I'm going to make this as short and simple as possible, and I have a few questions to ask.

I was driving my girlfriend home and my friend was following me there in his prelude. I come around a bend in a street and see a cop car who had just pulled someone over, I slow down (and since i was in the bend I didn't realize that the cruiser was in my lane) and abruptly stop about a foot from the car. Next thing I know a big bang occurs and my friend had just rear-ended me.

My bumper needs to be replaced (his car is practically totalled) and my exhaust is hanging really low. Here come the questions:

1) A hissing noise is coming from my exhaust (I assume it was cracked and there is a leak) and there is a puttering noise as well (I think it might be the cat or something if the exhaust was pushed forward enough the pipes might not be aligned). Any idea what this is?

2) How would the insurance work for this? If my buddies insurance pays for my damages, do they replace what was already there? Is there anyway i would be able to manage an after-market bumper/exhaust?

3) Is it the city's fault? The cop was pulled over right past a blind corner in a lane with "No stopping any time" signs all over. There was no shoulder at all. Should they be at fault at all for obstructing the road?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post.

Here's the pics:

 

No clue, but its junked anyway and will be replaced

This will obviously be on your bud's insurance. Virtually ANYTIME someone rear ends another person they are 100% at fault. In fact, I am sure the cops wrote him a ticket and put him down on the report as being at fault.

As for the insurance, this will depend on whether or not they will cut you a check directly, or if they will reimburse the body shop who does the work. Usually it takes longer for them to cut you a check, but if you want to wait it out it might be worth it.
Two things:

1. Have them reimburse you for a rental car that is comparable to a G35. If they say they will cover you $20 a day for a Saturn rental, tell them this is unacceptable. Remember, the ball is in your court. Go online and find out how much a $35k luxury vehical will cost on a day to day basis to rent. Then request that you are given that amount per day. (do this research now so you know what you should be getting)

2: If this is the first accident the car has been in, claim 'diminished value' on the car. In fact, check out this thread I posted on the subject after my car was hit. https://g35driver.com/forums/showthr...ght=diminished

I was awarded it quite easily, but sometimes it can be a big pain in the ***. Regardless, it is definitely worth checking out. Make sure you press them on this issue.

First off, what did the police officer say(the one you almost hit). And btw, if you were only 1 ft from the officer before impact, how did you avoid him?

Secondly, what did the police who responded to the accident say about who was at fault?

Thirdly, did the officer stopped in the middle of the road have his lights flashing? If so then you are definitely S.O.L in that situation.

Hope this helps, and give us some more details so we can try to better help out.

 

The officer came to my car and said "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU JUST DID? SLOW DOWN." Everyone then calmed down. A traffic observer came over and wrote the report, he was totally a cool guy and said that it isn't completely unreasonable to say that the cops were at fault, but that the street has been observed and it should be safe for them to pull someone over. The cops lights were on but we were there for over an hour and countless cars came very close to destroying our cars even more, they eventually put up flares.

I avoided the car because my foot was still on the break, I managed to end up about 3 inches from the guys bumper. He said I would have been in serious trouble had I hit his car. One thing I overheard was one of the officers saying "I'm seriously going to get f*cked for this." Nothing was said about who was at fault, they just said that our insurance would take care of it. I told them we were friends so we didn't say anything about who is at fault, it's pretty obvious.

Is my goal in this to reap as much money from the insurance company as possible for the damages?

 

This was just a bystander? Not another officer of sorts? If this is just a bystander it matters not what his opinion of 'safety' is.
If they had lights on then you won't be able to prove it to be their fault. Not a chance, at least not without a lawyer.

Not true, this is just the cop venting frustration.
I don't see how this is the case. He might get bitched at, but legally he won't be able to be proven at fault.

They didn't write your friend a ticket? This makes no sense to me. If he cause the accident he could have gotten 2-3 different types of tickets, failure to control vehicle, careless operation, and a few others. Also, if he got a ticket, then it is further proof of it being his fault.
I don't know dude, but it sure sounds like that is what you want to do by getting aftermarket goodies. Basically my view is that you should be properly compensated for the diminished value(now the wreck is on carfax and your car won't be able to sell for full value) as well as the rental. I prefer to be compensated for a rental that is comparable to my G35, but if you are happy with getting a Saturn then, by all means, do it.

 

1) A hissing noise is coming from my exhaust (I assume it was cracked and there is a leak) and there is a puttering noise as well (I think it might be the cat or something if the exhaust was pushed forward enough the pipes might not be aligned). Any idea what this is?
It's pointlesss to speculate without being able to look at your car.

2) How would the insurance work for this? If my buddies insurance pays for my damages, do they replace what was already there? Is there anyway i would be able to manage an after-market bumper/exhaust?
The way the process works is that your friend's Insurance company adjustor will carefully examine your car and write you a check for the damages that he's able to determine. You can spend that money anyway you want. So if you want aftermarket parts, this is an ideal time for it. You are entitled to the price of OEM parts, so your responsibility would only be to pay for the differance in price between OEM and aftermarket. The repair shop you select will also undoubtedly find more damage that will need to be repaired after they start removing parts, and the Insurance company will write a check directly to the Repair Shop for those additional repairs.

3) Is it the city's fault? The cop was pulled over right past a blind corner in a lane with "No stopping any time" signs all over. There was no shoulder at all. Should they be at fault at all for obstructing the road?
No, cops can park anywhere they want, but based on your description the cop could have used better judgement. It's incumbent upon drivers to drive at speeds that enable them to safely control their cars under varying conditions. In other words you are never supposed to drive faster than your line of sight. Therefore in blind corners you must slow down because your line of sight is severly limited.
Not many drivers abide by this common sense approach, and that's why you sometimes read about mutiple car pile ups when there's severe fog.

 

Not necessarily the case each time that you will be cut a check directly, especially if you end up using a shop recommended by the insurance company. Are you entitled to a check? Of course. I'm just trying to make sure this guy doesn't get pigeonholed into letting the insurance company deal only with the repair shop, because its highly likely that they will try to do so.

 

Also, cops CAN'T always just park wherever they want and be free of liability in case of an accident. If a police officer is parked in the fast lane of a highway directly over the crest of a bridge or hill, he can be found at fault for someone cresting it and not having enough feet to adequately stop the vehicle.

I agree about the 'line of site' method to safer driving, although its not always applicable to every driving situation. That being said, it IS applicable to just about 99.5% of them, which is why it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Ah, if only all drivers out there were good drivers! My insurance would be a lot less!

 

He can use whatever shop he wants and he of course is entitled to OEM parts. My point is that you can't expect the Insurance adjustor to uncover all of the damage. Lots of additional damage is generally uncovered when parts are taken off of the car.

 

I agree that cops have to use good judgement, especially on highways, not because of liability but because they could get killed. Hell, it's scary enough out there when you are moving with the traffic; it's down right terrifying when you are parked on the side of the road and a sitting duck for the first inattentive driver.

Two of my last three cars were Porsches: a 993 and a 996. I thought about getting a 997 but I just got tired of driving down highways with $80K+ cars when I would see men shaving and women putting on makeup while travelling at speeds of 75 to 80 MPH.

With these kinds of inattentive drivers on the roads , cops who use bad judgement as to where they pull over traffic violators won't be around too long.

 

Obviously. Him being able to use whatever shop he wants was never in question.

And yes, you are correct about additional damage. With subsequent payment for said damage going directly to the shop.

Your point was clear. My point was clear as well and totally different, the insurance adjustor will most likely try to get him to use one of their shops. And if this guy isn't well informed he may fall for it.

 

Agreed...just saying that there are circumstances where a pulled over cop can be at fault for an accident. And this usually is the direct result of blatant stupidity and carelessness of the officer.

Makes me wonder why police officers, or anyone for that matter, would pull over in dangerous areas. I mean seriously, these guys HAVE to have seen the videos of police cars getting jacked by innatentive drivers even when the officer has pulled someone over on an open highway clearly out of the way on the side of the road!

 

If you make your buddies insurance pay for him at fault his premium is going to go WAY up and cover however much money you get over a few years. How good of a friend is he??

 

Good point. This person should keep this consideration in mind. It will be more equitable in the long run for the friend to pay this out of pocket if the damage isnt too severe(under 2k). Definitely keep that in mind.

Just go get an estimate and talk with your friend about which way he would rather handle this. Because like SkylineR35 said, your friend will end up paying for the damage and then some over time just by his premiums going up.

 

There are so many variables, that it's tough to make a judgement on this issue. If his friend has been insurred by the same company for a number of years, they might not even increase his premium, especially when the details of the accident are explained. Although technically at fault, there were some strong mitigating circumstances that he can report to his Insurance company. Moreover, I'd be surprised if the price of repairs will be under $2K. It's more than likely to in the $3K neighborhood.

 

Thanks for all the replies.

As for the friend part, he's one of my closest friends, I would do anything to make this process easier. On the other hand, I don't want to be stuck with an unfixed car with a crappy paint job. I'll have to see exactly whats up with his insurance and everything.

-Slip