I think my 370z is done for...?

vanskees

I was driving home late at night. It was the first rain of the season in SoCal. I'm driving down the interstate exchange, and there was an abandoned truck left on the #1 lane on the exchange with the driver no where to be found. I managed to avoid a head-on collision, and take all of the damage on the driver side. The side airbag did deploy as well. Long story short, the CHP and my car insurance both pinned the fault on me for not avoiding the truck... even with the dash cam footage... So... right now I'm waiting to hear from my car insurance to see if my car is a total loss, which I'm okay with since I have GAP insurance to cover up the cost. I'm trying to figure out for myself if it is a total loss, but a lot of my friends are giving me mixed answers... thoughts?

Attached Images

	Truck.jpg (452.4 KB, 83 views)
	370z.jpg (445.2 KB, 107 views)

nandosman

Your videos are not loading for me. The damage does not look so bad from the pictures... ???

EDIT: Fixed videos:

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Zbrah

You need to lawyer up ASAP! It’s difficult to avoid that collision when you’re coming around a bend not expecting an abandoned truck sitting in the middle of the lane like that!

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GLgod

How is that your fault?

Wet road, random roadblock around a blind corner, were his hazard lights even on?

SouthArk370Z

As per Zbrah, you need to talk to a lawyer and not say any more online.

From what I've been taught, if you hit someone in the rear, it's your fault - you were traveling too fast for conditions if you couldn't stop or safely swerve in time. How true that is in court, I don't know. Good luck.

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Ian B

Does not appear to be totaled unless frame bent.

ChopsZ

Blind corner?! I saw the truck sitting there right when the video started on a very well lit highway. How is that considered a blind corner? There was at least 10 seconds or more to react and avoid that entire incident.

I'm sorry, but I have to side with the CHP and insurance. You were literally right on top of the truck before you even thought about swerving.

I think a lawyer will look at the video and say the same.

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zeeder

I agree, not to mention the fact that you shouldn't be cruising in the left lane. That said, the vehicle should have had flashers on.

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cv129

Sorry for the loss.

This video more likely does not help OP's case. The insurance agent and CHP's expectation seem to be correct.

However...whether OP should've been able to avoid or not is somewhat up for interpretation... fact is the broken truck was sitting on the left lane, around a bend, w/o hazard lights on (instead of the right shoulder which would give much better visibility and space). The truck owner DID NOT do all that's necessary to try to avoid potential collision.

Assuming OP was traveling at a safe speed, why should OP bear the whole cost? Afterall, OP did not cause the hazardous situation, the broker truck's position did. So, like others have said, shut up and lawyer up.

OP could easily say staying on the left lane was in anticipation of the merge (end of video shows a highway entrance merge sign), to avoid last minute lane change in a wet condition.

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Asus_

In my opinion, it does look like you are going to be at fault. If anything, the dash-cam footage in this case works against you. I could still see the truck before you cleared the bend on the footage, so i imagine even easier in person and even after you got closer past the bend you still had sufficient time to clear the truck.

If you lawyer up.. you MAY be able to get off on technicalities such as, the truck not having his hazards etc.etc.. unlikely but possibly.... OR a more plausible outcome is maybe not be completely at fault.

In terms of if the car is a total loss.... iunno, those rear quarter panels took some serious damage.

cv129

Also needed to be pointed out...looking at the coloring of the video, it's very possible the low light/dark capturing capability of the dash cam far exceeds the actual visibility of that truck in reality.

Not to say OP was completely faultless, just pointing things out

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Zbrah

Going back and reviewing the footage, at 6 seconds into the video the truck barely became visible as he was coming around the bend, at the 8th seconds he made impact. Op literally had 2 seconds to react to the truck sitting right in the middle of a two lanes highway. Not sure how fast he was traveling but it appears he didn’t have enough time to react as he went straight into it. I don’t think we should pass judgment since we weren’t there in the driver’s seat.

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CRiZO

Consult with a lawyer. Different states have different rules for who's liable when a person crashes into an illegally parked vehicle. You may very well have a case against the owner of the truck.

I'd give you the benefit of a doubt, dash cams don't really capture the persons line of sight. It sits higher and to the right. And it sees in the dark better.

Zbrah

Agreed. Weather conditions or not a broken truck shouldn’t be sitting in the middle of a two lanes highway. This accident could’ve turned out much worse. I think Op is lucky he walked away from this one.

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babyzilla

This is an odd one. I agree and disagree. I watched the video and wondered how OP didn't see the truck. In my perspective he had plenty of time to avoid that collision and OP seemed to be traveling at a reasonable speed. However, everyone is different in terms of reaction time so we shouldn't be able to really justify the situation based on that. The fact of the matter is that damn truck should not have been parked there. I can see how the insurance and CHP is blaming OP, but it's not fair at all as this wouldn't have even happened had that truck not been there....then again, life isn't fair.