accident question?

[SilverRex]

Can someone get a real backslash from being rear ended at 5km/h?

unfortunately I ran into an incident today that upon stopping at a stop light at 32nd ave. I must of fell asleep for that split second and I accident let go my right foot from the brakes.

I had bumped into the car infront of me which is a blue dodge neon. upon inspecting both cars I was happy that there was basically no damage. Maybe a little bit of a skratch on my bumper. But again there is no visable damage. And it was such a slow bump.
So after exchanging insurance information.

the guy who was in the neon (I think a guy in his 40-50)
said he will call my insurance company anyways.

I ask him why, there is no visable damage but he said he had a different preception to the bump and it sounds like he want to put in an injury claim.

Im like, maybe i dont know, but how can you get an injury from a speed of 5 km/h off the brakes and if this guy can be so easily injured at such low speed then he shouldnt be suitable to drive in the first place because he would post a risk to other drivers on the road if something happens to him "like slamming his own brakes to avoid something on the road"

welp anyone knows where I can find out more about this?
your help is greatly appreciated.

=/

[Talies R]

Even though there was no visible damage, you still drove into him and he has the right to deal through insurance. The insurance companies can investigate the damage, and have ways of determining if an injury could of occured depending on how fast you were going when you hit him.

His age & health condition may make him more susceptible to injury than the average person.

[SilverRex]

so I agree he has the right to go thru insurance, my initial thought was hey thre is no visable damage then there should not be any problem just going thru me, however his last comment made me think he wants to take advantage of this and put a claim in which "if I do not know better" would be getting screwed over for something that did not really happen or take place.

I totally understand, if the bump can cause such injury I have no problem going thru insurance and fix the problem however I also need to find out where I stand and if there is any other resources outthere that can let me understand the accident better.

this is one of those accidents that both party has a point.
I need to find out, if there is any way a person can be injuried at such low speed.

My guess is I dont think you can even if age was a factor. I will call my insurance and ask them how they look at dealing with these sort of incidents.

thanks

[Talies R]

Yes definately call your insurance, as they can better advise you. If the impact was in fact at such a low speed, technically the other driver should NOT have been injured. However, other factors will play a role. But goodluck anyways, :thumbsup:

[Loose]

There are two ways the severity of the collision can be estimated:

1. Based on the impact scenario:

How far behind the Neon were you stopped before rear-ending it? Most autos go to around 3-6 km/h in one car length from a stop. Try to remember how far back you were, and if you touched the gas at all. Write down this distance and if the road was level.


2. Vehicle condition:

Can you see a rub mark on your car? If so how wide is it? This is a clue as to how hard the impact was. If you can see a mark, take photos immediately.

Your car (k car, right?) is equipped with bumper shocks. The reinforcement bar is attached to the frame by two shocks (left and right side). When a frontal impact occurs, the shocks compress and they leave scrape marks on the shock tube. Judging by how long these scrape marks are, the severity of the impact can be estimated. Check underneath the car to see if there are any. Note if they are fresh or old (rusty). There may be no marks, there maybe 4 or 5 sets, depending on how many things your car has hit.

The Neon rear bumper is made of a foam impact absorber and metal reinforcement bar. I've done impact testing of the older style, and the foam always cracks in a certain spot as the impacts get harder. The newer neons and SX's have a pretty robust foam absorber. It is very hard to tell how hard these cars are hit, since they don't start to show damage till higher severities.

Basically, if you ins. company got a claim, and wanted to do an investigation, they would probably request an accident investigation with a collision reconstruction firm. This firm (if thourough) would consider the impact scenario, and examine both vehicles, and then provide the insurance company with an estimation of impact severity.

Hope that helps.

[SilverRex]

thanks for the added info

I will find out more with my insurance company next week, but I am pretty sure I did not hit the gas I was on the brake until it slip thru and the car is definately under 10km/h

it was the older style neons

well perhaps the gentleman in front of me was trying to be very careful, maybe he just wanted to make sure nothing happens if something happens at least he already reported it instantly. t I will watch for that

[jdmakkord]

The exact same thing happened to me oct 30, and the bitch passenger in the car I "hit" is claiming injuries. My insurance company already had my car looked at(a paint chip) and is not planning on paying out much if anything at all. I bumped this car going 5km or less too.

[jayvtec]

some bitch backed up into my last year...didn't care abt it...no damage or anything....but 10 mins after she left...my neck started hurtin like a bitch...and she was probly goin less than 5 clicks....

the thing is....if he was expecting the hit...maybe his body coulda gone into a protective mode....but since he didn't had a clue...his claim should be legitimate....

altho..i must say...there's a lot of scumbags out there too...

[max_boost]

The exact same thing happened to my dad about 6 years ago. The weird thing is, there was an officer right behind my dad when he touched bumpers with the car in front of him. This was at an intersection and I guess my pops just let off the brakes as the light turned green but never put the foot to the pedal. So his speed had to be what? 2kms? LOL. There were no signs of damage and even the officer said, you guys should just forget about this and move on.:thumbsup: Of course the other guy had ulterior motives and claimed it through insurance. He managed to get $5000. That is unreal! Oh well, some people are just opportunistic I suppose.