Another "hidden" advantage..

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Woodnknots

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To having a large pickup truck! I was rear ended on the highway yesterday by a 03 cavalier. The front of that car was literally destroyed, and the only evidence that I had contact is a small amount of paint on my trailer hitch! My bumper may be slightly tweaked (at least that's what the insurance adjust will see) but other than that, NOTHING!! I have a bit of whiplash, but with some muscle relaxers and motrin, I'm not doing too bad.

BTW, the truck I was driving is a 95 silverado with 377k miles on it!!
 
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I get a lot of grief from some of my "Green" friends for having a large vehicle. I always use the answer that if I get hit I want some steel around me. You have proved my point.
 
Phil, to a point this is very true..
(keep in mind, I am a licenced damage appraiser, I-Car trained, ASE certified as well as being trained by Chief for structural damage analysis... Simply put, this is more than my opinion)

Newer unitized cars are safer in a way, but just to a point. The car's are designed to fold and crumple to pass the energy from the impact thru the body of the car to absorb it before it gets to the driver. On a full frame truck, much more of that energy is transfered right down the rigid frame and into the driver which will cause more internal injuries. However, there is a "break point" where the car will fail the compartment protection and cause more injuries. This can be seen when dash boards and floors displace into the driver. This will need much more force on a rigid frame truck. In the effort to make full frames crush like cars they have been "re-working" the frame design to basicly make them weak in areas to absorb the impact. (remeber the Ford trucks crash test done on a corner hit that showed that they were basicly "unsafe" ??)

That said, I am still torn.. Less injury in day to day 50mph and below accidents but wheu it comes apart at highway speed say 75 & above, I want the mass.
 
glad you are ok. I supervise some adjusters for a large insurance carrier....most of us drive large vehicles....4 door dodge truck myself. for the really bad ones, it does not matter what you are in. for the "normal" ones...bigger is better.
 
It doesn't take much of a hit to get quite a bit of damage. I got hit earlier this year and had to go to the chiropractor for about 3 months. It's been OK for the past couple months now and I am ready to settle with the insurance company. Glad to hear you weren't hurt too badly and hope it stays that way.
 
My wife is still in the negotiation phase with the lawyers from her accident over 2 years ago! We hope to see some results by the end of this year. She was rear ended, and has permanent nerve damage and needs steroid injections in her neck 3 times per year. She also sees the chiropractor regularly. The truck that hit her was large, and had almost no damage. The car she was in was a neon, and had relatively little damage, but the way her neck moved caused permanent injury. The speed was slow, so that goes to show that it doesn't take much speed.

The other driver from my accident's insurance called today and offered to settle for $500. $150 for my doctor visit, $50 for my prescription, and $300 for me. I told them I'd wait a couple weeks to see how my neck is.
 
Originally posted by Woodnknots
<br />.....The other driver from my accident's insurance called today and offered to settle for $500. $150 for my doctor visit, $50 for my prescription, and $300 for me. I told them I'd wait a couple weeks to see how my neck is.
Click to expand...

Check with your doctor for a realistic time frame; but I would be thinking in terms of several months before you decide that your neck has not been seriously damaged!!
 
You must see a doctor withing 24 hours of the accident. If you don't, in some states, even if you are injured more than you think, you won't have a claim because the injury wasn't documented.
 
Hi, I'm glad you are not hurt bad, I too like big trucks, I have a F-350 and a F-600, I like driving the F-600 but I only do that when we have a lot of wood to harvest.
I also agree that you should not accept the settlement until you are sure you are fine. Aloha.

Chris
Kalai
 
Something smells fishey if the other driver is trying to settle with you this fast. If you settle with him before any injury appears, you are mostly out of luck getting the new injury included in your case. I had the same thing happen to me. My doctor told me to wait at least three months. Although I was stiff and sore for quite a while, I never had any additional injuries develop later.
Good luck and heal fast.
 
Originally posted by oldsmokey
<br />Something smells fishey if the other driver is trying to settle with you this fast. If you settle with him before any injury appears, you are mostly out of luck getting the new injury included in your case. I had the same thing happen to me. My doctor told me to wait at least three months. Although I was stiff and sore for quite a while, I never had any additional injuries develop later.
Good luck and heal fast.
Click to expand...
It was the other driver's insurance company. I called my insurance company and asked if what they were offering was standard, and they also gave me the advice to wait and see if my neck got better before I settle with them. They said that what the other company offered was pretty standard, and I was not being taken for a ride. The qualified that with, of course, "the only person that can decide if that settlement is fair is you, when you take into account how much pain you are in, how much you were inconvenienced, etc..."
 
Dave,
Glad you weren't seriously hurt, though an impact in the rear can cause some severe neck and back injuries..
A few years back (say about 1967), I was making a left hand turn off The El Camino Real in Burlingame, Ca... as I sat waiting for a light, in my 1964 Corvette (my pride and joy), I was re-ended by two ladies and their dog in a Pontiac Le Mans (I think it was a Le Mans... know for sure a Pontiac)... they hit me hard enough to drive me through the traffic light to across the cross street... fortunate thing was I was sitting with clutch depressed and no brakes on... I suffered no injury myself except that the top of my head hit the top of the hardtop... my car had split seams over the rear wheelwell from the bumper to the back of the top and across the rear of the car.. the bumper was scratched and the cross member on the rear of the frame was bent slightly... the Pontiac front end was crumpled to the radiator, the radiator was pushed back to the motor so that the fan actually turned agains the radiator coils.. I know this because the ladies tried to re-start her car and I could see through the hood the fan turning against the coils.. the passenger's head hit and shattered the windshield (or the dog's .. he left the scene as soon as they opened the car door and was never seen again that I know of) After the police finished their evaluation of the accident, I drove away, the Pontic towed.. even though it was fiberglas.. the Corvette still had some bulk to it and the bumper absorbed most of the impact..

My point is, bumpers work, and if I am hit, would really rather it be from behind..

Be sure you have yourself checked to make sure no hidden injuries.. insurance companies don't like to pay if they can find any excuse not to.
 
Originally posted by Woodnknots
<br />
Originally posted by oldsmokey
<br />Something smells fishey if the other driver is trying to settle with you this fast. If you settle with him before any injury appears, you are mostly out of luck getting the new injury included in your case. I had the same thing happen to me. My doctor told me to wait at least three months. Although I was stiff and sore for quite a while, I never had any additional injuries develop later.
Good luck and heal fast.
Click to expand...
It was the other driver's insurance company. I called my insurance company and asked if what they were offering was standard, and they also gave me the advice to wait and see if my neck got better before I settle with them. They said that what the other company offered was pretty standard, and I was not being taken for a ride. The qualified that with, of course, "the only person that can decide if that settlement is fair is you, when you take into account how much pain you are in, how much you were inconvenienced, etc..."
Click to expand...

Dave, first let me say that I'm glad it wasn't serious! I was rearended in my new Silverado (less than 2000 miles on it at the time) back in June. The other vehicle was going about 5 mph when he hit me. Minor whiplash and the only damage was a tweaked bumper(but I still made them replace it... it is a new trcuk afterall). The point... the insurance company paid for the damages, all medical bills, time missed from work, rental car and an extra $800 for me. Just mentioned for comparison.
 
I know a fellow rear ended waiting to turn into parking lot of the bank. He was driving a full size pickup. The seat frame crumpled and hit his back to the point that he had to give up his job and has trouble sitting or standing for long periods. He was 35 when it happened and gave up his career with the railroad. This happened in a 25 mph zone. It doesn't take much if things hit right or rather wrong.
Glad you're ok and I hope for continued recovery.
 
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