So of course after 1 month of owning my new 5.5 gen, I had an incident yesterday. I was already kind of worked up because of two idiot drivers on the road, and then got a call that my wife needed to be picked up from work because they "didn't need her" after she called in prior and they said she did.

Anyway, so I wasn't in the best of moods. Some a$$hole in a dodge ram van is coming down the road behind me pretty quickly and weaving over both lines. He got on my butt once, so I gave him a quick "brake-check" and he backed off for a minute, then after getting onto the hwy on ramp there was a trailing taking forever to get up to speed up the ramp. This van was again ON my butt even though I obviously couldn't go any faster so I brake-checked him again. This time, WHACK, he rear-ends me doing maybe 10-15 mph?

After I was sure he was going to stop, I got out to assess the damage and expected to see a good crunch, but was amazed that there was almost nothing. Only two small circular marks about 2 mm pushed in where his license plate pushed into the bumper. He tried and tried to offer me $$ so the cops of insurance wouldn't be involved but he wanted to write me a check so I wanted nothing to do with it.

After he knew the cops were on the way, he was going to bounce. After he got back in the van, I proceeded to pull the Max horizontal across the ramp so he could not escape onto the highway. He proceeded to back all the way down the ramp and head back down the road so I pulled over the grass and onto the exit ramp back down towards the main road. I was on the phone with the cops as I chased him for about 2 miles until the cops finally caught up and pulled him over. Next day I see he was charged with DWI, evading responsibility, driving w/out registration, driving w/out insurance, and reckless endangerment (turns out there were 3 kids in the van). So needless to say I really screwed up this guys day, but happy there is one less drunk POS on the road.

My main question is w/out his insurance, I don't know if I want to make a claim because there's $500 deductible and I hear your rates can go up regardless of who's at fault. The bumper doesn't look to bad, but I noticed the airbag light seems to come on for about 10 seconds after I turn on the car, and also my dad mentioned there is a egg-crate or foam type material behind the bumper that could've been compromised. Is it worth bringing to a shop or dealership to check out? Should I try to sue him in small claims? Should I say my neck is stiff (which it is a little)? Should I guard my home in case he finds my address and is pissed that I screwed up his life? Thanks, and sorry for the long post!

 

Your rates shouldn't go up because of an accident that isn't your fault, at least not if it is your first. I'm glad that at least the drunk that totaled my car had insurance, even though I had to take my company's offer less my deductible (his insurance had to pay that back) because his insurance gave me such a crappy offer on my car.

Definitely get your car checked out, no telling what kind of underlying damage you may have and even if you have to pay your deductible, it might be worth having it fixed to prevent future problems.

 

You might want to edit the OP and add some paragraphs just to make it easier to read. It sucks what happened and now you know why I don't brake check people even if they're being complete D-bags. I just make sure they have room to pass or turn on my windshield washers until they get the message.

GL getting it fixed, I'd take off the bumper cover and see what kind of damage there is and go from there.

On the subject of defending yourself, I think it's a good idea to always be defensive. Keep all doors/windows locked and deadbolted, avoid walking alone and out of public sight when it's possible, and keep attention on your surroundings. It's alot easier to avoid trouble when you see it coming instead of walking while texting out to your car or similar and getting blindsided. Of course, I'm a little paranoid so keep that in mind.


My rates went up when my first accident happened and I was not at fault, even when my insurance didn't pay a penny. Maybe it's different with some insurance providers or if you're older, but it happened when I was 19 and I had USAA insurance.

 

What you really need to do is make sure you don't go around telling people that you brake-checked this guy.

I'm not sure about where you live, but there was a case here a few months back that was pretty similar to yours. Two young guys in a Jetta getting tailgated by a minivan late at night while it was raining. They brake-checked the van and the van swerved to avoid them, clipped their left-rear in the process, went flying off the road and crashed into a bread factory. Both the driver and passenger in the van died.

All involved had extensive driving records that included DWIs and road rage cases. If I remember correctly, the police went so far as looking into filing manslaughter charges against the driver of the Jetta.

Besides that, I second what Sparks said. Always be defensive. Lock doors your doors at all times.

I wouldn't say a word about the accident to your insurance. That's the number one mistake most people make when they get in an accident that's not their fault and people frequently get screwed over by it. It's a little cosmetic damage, leave it go for a while and see how this plays out. All I would do at this point is get an estimate by a trusted body shop. You will likely be able to take him to court and go after him for the damages.

Good luck getting everything worked out. I also suggest editing your OP to break that wall of text up into paragraphs, that's a real pain to read.

 

I drive quite aggressively as well, and I'll admit I am annoyed by people in front of me a lot of the time, but if I can see they can't move any faster due to something slowing them down then I'm not gonna tail gate em, and I would never pass somebody if I can't see it's safe, etc. BIG difference between defensive driving and reckless driving. I always keep my doors locked, etc., but I'm more concerned about if he got my address and wanted to mess up another car (no garage), or something like that. People are nuts.

 

Sorry to hear that OP. My car was recently in a hit-and-run. I ended up paying the deductible ($1000) but my rates won't be going up (thankfully). Maybe it's different for different insurance companies? I would def. check out your neck as you don't want it to turn into a big problem down the road. Good luck!

 

I'd rather flash my brights than tail gate in any situation since it's so dangerous to follow close. Still... I bet you're done brake checking people

If you're worried about it, get some security lights and make sure you're able to hear what's going on outside at night. I've seen people put fake security cameras hanging off their security lights as well... Most road rage types will come after you personally before your property, but that's definitely not every case. That's a bigger worry for me. As much as I love my maxima, I'd rather them take the rage out on my car than jump out of the bushes and beat me to death with a baseball bat.

 

Counterpoint -
Being at fault does not make you insurance go up. The fact that there was an accident is what did it. In the Insurance bastards' eyes, you are more of a liability now because of where you live and drive.

This means that you may cause them to pay out more and therefore they raise your premium. Got this info from them a few years back.

 

Don't forget to tell the "Insurance Bastards" about your awesome brake checking technique!

 

That sucks man, i hope everything checks out...but if you just call the ins. company and dont mention the accident and just say you want to put in a claim for damage your rates will go up iv done it, mayb say hit and run or... the truth, you pay out the *** for ins. then you need or use it and the penalize you, i hate it

 

Your dad is right. If he hit you going 10-15 mph faster than you, you're going to have damage under that bumper cover. Bumper stays, enforcer, absorber, and brackets can all be damaged with little sign of it externally. Also, check your trunk pan for any damage. Make sure your trunk lid latch works exactly like it did before.

OAN: The risk involved with brake-checking is too great to justify the rewards. You simply can't defy physics with emotion. I'm not being callous to your situation, but I'm hoping that you are fully cognizant of your error. Your post doesn't reflect that sentiment.

 

Good post, this is exactly my point about why you shouldn't be contacting your insurance company about this.

 

Brake check? Huge mistake.... for the record that's reckless driving.

 

+1 you better hope your insurance agent isnt fellow nissan enthusiast if he see's this your screwed the smarter thing to do was to let the idiot go around you

 

Only if you can prove intent. For instance, leaving a black mark when you slam on the brakes...can't talk your way out of that one.

Anything in between will have to rely on witness accounts, and in most cases the guy doing the rear-ending is found at fault. Admitting to break checking is NOT a good idea when speaking to police or insurance. Stating that your closing distance on the car in front was enough that you needed to brake to maintain adequate following distance, next thing you know BAMB from behind...THAT's what you tell them.

And I missed the part where you said this guy didn't have insurance. Are you certain he doesn't? Get the police report, they did one for your collision, right? On there should be any and all contact info for the guy, and insurance info if he had anything to provide. If he had insurance, contact them directly to find out if he was covered, no laps of payment. After that, you can use your own insurance to file the claim, then they will subrogate the other party's insurance, including getting them to pay for your deductable.

In no way should filing that claim raise your rates. Anyone claiming their rates went up after an not fault accident, may be confusing that with a standard rate hike. The surcharge for the accident is not a secret, they will tell you that you are a risk, and that's why your rates went up. But if it's just a standard rate hike, it's usually across the board and they will tell you that too.

 

True, when I meant that it was a huge mistake I probably should have clarified to say that even without any potential legal ramifications its just not a good idea. What good can come of it? You cause an accident? You are in the accident caused? The person who was too close now backs off an instead decides to drive by and put a bullet in your head? Really there are just too many variables besides the whole legal piece in this day and age to make any of that aggressive driving stuff a good idea.

 

All good points, but it still doesn't talk me out of doing it myself. I enjoy doing it in the neighborhood. Someone grabs my a$$, I will give them the lights once or twice, after about 1/2 a mile of stuck to my a$$, I will slow abruptly to a complete stop (always watching to make sure they won't actually hit), and wave them past. Typically they stop so close they have to go into reverse before going around, and when they go by I wave and smile. Of course I'd only do this if it was just them on the road. If there are any cars behind them or oncoming I won't pull this stunt. But it get's the point across real clear...

 

Exactly my point when I said brake checking isn't very smart.