Debris on freeway caused significant damage. Be careful!

Somewhat similar experience in the Sacramento area 2 years ago, except in my case the piece of metal that fell of a truck was sliding / spinning around on the road and damaged lower portion of the grill/bumper. It was a big piece of metal and I was lucky.

 

Sorry to hear , glad you are OK a little higher and would have crashed into the cabin
And who knows.

 

Sorry to see this, but glad you are alright; however, im curious that how will you claim insurance on this case, is there anyone that you can claim to be responsible for this damage?

 

Ever have a pillow fight? You can get whacked pretty good by one. Now imagine a pillow at 70mph... now imagine something rigid at 70mph. At the body shop I work we've seen all sorts and kinds of" hits". Including a wild turkey at highway speeds.

Could have been worse.. glad ur ok!

LG-MS870 ? 4

 

Thnk god your OK. Car can be repaired

 

Ouch, sorry, but glad you're ok. Something to *try* to be very vigilant about, debris in road or something falling off a vehicle ahead.

 

A spinning road debris went under a previous car of mine and punctured the gas tank. Covered under comprehensive portion of insurance and the adjuster said road debris is actually rather common.

 

About 10 years ago my Mazda Protege was nailed by a ~6ft x 6ft slab of ice that flew off the roof of a semi and shot up about 25 feet in the air. I managed to swerve at the last second to avoid taking a windshield hit, and the ice damaged my drivers side A pillar and sheared off my side view mirror. Had I not swerved, I'd probably be dead. Stay vigilant and keep and eye out. Road debris can come from anywhere and at anytime!

Your poor Prius...

 

Your car can be fixed. Thank goodness you're ok. That could of been catastrophic had it gone through the wind screen. That is scary!!!

 

Glad you're OK. That sucks.

Something similar happened to a neighbor of mine. She was driving next to the median barrier between a divided freeway when a truck going in the opposite direction hit the concrete barrier sending chunks of concrete flying into her path. Her Toyota Highlander had extensive front end damage like yours (radiator, hood, headlights, bumper). It was all repaired.

I hit some debris on the freeway as well. Blew out my passenger side front tire and bent the wheel rim as well.

SCH-I535

 

Sorry to hear; that really sucks, but the critical part is that you're OK.

The accident was your first problem but the bigger problem could just be starting when you call your insurance company. HOW you report the accident is really important! If you report your vehicle was struck by flying debris that fell off a vehicle in front of you, or kicked up by the wheels of vehicles in front of you, it might be a comprehensive claim that typically has a lower deductible. The key is, you need to be clear that the debris was airborne when it hit you.

If you report that you struck debris in the roadway, the insurance company considers that a collision claim that typically has a higher deductible and is a chargeable accident. A dead animal laying in the road is a collision claim. The insurance company's rationale is that you should have control of your vehicle to be able to avoid a collision.

Insurance companies will try any guile to be able to classify it as a collision, because they pay less, and can lead to an opportunity to charge you higher premiums for several years. Insurance companies will also consider where the damage to your car is. Wheels and tires, or undercarriage will typically be automatically classed as a collision despite how you report it.

 

^ very useful information above. I was struck by an airborne spinning debris (don't know what it was as it was spinning so fast) that went under the car and punctured the gas tank. Farmers treated it as comprehensive so I only had to pay the lower deductible.

 

You are very correct!
Dependent on the state, though, the insured will have to pay a deductible regardless of type of loss (comp or collision) and fault.. the only difference is that there is no surcharge in a comp claim or no fault loss.
RI for example.. you will pay a deductible for every claim you file on YOUR policy.. so you see a lot more people go 3rd party (the other guys insurance) for claims that aren't their fault to avoid paying for deductibles.

 

Road debris - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Dash cams have become inexpensive and good.

After trying two cheaper ones, I happened upon this mirror mounted cam that blends in with the interior.



I installed it in 15 minutes.

It does everything without any driver intervention. It has a G-shock sensor that locks the DVR in case of an accident. You can do the same by pushing one button. I added a 32Gb SD card, so it has a long recording time.


The camera doesn't lie. It's worth every cent I paid for it, given the numerous incident of road rage that I've seen over the years.

 

Rude person's...
Thanks for the info on the Aebo cam above... just ordered one!
I see enough crazy $hit on my daily commute that it may prove useful.

To the OP... sorry you had that happen... your car can be repaired 100%!
A work colleague hit a milk crate on the LIE last week at about 70mph... it busted his pass side foglight, broke his bumper cover, and did some damage to his pass side paint on the fender. He was also following close to the car in front of him and said there was no way to avoid the hit.

 

Yeah, in the past 40 years, I've been court many times, as an officer of the Justice Department and as a private citizen.

Unfortunately, almost everyone lies, when they feel they cannot be caught and there are no other witnesses.

 

Ouch!

 

My suggestion is that you are driving way too fast and following too close.

Bad things happen to bad drivers much more frequently than safe drivers.

Sadly the only help for you is to probably have a "Cal-brain lobotomy".

If I am wrong on my assessment - my apologies. I just see stupid driving habits out there constantly, and a high percentage sport California plates.

*Coming from a 30yr+ Class A professional Driver who also owns and drives a prius.