Luckily- Jeep is Tougher Than I am Smart

[whiterubicon]

Thanks to everyone that replied and was happy that nobody was hurt. The police reached out to me and let me know that the kid admitted to stopping due to dropping his phone. So, I believe it is not 100% my fault. Although, I still think I could have avoided this whole situation with a little more attention. I was speeding up when I hit him and he was in the merging lane completely.

I am hoping that we can all get through this as quickly as possible.

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[TrailTorque]

Glad everyone is okay

Looks like the Jeep came out on top

My 2 cents, it was their fault.

While you can certainly stop whenever and wherever you please, in certain areas you impede traffic when you stop.

The fact that this idiot dropped his cell phone and stopped in a merging lane means he was impeding traffic and actually caused the accident.

I was a Police Officer for 3 years after getting out of the Marines. I can tell you, if I pulled up I would have listed them as Vehicle 1 (at fault) and written a citation for impeding traffic. They would have likely tried to take it to court and they would have lost. If he would have been throwing the tantrum upon arrival on scene, I would have wrote him for provoking speeches and gestures as well as an added cherry on top.

Impeding traffic causes accidents and it’s cost people their lives.

Moral of the story, just because you rear-end someone doesn’t mean it is necessarily your fault. It is all how the LEO articulates the accident on paper.

Stay frosty.

EDIT:

@whiterubicon

Your insurance company will call you and request a recorded statement of your account of the accident.

Choose your words wisely.

 

[mr187]

This is California Law for unsafe stopping:

No person shall stop or suddenly decrease the speed of a vehicle on a highway without first giving an appropriate signal in the manner provided in this chapter to the driver of any vehicle immediately to the rear when there is opportunity to give the signal.

just my two cents!!!

 

[Paluss]

Would the 2019 ACC safety system have prevented this?

it would have given a warning beep, but would not apply brakes since he had his foot on the gas pedal

 

[Paluss]

Yes, I’m 99% sure it would have stopped the Jeep. If you want to play with the system, setup about 6 good sized empty uhaul boxes and set them up. Drive at it at 20 and hold on, it will stop. Of course you would only do this on a closed course and using a professional driver.

Only if there is no input from the drive, in this case he was accelerating so the system determines that he is in control, warning beeps at best

 

[Rploaded]

Only if there is no input from the drive, in this case he was accelerating so the system determines that he is in control, warning beeps at best

Mine will apply brakes if I am in forward motion with foot on the gas. It will beep and then brake. Just like it has done to me a few times in a parking garage. If I press down harder it will bypass and display driver over ride, or something like that.

I’m sure the beep would have also gotten his attention.

 

[DaltonGang]

In Houston, the driver that runs into the back of another vehicle would be cited for, Failure To Control Speed(Accident). unless, the driver of the car, in front, came to a sudden stop, for no reasln, or maliciously. But, more than likely, The driver in the rear, would only be listed at fault, and no citation issued, unless there are attitudes, from the one at fault. Nobody wins, when these types of citations are issued, because of the time wasted in court. Both parties have to show up, and take a couple of days off work.

 

[Jungle31]

Great thread, with good advice from some folks, but I want to focus on the strength of the Jeep frame and steel bumper combo.

I had almost EXACTLY the same accident except I was the one rear-ended (2018 JLUR.) A teenage girl looked down while changing lanes and never saw us. She drove right into the back of us as we stopped for a red light. I was almost stopped, about 10 deep in the center lane of a three lane wide road. She hit us going something like 20 miles per hour.

We took a good shot! I am 6'3" and my gf is 5'12" and although we both got our bell rung and were sore for a week, neither one of hit the sound bar or anything else other than the headrest.

After pulling over and getting out, I saw that her car was disabled in traffic and she was terrified. We went and got her but her 2003 BMW was a mess. It hit bumper-to-bumper. Her damage was from my spare tire and my bumper sliding up over hers. It barely slid up though. Both of my aftermarket lights under the bumper were untouched. But her hood, radiator and headlight structures were destroyed.

I had a little white paint on my bumper and spare tire. One of my back-up radar antennas was destroyed. If you looked really closely, you could see a change in the gaps from one end of the bumper to the other on the Jeep. In the pics, it looks like the hitch receiver is bent. It is not. That is the rubber cover that partially popped off. You can also see my aftermarket back-up lights under the corner of the bumper.

Love how this JL did! Everyone was impressed.

 

[SnowDog]

The steel bumpers are definitely going to help you in low speed accidents like this. I think the low safety ratings are more about high speed accidents where the Wrangler will not crumple and absorb energy as well as other cars, resulting in more potential for injury to the passengers.

 

[Austin TX Jeep Rubicon]

I'd use the insurance money to get a real bumper.

Some of us like the look of the steel bumper!

 

[word302]

Some of us like the look of the steel bumper!

I think it looks great. It just won't hold up to real off-road abuse.

 

[DeVoTee]

He was exactly 20. I have two kids, my daughter who is 22 and graduated West Point last year and my son who is 19 and is in his second year of West Point. My daughter got hit in her car when she was 17, and actually helped calm the other driver down and reassured him that she was not hurt and that it was just an accident. He definitely had the victim mentality. I would be embarrassed if either of my kids acted like that at any time.

Sorry you have to go thru this with a new Jeep..... Awesome job getting your kids to this point in their lives

 

[BackToWrangler]

and he

Great thread, with good advice from some folks, but I want to focus on the strength of the Jeep frame and steel bumper combo.

I had almost EXACTLY the same accident except I was the one rear-ended (2018 JLUR.) A teenage girl looked down while changing lanes and never saw us. She drove right into the back of us as we stopped for a red light. I was almost stopped, about 10 deep in the center lane of a three lane wide road. She hit us going something like 20 miles per hour.

We took a good shot! I am 6'3" and my gf is 5'12" and although we both got our bell rung and were sore for a week, neither one of hit the sound bar or anything else other than the headrest.

After pulling over and getting out, I saw that her car was disabled in traffic and she was terrified. We went and got her but her 2003 BMW was a mess. It hit bumper-to-bumper. Her damage was from my spare tire and my bumper sliding up over hers. It barely slid up though. Both of my aftermarket lights under the bumper were untouched. But her hood, radiator and headlight structures were destroyed.

I had a little white paint on my bumper and spare tire. One of my back-up radar antennas was destroyed. If you looked really closely, you could see a change in the gaps from one end of the bumper to the other on the Jeep. In the pics, it looks like the hitch receiver is bent. It is not. That is the rubber cover that partially popped off. You can also see my aftermarket back-up lights under the corner of the bumper.

Love how this JL did! Everyone was impressed.

@whiterubicon you didn't have any frame damage?

 

[Jungle31]

@whiterubicon you didn't have any frame damage?

None. Got a new bumper to make it like new again, but the body shop looked carefully for more damage and could find none. I even resold the bumper to a guy who wanted it.

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