Got Bumped at a Light!!!

[BigJack75]

Ok so I was out this weekend with my brother in Miami FL. We were just cruising down the street and I notice this jack ass riding my tail. I made sure to keep my distance to the car in front. Well I forget about the guy behind me and just drive. We come up to a light and I brake. I am at a dead stop. Lots of traffic. Then the guy bumps me from behind. I get out of the car and am pissed!!! I start yelling at the guy and telling him he can't drive. He's probably in his mid 50's and tries to explain that he was reaching for something and his foot slipped. My brother kinda gets between us because I was pretty close to hitting this guy. Yeah I kinda over reacted but this is my baby. I calmed down and got the guys info. It really is just a couple of little scratches/nics. I told him I would call him with a bill. I don't think I will anymore. It's not that bad and if I do get it touched up should cost that much. Here is a pic. Tell me what you think and what you would have done. http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2231...34151284TSlmXb

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[ggesq]

Why hit him? Your just gonna end up in jail with that type of behavior. Other than the other driver's poor driving habits, it seems from your post that he was trying to explain the reasons for the bump. Also, I don't understand why you would foot the bill for something you were not responsible for. I can't see the pictures at work so I can't tell how bad the damage is.

[BigJack75]

I was just trying to explain how mad I was. I am kinda hyper and tend to over react sometimes. It's just 2 little nicks. Maybe the size of a pea each. They were caused by his front vanity plate screws. If he didn't have a front plate I'm sure my car would have been fine. It was a pretty light bump. The purpose of the post was more just to vent.

[Thomasv]

well if your feeling bad for over-reacting dont...stupid people drive vehicles every day and it pisses me off to see people on cell phones texting away, eating food, doing makeup, reaching in the backseat for something....or doing just plain stupid ass shit....

if you want my 2 cents I'd make him pay for it....you think its going to be inexpensive but you better go at least get you a couple estimates first.... at the very least get an estimate...

[TheChamp531]

You're lucky, I was eating a Chili's one day and the parking lots were really tiny and someone hit my rear end and cause scrapes and scratches all over my rear bumper. Of course, he didn't leave any insurance information, he just flew away.

[paz840]

Originally Posted by BigJack75

Tell me what you think and what you would have done.

I think there is hardly any damage.

I would have got his info and moved on.

You should calm down, especially at your age.

[NCTL05]

The very first night after I bought the car I went out to the movies with my dad. It was raining and there was a work van following me. They weren't tailgating or doing anything to make me worry. The light turned red. I stopped. The van stopped but must have slid a little cause I got bumped. I pulled a little off the road right there and I assumed he would too knowing that he hit me. No. He pulled around and kept going so I jumped back into traffic and lit him up! I was flashing my high beams at him so much he probably thought I was a cop. He pulled over and then we got a chance to look at it. Nothing noticeable. But I sure didn't let him get away. Especially since it was a work vehicle.

[01tl4tl]

You should stay in your car when this type of thing happens
A few things can occur like:
The other person is on serious drugs and ready to shoot your dumb azz without a care~
Or -Its a setup to get you out of the car, where a 3rd person swoops in and steals it,
maybe they kill you on the way thru, maybe just rob and beat you then take the car

There are more but that should serve well enough.

Got to agree on the age and mental process, I was sure the OP was 18 with a new TL,,,till I got to the end and looked at the avatar.
Its time for counseling or some track days at the local roadrace track!!
250 bucks there beats any ticket or jail time and gives a renewed vigor to life and reduced stress level..have some fun instead of exploding

A product called ClearBra, can be found in thickness up to 8mm, mostly used on the front of cars-nose,hood,lights etc but can be purchased in sheet roll lengths and used on the rear bumper to help protect it from damage at low speed contact

[Ramrodthrusterpuppy]

Originally Posted by BigJack75

I am kinda hyper and tend to over react sometimes.

No kidding.

Try decaf.

[Majofo]

I would have been pissed as well. You got screwed.. not enough damage to warrant shelling out the deposit to fix it but enough to cost you at least $150 to get it fixed professionally. Since you watch what's going on in traffic, get out of that idiots way next time.. or drive 10 mph until that dipshit changes lanes. Definitely watch who you approach.. never run up to somebody's door, that's a sure way to get killed.

[jeowen]

Originally Posted by 01tl4tl

You should stay in your car when this type of thing happens
A few things can occur like:
The other person is on serious drugs and ready to shoot your dumb azz without a care~
Or -Its a setup to get you out of the car, where a 3rd person swoops in and steals it,
maybe they kill you on the way thru, maybe just rob and beat you then take the car

There are more but that should serve well enough.

Got to agree on the age and mental process, I was sure the OP was 18 with a new TL,,,till I got to the end and looked at the avatar.
Its time for counseling or some track days at the local roadrace track!!
250 bucks there beats any ticket or jail time and gives a renewed vigor to life and reduced stress level..have some fun instead of exploding

A product called ClearBra, can be found in thickness up to 8mm, mostly used on the front of cars-nose,hood,lights etc but can be purchased in sheet roll lengths and used on the rear bumper to help protect it from damage at low speed contact

not me Sir,- I was in a parking lot (granted I was in my 96 Accord EX, showroom quality still mind you) a few months ago and I feel a bump from behind while in traffic- immediate get out of the car, stare at the other driver (with the expression "are you #$%## serious) ,who happened to be an old man, probably 60 or so...anyway, i inspect the damage, a few light scratches...i look back at him with a PISSED look on my face, and he was in shock, didnt know what to do...scared to death this man was. So I just turned around and shook my head until i got back in my car, NOW, that being said...if I were in my TL-S...he is paying for a new bumper, period. and the overreacting....i understand.

[shadowkahn]

Originally Posted by Majofo

I would have been pissed as well. You got screwed.. not enough damage to warrant shelling out the deposit to fix it but enough to cost you at least $150 to get it fixed professionally.

And that's $150 that the guy who hit him ought to be made to pay. Sure, mistakes do happen, and it's probably easier to absorb the cost yourself, but, and this is only my opinion, idiots who tailgate are shitty drivers who should learn that driving like a dumbass sometimes hits you in the wallet.

[gdong]

Originally Posted by BigJack75

I was just trying to explain how mad I was. I am kinda hyper and tend to over react sometimes. It's just 2 little nicks. Maybe the size of a pea each. They were caused by his front vanity plate screws. If he didn't have a front plate I'm sure my car would have been fine. It was a pretty light bump. The purpose of the post was more just to vent.

The same bullshit happened to me, 2 screw indentations on my bumper. The dealer + a few other shops quoted around 6-800 bucks, so I just asked the kid who bumped me for 700 and didn't bother to fix it cause it was pretty minor. However I looked at it a few weeks later and I noticed that the right side of my trunk "sticks out a bit more". You can see the misalignment from certain angles and you can feel it with your fingers. I regret letting him go for 700 bucks as I suspect it would cost a bit more to properly fix it.

[erick3]

i can understand your reaction; i've been close to something like that before! if your means of justifying your "reaction" towards the other driver is by paying the debt to fix your car, don't. call the guy back, apologize, and say that you'll be forwarding the amount to fix the car to his insurance company, unless you wants to pay out of pocket. crisis averted.

[ankur914]

Geez, mistakes happen. Im sure weve all had our share of mistakes while driving, where some may have resulted in damage, while others have the "phew! that was close" reaction. I doubt that in the former instance you would want someone to come at you yelling and screaming.

OP, you ask, what we would have done? Personally, if he was trying to offer an explanation, and coming at you apologetic (as is implied by your statement) I would let him talk first and hold my peace. Who knows, he could be having just a bad day, shits on his mind, and he was unintentionally tailgating. Seems like you did calm yourself down after you heard his side (or so i assume). If you just listened to him first, it could just saved you from a heightened blood pressure and extra anguish.

The damage is, as the OP said, minor. Just go to a body shop and see what they would be able to do to fix it. If you feel that he bumped you hard enough to have just flexed the casing but broken shit on the inside, have them take the bumper cover off and check the insides for damage. At worst, the styrafoam on the inside cracked.

[01tl4tl]

Everyone understood that I used to be the great overreactor- right?
Thats why I am so against it now-and why I suggest the track days~

I avoid the roads except between 10 am and 2 pm, after that- its filled with kids and commuters- danger lurks everywhere

[Zigma]

Meh, I'll share mine.

I was driving to work and this kid, he looked 16-19 years of age, was driving in a riced out honda civic, all nasty and all. We were on the highway and I was getting off at the exit. The exit is one of those where you gotta ride out a long right turn where you come out at the end, slow down, sometimes stop, and merge. As I do this, I guess the kid just has his fun and takes the turn super fast and as I am waiting to merge, I feel a small tap/bump. He has no where to go, and I examine my car. No visible damage. I look at him and stare him down for a good 5 seconds. I can see he is scared shitless... I get in my car and drive off.

[subinf]

Umm, I wouldn't worry about it at all. Just forget about it and relax.

[tweeder82o]

break his legs

[LessisBestmakingendsmeet]

I was initially going to post that it sucks but you really came off pompous. Accidents happen, it could have been worse.

[Zigma]

Originally Posted by LessisBestmakingendsmeet

I was initially going to post that it sucks but you really came off pompous. Accidents happen, it could have been worse.

exactly, I have been in the situation where i accidently bumped a guy at like 2mph. He could have easily over reacted on the situation but he was cool about it, I ended up giving him $60 dollars for the trouble, we shoot hands and I called it that. Living in the city, its not a question of if, but when you bumper will be tapped. You have to remember at the end of the day, its just a car.


We all love our cars, thats a fact... but they can easily be replaced. The same cannot be said about us.

[ABP_04TL]

no damage, no need for anythin

[subinf]

Originally Posted by Zigma

exactly, I have been in the situation where i accidently bumped a guy at like 2mph. He could have easily over reacted on the situation but he was cool about it, I ended up giving him $60 dollars for the trouble, we shoot hands and I called it that. Living in the city, its not a question of if, but when you bumper will be tapped. You have to remember at the end of the day, its just a car.


We all love our cars, thats a fact... but they can easily be replaced. The same cannot be said about us.

I was hit once by a lady not paying attention, she was probably going 3 miles an hour. Worse shit has happened so I let her on her way.

About a month later I tapped someone in SF. I motioned for the girl to pull over to see what she wanted to do. There was a tiny little mark on her bumper. Told me she didn't care and let me on my way.

There are much more important things to worry about than someone hardly running into the back of you.

[Stuck on TL]

Get it fixed, send him a bill. I let something like this go when I was younger. A girl bumped me and I let her go because I couldn't see any "real" damage. Then the bumper started peeling every time I washed the car. It became a reminder to me that even a minor issue can fester into a bigger problem.

[jdmintegra00]

same thing happened to me but luckily it was a small scratch...things happen sometimes and atleast it wasnt nothing big..but if it was then we would of had to take it to a shop and get some quotes for the person

[Fulani has a TL]

Live in a large metropolitan area. Things like this WILL happen, even if you arent around to see it. Way of life.....

[BigJack75]

Originally Posted by LessisBestmakingendsmeet

I was initially going to post that it sucks but you really came off pompous. Accidents happen, it could have been worse.

Can you define pompous? I guess I am just not that edumicated!

[BigJack75]

Originally Posted by tweeder82o

break his legs

Right on!!!! Finally a sensible response.

[carlos9827]

The other day I saw a lady in a Volvo XC90 (SUV) bump a guy in an older Buick sedan at a stop light, I saw him get out of the car and start yelling at her and then he kicked her car. I felt like getting out of my car and beating the shit out of the guy but I was actually on the other side of the street....By the way, the lady, who seemed to be in her thirties, looked scared to death....Two things wrong with that situation, (1) -Don't disrespect a woman like that and (2)-Don't kick her car.

Now - Based on your scenario - I don't think you overreacted, I would have probably done the same thing you did, maybe instead of yelling at the guy I would have just asked him to pull over - got his insurance info and continued on my way. You can't really see the damage in the picture but in any event, I think you should have your bumper repaired and have the other guy's insurance billed - that's the right thing to do, this was not your fault so you should not have to pay for it.

[AckTL05]

That is over reacting yes. I got hit with me backing up and my friend trying to go around me and I got scratches, sucks and I still have marks and we are no longer friends. My other friend had a MINT 67 chevelle and a OLD lady 70's went over double soild lines and went straight INTO HIS OPEN DOOR. People make mistakes but I have OCD and everytime I look at the car I hate it and I over react but for every actions there is a equal opposite reaction - I don t roll with the jail time but I will send him/her a bill for a repair at a HIGH quality shop. I didnt work hard as hell to afford a 40k car and take care of it with precision to have a "mistake" happen. I appreciate everything I own and have in life and my car is my baby/life. Sometimes you have to eat it like when My car was in the street at the kid next door fell on his bike and dented my car a little, I helped the kid and just ate the damage even thou it kills me to look at it and Im too cheap to spend money to fix it hahaha. BTW did anyone see that asian lady on the AOL news that it took her 976 or something to get her license, I think it ended up being like 50k to get her license, she finally passed.

[shooter]

No need to get too hyped about this as SHI* happens ... but still you should get him to pay for it if it would make you feel better ...

[dmarcus48]

Yeah, you should calm down, stuff happens. I was in a parking lot about two weeks ago, I pulled into my spot, the car behind me moved on (but unknown to me she had stopped overlapping my spot by about 6 inches), I backed up to straighten out and I hit her. I didn't even know I had hit someone! I didn't feel anything. Luckily she was off of the caffeine, and we exchanged information, I apologized. I had a couple of scratches on my bumper and the same on her car, a Maxima. Went to the body shop and the entire bill for my car was under $700. My car looks perfect.
Prior to this incident I had gotten tapped by someone, and I had two license plate bolt marks on my bumper. I tried this stuff called Dr. Color Chip, it worked really well, and you could build it up in layers, I had gotten the marks almost completely filled, you might want to try it.