several of their friends showed up and, after an extended conversation in Mandrin, the man began telling me in broken English that I was at fault (prompted, I'm sure, by his friend) and I've got a sneaking feeling that they might suddenly become "witnesses" to the crash.
Basically, there are two factors:
1) The damage to my Saturn's body is entirely along the extreme left side, whereas the damage to the body of the Voyager is more along the front. If I'd really been driving, as he asserted, on his side of the road, wouldn't the damage to my front-end be broader? I'm far from an expert, but I know a little about physics. The collision occured as we were coming around a corner. It sounds to me a lot like he continued straight forward and clipped me as I was coming around.
2) There was another car, parked directly along the curve of the road (which, whatever the other driver did, is probably the actual cause of the accident). Does anyone have any idea if I can drag them into this somehow to mix up the liability mix a little more?
Basically, we have a standard suburban street, with a very sharp curve, and with a car parked along the curve.