The Intersection of Doom Claims Yet More Vehicles!

Last week, I was feeling particularly lazy on Friday and as a result, short changed my car safari by a vehicle.  To make up for it, today I offer up a trio of vehicles that have all fallen victim to the automotive Bermuda Triangle that is the intersection at which my house sits.  Late last week, I was sitting in my living room watching some movie based on a Terry Pratchett novel at around midnight when I heard the unmistakable squeal of car tires attempting to grind a vehicle to a halt, followed by the distinct “thump” of a collision.  By the time I reached the front door to have a look, one of the drivers was already out of her car hollering and swearing at the other driver, accusing him of running the red light.  The other driver was definitely more calm than the female and denied these claims.  I asked them if everybody was alright, and the female tried to get me to side with her on the matter of whose fault it was.  I said I had only heard the accident and didn’t know who ran what, then snapped some quick and crappy pictures to share with you, my fellow car safari mates.

To illustrate to you just how bad my camera skills are, I’ve included a picture that looks like a fireworks display but is actually just my shaky camera work.  To be fair, I did lose the charger to my nice Nikon camera some months ago and have been using a little point and shoot pocket camera and/or my iphone in its stead for this blog.  I’ve also included a better shot of the accident scene.  I’m not sure how the cars ended up in this position because I think at least one of them started off headed southbound on the one way cross street with the road that they both sit on now. 

Lets determine what kind of a loss my intersection has incurred this time, shall we?  First, we have the gold or tan colored car, which is a 2002 Chevy Malibu.  This car has a 3.1L V6 that’s good for 170HP and 190 lb ft of torque.  Assuming a conservative average of 10,000 miles per year, this car probably has about 110,000 miles on its odometer, which would place its value at between $4,000-$5,000 depending on its condition.  An insurance company will typically total out anything with damage that amounts to about 75% of the vehicle’s value, which means that if repairs on this car amount to between $3,000-$3,750, it’s a total loss and the owner of the car will get a check for the value of the car (assuming they have comprehensive coverage and not just liability) and the insurance company will take possession of the totaled wreck.

Now, in cases like this, the vehicle’s owner does have the option of buying the wreck back from the insurance company.  In this case, the salvage value of the car and the deductible are subtracted from the settlement that the insurance company would have otherwise paid out.  After that, the car’s owner will have to get a salvage title on the vehicle in order to be able to drive it on the road again. This is a situation that typically only occurs when there’s some sentimental value to the vehicle, or it’s been highly modified/customized by its owner who doesn’t want to lose out on all the aftermarket investment they’ve made in the car (the insurance company probably won’t factor in nearly as much value to modifications as the actual amount the owner of the car spent doing that work).  In Minnesota, a salvage title involves a process that requires the vehicle to first be repaired, then pass an inspection.  For this, there’s a $30 inspection fee, plus an $8.50 filing fee, and probably some more fees that the DMV website isn’t bothering to list.  They’ll wait until you’ve sat through an eternity of screaming babies and impatient motorists at the DMV waiting room to stick it to you with the assortment of other assessments, bills, taxes, surcharges, and whatever else they can pile on while they’ve got your vehicle held hostage by its title status.  Oh, but I complain too much about them.  The DMV is one of those places that I’m glad I don’t work at, having to deal face to face with a cranky general public and all.  About the only non law-enforcement government job that could be worse in terms of interacting with belligerent and irate would be working at the impound lot. 

Back on topic with the Malibu.  I don’t think the airbags went off, so there’s a $1,000 assessment that won’t be counted against the value of the damage.  I couldn’t see much damage on the vehicle but apparently, it’s on the side opposite of what we’re looking at.  It really doesn’t take too much to rack up a few thousand in damage on a car between body work and paint though, so this one is a toss up.  This one was still drivable, and the driver did move it out of the way after she finished her initial tirade while pacing in the street and gesticulating wildly at the other driver.  I myself tend to be of the mindset that when a person becomes belligerent, it’s a telltale sign that they were likely at fault and are attempting to use anger and scorn to deflect guilt, but who knows, maybe that driver is just an unpleasant person in general. 

The thing is, an accident is an accident.  Nobody intended for it to happen.  That’s why it’s called an accident instead of an assault.  There’s no sense in getting one’s panties in a twist and going off on somebody over an accident unless that other driver is really being an asshole.  Really, just be glad that nobody was hurt and then go about the business of exchanging insurance and drivers license info.  In Minneapolis, when dealing with accidents where there are no injuries or fatalities, police don’t typically respond to accident scenes.  Instead, drivers are advised to make a note of the date, time, location and plate numbers of the cars involved (writing down the color, make and model isn’t a bad idea either -nor is snapping a few pictures with the cell phone camera if possible and safe to do so), then exchanging insurance company names and policy numbers (making sure to get a look at each other’s insurance cards to see that they’re up to date) and making a note of each other’s drivers license numbers (try to get a look at the license to make sure the person you’re dealing with is in fact the person pictured on the license -and if you notice that the corner of the license is clipped, then insist on a squad because that license is not valid).  After all that, each driver has 10 days to go to any police station in the entire state of Minnesota to pick up and fill out a State Accident Report form, which they should make two copies of (one for their own records, and one for their insurance company) before mailing off to the address listed on the form.  The police do not determine fault in accidents where there are no injuries or fatalities -that’s what you pay your insurance companies to argue over.

Now, in this case, the police did respond to the scene because the female driver was creating such a stink, and likely, they handed each driver a report packet to fill out and told them to exchange info. 

The other vehicle in this debacle is a 1993 Toyota Camry (the greenish blue one).  This car is powered by a 2.2L 4 cylinder engine that has 130 HP and 145 lb ft of torque.  Given its age and its likely mileage (180,000 by our 10,000 mile/year standards), it’s not going to take a whole lot of damage to total this one out.  It’s got a value of maybe around $2,000, so $1,500 worth of damage will do it.  Worse case scenario: between these two vehicles, if they’re both totaled out, that’s a combined total of $7,000 worth of cars that my intersection has wrecked.  It’s anybody’s guess which driver was actually at fault, but I’m going to bet that both drivers’ insurance rates bump up a bit.  

So there’s accident #1.  On to accident #2.  This was one that the driver managed to get into all by himself.  I’m not even sure what he did, but I think he curbed up while taking the corner and knocked something loose on his car, causing it to lose power.  The driver then flagged down a squad car and was promptly booked into jail once the police realized that the driver didn’t have a license or any documentation.  Here’s a case where the driver really would have been ahead just calling a tow truck.  So, this is a 1995 or so Honda Accord, and at the high end of its value, we’re looking at around $2,000... Though more likely, about $1,800.

 

I really don’t see much damage on this vehicle, so I doubt there would be a claim on it.  Still, the cost here is going to be bail, impound fees, towing fees, the cost of the citation for driving without a license, the cost of the citation for no insurance, and court fees.  Impound and towing fees will likely be around $300, provided our driver can get out of jail in time to get it before he gets a storage fee tacked on to it.  But, because the driver doesn’t have a license or any valid ID (and may be deported), the impound lot isn’t about to release a vehicle to somebody without a license or proof of insurance, that car’s going to sit in impound for a while, after which time, if it remains unclaimed, it will be auctioned off.  We might as well count it as a total loss for its owner, which would actually be cheaper than all the fines, fees, court costs and legal expenses.  So, tack on another $1,800 to our total today, bringing us to $8,800. 

I can only imagine the toll my intersection takes on automobiles while I’m sleeping or at work, but there you have it.  Add this $8,800 to our estimated $15,000 from the last accident I blogged about at my corner, and we’re up to $23,800 between the two.  Good thing my intersection seems to have a taste for older vehicles, or who knows how high this figure would be.