cmusic

This morning as I am leaving for work my usual routine is to look out my driveway as the garage door opens. My pickup truck is parked to the side as usual. I see nothing blocking my way. I get in my IS and back up, swinging around behind the truck to turn in the driveway. But this morning as I back up I hear a BAM and feel a jolt. I look back and see a car parked behind and to the opposite side of my truck. It was hidden behind my truck from my point of view from the garage. I backed right into it doing about 3-4 mph.

The car I hit belongs to a woman that came to help my next-door neighbor with a garage sale. She parked in my driveway so as not to block the neighbor’s sale. She said she thought about knocking on my door to warn me of where she parked her car, but she said she did not want to bother me.

The damage to her 7-year old Chevy Malibu was a cracked rear bumper and paint scrape marks. She said not to worry about her car. She did not have any insurance. My IS suffered several paint scrape marks and a strange bubble like dent around the reflector on the bumper. My damage is less than my insurance deductible so I will have to pay out of my own pocket to get it fixed.

What makes the situation worse is two years ago she parked in the same location to visit my neighbor and I also then backed into her car with my previous car. I told her to never get on my property again.

caymandive

iTrader: (2)

I'm assuming you don't have the backup camera and proximity sensors on your IS?

is4me2

Say what????? Isn't that pretty nervy someone parked in your driveway.......is she not even offering to pay for your car? Some people might say well you should have been looking better but who the h___ is expecting a strange car to be parked in your driveway. I would think she should be totally responsible for paying for your damage. Wouldn't that be trespassing on your property? I would be so mad, heck I am so mad for you

BTW, thanks for your tips on setting controls on the music levels. I'm using your recommendations

TripleL

cmusic,

Sorry man,, that really is just terrible. Glad no one was hurt but what kills me (and I'm sure you) is that she's done this before and the exact same thing happened.

Well if your like me,, go get at least a couple of quotes and get it fixed, cuz looking at is just gonna make you sick.

TripleL

teracon

Next time, I would have that cun* towed.

LeslieRC

Very unfortunate incident. Definitely trespassing, but problematic that her trespassing was the proximate cause of the accident. I guess it would depend on how obscured her vehicle was given its proximity to the rear of his truck. Nice thought! Might even be worth a try in small claims court.

diablo1

Ya I agree. First get some quotes and ask her nicely if she will pay. She will probably want to know how much it costs, that's why I say get the quotes first. If she doesn't agree to pay, then I would up the ante by telling her she was trespassing on your property and you are considering legal action. If that doesn't get her to pay up, then you should actually look into small claims court.

Kermee

iTrader: (1)

Sorry to hear about the accident.

What's interesting is another CL member had a similar incident but reversed. Reversed in the sense that he parked his car on the driveway, his mother hopped into her car in the garage, opened the garage door, put the car in reverse and floored the gas. Needless to say, hilarity ensued.

Cheers,
Kermee

ff_

Not exactly an excuse. You should always look in the direction that your car is moving. The backup sensors and reverse camera aren't there to keep you from having to turn your head and look where you're going.


Dude...please. I really dislike that mentality. The guy backed into someone else's car. Needs to take responsibility for it.

Style2k6

But the car was on his property and obscured by his truck . I bet you can walk from your bedroom to the bathroom in the dark and have done it many times without turning the light on to look first.But if someonewere to put something is the path and you tripped over it who are you going to be mad at the person who put the object there or yourself for not turning on the light and looking at the path you have walked many times in the dark ?

Bichon

ff_ has a point. What if the unexpected obstruction was the woman's child instead of her car? One should always look before backing up. But I'm sure that cmusic has figured that one out himself, and is more in need of consolation than a lecture.

cmusic, hope you're able to get your car back in shape quickly.

ff_

If you can't see a car parked behind a truck, then you're not looking.

And another note here, things that happen on your property are your responsibility. If someone walked across your lawn, tripped on an exposed root from the oak tree, and broke their leg, they can sue you. You'd be liable for paying for medical bills, lost wages, whatever.

So theoretically, if anyone could be sued in thise case, it would be cmusic.

kensteele

that's too bad hopefully the damage can be repaired without any signs so you can get your old car back. hang in there a week or two, it's gonna bet tough.

if the damanges are not so costly, i wouldn't ask her to pay. maybe you can ask her to split it with you. if someone parks in your drive way and you see them and you let them and you don't do anything about it, that's not trespassing cause you let them. remember the old saying, someone is walking across your yard and they trip and fall and then they sue you? Edit: ff said it above.

op says he let her park there before, why not park there again? you can't allow someone as long as everything is ok then when things go bad, it's not ok. she has no insurance, that's the first problem. second problem is accident is his fault. this could go either way, my personal opinion if it is $300 or less, let it go.

Ramon

Theoretically you can sue anyone for anything you want. That doesn't mean you'll win though

Kavistar

This is one of the reasons why our country is going down the tubes.....if you trip while on someone else property, it is your problem, not the owner. I mean, what is it saying when you can spill hot coffee on yourself and become a millionaire?

But back to the thread at hand.....This is a case of both parties being at fault. Both sides have a good argument, but I agree with above, if it is only around $300 I would just pay it and move on. There is no need making enemies with someone who could always come back and do other damage to you or your car. Don't get me wrong, even though I would pay it, I would be completely irate.