This happened earlier today right after heavy thunderstorm with pouring rain.
It was a wide 3 lane with speed limit of 55.
There is a traffic light where speed limit changes to 45.
It was pretty good traffic and everyone was driving around 60mpb.
This moron 2 cars ahead of me hit the brake about 200 feet away from the traffic light.
I still had a good distance between my car and the car in front of me.
But when that moron slowed down suddenly, the light changed to yellow at the next second.
He decided to slam on the brake on the wet load. The guy in front of me managed to stop a couple feet away from him.

I slam on the brake too, but the tire lost tracktion completely. I didn't even feel anti-lock engaging. I hit the car probably at the speed of 20 mph, and the car in front of me hit that moron's car also. The other 2 cars have somewhat minor damage just to bumpers, and see what happened to my car.

The worst part is that this was almost unavoidable and the police still gave me a ticket.
The lesson from today is never drive behind a moron.

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Sorry to hear that man. These days there are to many moron's driving! Looks like there is no real frame damage. Atleast the headllights didn't break or the bumper.

Good Luck!

 

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this is horrible........sorry to hear

and why would the cop give you a ticket that sucks

 

i second that.. why did you get a ticket.

 

I think except for some special situations, the car in the rear is at fault.
I knew that, but sometimes, it's just very hard to avoid unless you drive very carefully the whole time. I was in the middle lane, and even after I hit the car, about 3-4 cars pass by on the other 2 lanes while the light was still yellow.

Oh, the cop said, when the estimated total damage is more than $1000, they are required to give a ticket to at least one driver. I don't know if this is B.S.

 

idiot drivers. you can't live with them, and you can't run them off the road. (legally)

bent radiator support, headlights, hood, grill, bumper, repaint/clear. i don't know about virginia, but that's about $2000-$2500 here in texas. Just a guideline to what you might be lookin to pay.

 

And 2 inner lights casing. Radiator is bent also. Probably need to replace that too.
I going thru insurance, so $500 out of my pocket + inclrease in premium.

This is the first time I hit another car in 20 years of driving.
It's probably 50% my fault by not keep 3 second distance.

 

Actually, there is 2 inch diameter hole in the bumper from the other car's muffler.
You can see it in the picture.

 

that sucks sorry to hear that man, this same exact thing happened to me in my camry when an idiot in a van decided to just stop in the middle of the highway

 

Ouch sorry to hear that this has happened to you. Glad that you're ok. The part about them giving the ticket if over a certain amount of damage is correct; at least I know it is for MD. As far as who was at fault, yes you do share a bit in the responsibility in that you did not maintain correct following distance from car in front of you, and you failed to compensate for road conditions. That is truthfully why he gave you the ticket, especially if the other car in front of you stated that he was able to stop. Unfortunately, the man who tags from the rear last gets ticketed first. It's just like in my job. I drive tractor trailers for a living across the country and I not only have to be responsible for me, but I have to anticipate the possible stupid actions of other drivers as well and act accordingly. Let me hit something and automatically it is my fault. The old guilty until proven innocent theory. Once again, really sorry to read about your accident, and glad that you're ok. Damage looks extensive but not too bad. She'll be back up in no time.

 

Certainly a BS, my wife just rear ended someone just over a month ago, 4k damage (although the damage was really minor - one headlight, hood, bumper and radiator support). No tickets were issued.

 

damn that sucks man.... sorry that happened.. i hate idiot drivers... good luck gettin' it fixed and such!