TLDR at the bottom
I was driving on the freeway at about 5:30 AM (Pitch black) when out of nowhere a bike lying in the road came into view. There was no way I was going to be able to check to make sure I could swerve in time and so I plowed right into it. I could here alot of crunching and scraping. I took the first exit and parked asap. My bumper is scraped pretty bad, a headlight is dangling by its wires, and definitely some at best minimal damage to the undercarriage. The car now drifts slightly to the right so the suspension is probably unaligned. I am completely okay.
Immediately, I called highway patrol to report the hazard. I am asked if I want an officer to make a report of the damages to my car, to which I say yes. An officer comes by and gets my license, registration, and insurance. He takes some notes to tell my insurance before reading them back to me. This is roughly what he wrote:
I was going 60-65MPH in the 4th lane (five lane freeway)
Bike was visible at about 15-20ft away and I took my foot off the gas briefly (did not break) as I had cars behind me. I was unsure if they were to my right or left.
Hit the bike, got off freeway, reported the road hazard about ten minutes after the collision.
The officer also mentions that he is the one who cleared the road hazard and I am the third vehicle to have struck it.
After going to AAA, they said it would be likely be comprehensive and I would be insured with a $1000 deductible, which was a relief. Of course though, after calling a different branch that could process covering the cost of a body shop, they claimed it was an avoidable hazard (bullshit) and that it will be considered collision. I will be talking with the claims adjuster on Monday.
I really just want to prepare the best argument for why it should be considered an unavoidable accident. I truly could have done nothing to avoid this except maybe blindly swerve across the freeway. I am about 20, this is my first accident, and my family has been affiliated with AAA for 30+ years. I was thinking about maybe pulling up some numbers that prove how by the time I saw it there was no time to react. Additionally I could argue that other people hitting proves its unavoidable? But my biggest concern is they'll just say "You should have seen it. Sorry, not our problem".
TLDR: Hit a bike lying on the freeway without really having a chance to dodge. Officer records the damages to my vehicle and mentions two others cars have struck the bike. Insurance initially claimed they'd cover the damages, but they are now saying that I could have avoided the accident and wont cover repairs.
If this is the wrong sub I will repost it appropriately
Submitted August 19, 2018 at 03:34AM by dumptruckdui https://ift.tt/2vUK213
