If you do not already have a dash cam, you need to get a good one now. Here’s why. Last Sunday night, at about 10:30 p.m., my beautiful, top-of-the-line, 2021 Toyota RAV 4 Prime XSE (with the package) was hit hard on the enger side by a hit & run driver. At the time, I was driving in moderately heavy traffic and at freeway speed, on the I-5 freeway heading south on my way back to San Diego from Anaheim.
I had seen the vehicle an instant before I was hit, as it was rapidly approaching mine out of the darkness. It appeared to be a lifted black pickup truck with big tires. It was moving at a fairly sharp angle towards mine, as if it were trying to make a sudden lane change into my lane — except I was already occupying that space! The driver’s-side front corner of that vehicle was on the verge of crashing into the right front corner of my RAV4.
If it had hit me at that angle, it probably would have spun me around. At freeway speed in a tall SUV, I probably would have barrel-rolled down the freeway. Instead, I assume that my decades of autocrossing (motorsports) experience instinctively kicked in and that I swerved away from the other vehicle, because, as the damage all along the enger side of my RAV4 shows, it slammed into me broadside.
I had no idea if there was a chain reaction collision happening on the freeway behind me. My attention was fully-focused forward on regaining control of my damaged RAV4 and driving it off of the freeway, to safety. It was making strange noises but I could still drive it.
I drove straight along the exit into Oceanside, found a safe place to park and phoned 9-1-1. 9-1-1 transferred my call to the non-emergency line of the California Highway Patrol, who offered to dispatch an officer to my location to take a report. I said yes.
I did not see the other vehicle again so, when the CHP arrived, I asked the officer if anyone else had reported the accident. He said no.
I also phoned the AAA for a tow truck, and reported the accident to my insurance company. After the CHP took my report, my RAV4 was loaded onto the flatbed tow truck and taken to the parking area outside of my Toyota dealer’s collision repair shop.
Days later the story was still the same. No one else had filed an accident report, so my accident was determined to be a hit-and-run, and I was zero at-fault. Unfortunately, I did not have a dash cam so I did not have any possible way to know the license number of the vehicle that hit mine. Since the other vehicle could not be identified, my collision insurance is paying for this. I have a deductible and do not have rental car insurance. My insurance company will not compensate me for the significantly diminished resale value of my RAV4.
Carlsbad Toyota’s Collision Center has performed a teardown of my RAV4 to determine the damage. They are advising my insurance company that, per Toyota’s repair guidelines, my RAV4’s entire right front suspension, the enger-side front wheel and tire, the engine cradle, assorted other parts, and at least the front, enger-side door should be replaced. Since my highly optioned vehicle has a wide variety of sensitive electronics, extensive and expensive recalibration of sensors must also be done. The supplemental estimate exceeds $19,000 and will likely take a month to repair — if all the needed parts are readily available.
This has made me acutely aware of the need for all drivers to have a dash cam front and rear — preferably one that is high resolution and that can read license plates in the dark. It would have been my only chance to identify the vehicle that hit mine. For when I eventually get my RAV4 back, I am considering getting a top-of-the-line VANTRUE dashcam or a THINKWARE U3000, both with STARVIS 2 night vision and a rear camera.
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Copyright © 2024 by Jan Wagner – AutoMatters & More #851
