When we arrived in San Francisco on Thursday, I rented a car. It was the first time I’d ever done so — we’ve never used one on vacation, and this was my first business trip. The whole car rental thing was a mystery to me.
When the man at the rental counter asked me what sort of insurance I wanted to purchase, I told him I had my own. In truth, I had forgotten to research my coverage. I was placing faith in what I’d read many times before — that car rentals are generally covered by your own auto insurance and by your credit card.
On Saturday we drove to Berkeley. Kris took me to a nice restaurant for my birthday lunch, and I made a stop at a comic book store. (Where I bought nothing, by the way — I’ve come a long way!) 
We were driving back on University Avenue, stopped at an intersection, when a car slammed into us from behind.
My first thought wasn’t about the safety of those in the accident, but about how I hadn’t purchased the rental company’s insurance. I got out of the car and walked back to talk to the other driver, a Hispanic man about my age. “Are you okay?” I asked. He was. “Do you have insurance?” I asked. He did not.
We pulled onto a side street. While he called his wife, I phoned the Berkeley police. I had no idea what to do in the situation, but I figured I had to file an accident report to have any hope of settling with rental company.
As we waited for the police to arrive, I tried to convince the other driver to exchange information with me. He was reluctant to do so. Eventually he gave his name as José Hernandez. “I can just pay you cash,” said José.
“I can’t do that,” I said. “Maybe if it was my own car, but it’s not.” His English was fairly good, but he couldn’t seem to understand that the car was a rental, and that we were only visiting from out of town. Together, we looked at the damage to the vehicles. The rear bumper of my car was destroyed, but everything else seemed fine. The front end of his vehicle was scrunched, but the damage was entirely cosmetic.
I felt bad. I knew that by reporting the accident, the relative financial consequences for José would probably be far more severe than they would be for me if I didn’t report it. He might lose his job (he was driving to work when the accident occurred), he was likely to be fined, and if he were in the U.S. illegally, he might even be deported. By reporting the accident, I might be ruining his life. If I didn’t report it, all that would happen to me is that my emergency fund would be drained.
The three police officers who arrived on the scene grasped the situation immediately. When I expressed my concerns, one of them nodded and said, “Yeah, it’s tough, but you had to make the call. If you were in your own car, I can see trying to take care of it privately. But you’re in a rental. You had to do this.”
Did I? Leaving aside all the things that José was doing wrong — driving without a license or insurance, rear-ending somebody, possibly being in the U.S. illegally — was my own decision the right one? In the heat of the moment, I acted almost instinctively to protect myself. In retrospect I wonder if there were better options.
When we got back to the hotel, I called my insurance company. The rental is covered under my policy. From what I can tell, the $250 deductible will even be reimbursed by my credit card company. In theory, all this minor accident will cost me is a couple hours of my time. But it’s going to cost José much more.
Image by Incase Designs, and is not our accident.
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You did the right thing JD! Totally!
for those wondering the consequences of Jose’s action if he were an illegal immigrant: http://www.carinsurance.com/kb/content14179.aspx
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You definitely made the right call. First it shouldn’t even be your concern if he is an illegal or not. He should only be here legally. Questioning if you destroyed his life is also not a concern you should have to think about. If he followed the law in the first place HE wouldn’t have placed himself in the situation he was currently in. Remember he made choices that caused you to be in a place where you were exposed. You did not expose him. If I break the law and you turn me in is it your fault of mine? Now you may say well that depends but does it really depend? Say it was an accident? I say I’m an illegal, then you choose not to call the cops but as it turns out I am a convicted fellon wanted for murder. You maybe saying to your self well all illegals arent bad but i never said i was an illegal, not my bias but your assumed bias. Maybe the person is playing on your compasion for this type of person that he is saying he is when infact he is lying. Im not saying don’t trust other people but you should not be putting your self at risk because you don’t want someone else to have a bad day. If he had show the same consideration he would have had the appropriate insurance and you would have both been safe. It was his choice that put you at risk. He chose to not care about you when he drove without insurance, not the other way around.
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Racist.
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I rented a car last month through my company for a company trip. Before I even left the parking lot I backed into a cement pole… DOH! I was so upset, but thankfully my company has insurance with Enterprise. I was lucky but unlucky at the same time!
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What I don’t understand is that if you don’t have drivers license and insurance and you are possibly illegal, shouldn’t you be be more careful while driving?
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illegals don’t get deported by city cops, i can tell ya that much.
funny how people here are talking about increasing your insurance deductible… must be a factor of where you live. i’ve had thousands in paint work done thanks to vandalism. i keep my comp deductible at $100 for a reason. since there is no fault involved, my rates do not go up, and it’s only a few more bucks in premiums vs a $400 or more extra payout from our pockets annually. (yeah, i’ve done the comparison.) but if you can do it safely, by all means go for it.
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We all pay out several thousands of dollars over our lifetimes for “uninsured driver coverage”. That is money I would much rather have for my own family.
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JD,
Clearly you did the right thing reporting the accident, which as others have noted, would have been required by CA law given the amount of damage.
I would now prepare yourself for dealing with the runaround you’re likely to face. I’d watch that CC statement like a hawk–you’re liable to get caught between the rental company, your car insurance company, and your credit card company in a finger pointing nightmare.
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@Richard Miller (no. 143)
One can feel compassion without believing that the consequences should, on balance, be different.
Or perhaps that’s something only someone who is a scourge on society can do?
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It’s nice of you to consider the other driver’s situation and speaks well of your compassion & empathy, but you did the right thing. It is illegal in the State of California to drive a car without insurance. He made the choice to drive illegally. He made whichever choices led to him rearending you. People have to take the consequences of their actions. People getting off easy or never getting caught at all has led to a lot of reckless driving, road rage and self-centeredness on our roads. It’s dangerous for everyone who uses our roads: drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, wheelchair users, etc.
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You had a legal obligation to report the wreck, JD, whether you owned the car or not. We have a system for dealing with collisions here in the US, and you followed it. Jose chose not to, but that’s not your fault.
I’m glad you & your wife weren’t hurt.
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JD–
You did exactly the right thing reporting this collision. Whether the guy was illegal, or had/didn’t have insurance or a license, that should have had no impact on your decision whatsoever.
We as a society need to relearn the notion that actions have consequences, and had you not reported this, José might have missed an opportunity to be reminded of that.
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I think you did the right thing.
I could understand covering his neck, had it been your fault, but he knew he was driving without a license and without insurance, and still chose to drive recklessly (not paying attention and rear-ending someone counts as reckless, in my opinion. It’s a minor version of reckless, but a version of reckless all the same).
I know that when I had my permit, I did go out driving on my own. It was earlier this year, and I’m 21. I accepted the fact that there were risks, and I drove cautiously, making sure to follow all the rules of the road (because I’m assuming if I had gotten into an accident, there’s a distinct possibility that it would’ve been all my fault, for driving without a license).
I took this risk because driving around with my dad is a hassle. It’s a hassle to say, “Dad, I need to go to WalMart. Now. Let’s go!” and have him whine and complain about how he doesn’t want to go anywhere or do anything because he had a hard day at OMG!WORK! I can now understand that, but I couldn’t back then (having spent most of the day around the house surfing the net). Even if I could understand it, it still is much easier to just be selfish and take the damn car when he’s not home to bitch and complain about how he has to be a passenger to supervise me.
I did get into one accident on my permit, and it was okay. I merely hit the neighbor’s mailbox. The neighbor wasn’t home, so I went out, bought her a new one, and waited for her to get home so I could deliver it to her. I offered to install it for her, and she was rather taken aback that I even went out and got her a new one. My father was shocked that I got her a new one as well. I don’t understand why I wouldn’t get her a new mailbox, when it was my fault that the old one was on the post all crooked. I plan on getting her post back straight in the ground later on, towards summer, and installing the mailbox for her (I’m also contemplating offering to cut down some of the branches of a tree, since said branches have gotten a bit too long. They now threaten to hit the back of my car when I use our turn-around).
I have a strong code of ethics. If you break something of someone else’s, you must replace it, since you have no idea how much it means to that person. The object might not have meant much, but replacing it will give that person a new respect for you, and it’s the quickest way to rebuild trust with someone. It also tells people that you’re reliable and can be counted upon.
It’s sad to say, now that I have my license, I don’t drive as carefully as I did before I got it. I don’t check the speedometer to make sure I’m following the speed limit as much as I used to (mostly, I tend to go 40MPH in a 35MPH zone. Not a big deal to most people, but I figure the speed limit is there for a reason, and is meant to be followed).
I find myself getting stressed over other people who break the rules of the road (such as cutting off my right of way on purpose. I know they did it on purpose, because I’m stopped for a stop sign, and the other person ignores their stop sign and waves at me, assuming that I’m “kind” enough to be stopped so they can go. That really pisses me off). I imagine part of the reason I’m so pissed is because not everyone feels the need to follow the rules of the road to a T. I figure the rule is there for a reason, and if no one is going to follow it, then we should get rid of the damn rule (equally so if no one’s going to enforce it. Usually, no one does in the places I’m driving, but since I’m driving in the suburbs, it makes sense. I understand the through-ways and interstates are a bigger priority for cops, since the more dangerous accidents happen there).
I know I envision myself just slamming into my car, but while I’m thinking that, I also tell myself, “Yes, that would feel great, but the hassle of not having a car and having to exchange insurance information afterward is not worth the 5 seconds of glee over ruining their car.” Mostly, I breathe in and breathe out and try to calm myself down. I know I ought to also give the other person the benefit of the doubt, but I’m not calm enough while driving to do that yet. If I’m in a good mood, I can totally do that, but otherwise, I have to remind myself to be calm and that ruining my car and their is not worth it.
Also: Taking away someone’s license doesn’t stop their ability to drive. Neither does taking away their car. There’s always going to be someone who either doesn’t know that person’s situation, or doesn’t care and is willing to lend that person a car. Not to mention, if someone wasn’t following the rules of the road when they had a license, why would not having a license matter to them?
I was amazed at my 5 hour course* how the instructors seemed to think that having a revoked license was synonymous with the inability to drive. As I stated earlier, if a driver doesn’t care enough to follow the rules of the road while they have a license, why would they care if said license is revoked?!
*NY State mandated course all new drivers have to go through. Drivers who get too many tickets or their license revoked also have to attend
I can also understand why the Hispanic man was driving. I’m not sure what San Francisco is like, but I imagine that it’s pretty much built for cars these days, as a lot of the East and West coasts of America are.
There’s a big catch 22, where you need a car to drive to work, and you need a job in order to pay for car insurance and a permit/license. If you don’t have the car, you can’t work. If you don’t have the license, you can’t get insurance. If you don’t have insurance, it’s pretty damn hard to buy a new/used car from a dealer, so you can get to work.
So, I understand where he’s coming from, driving without a license and insurance. Though, I don’t feel bad for him for not understanding the consequences. These days, there’s a lot of stuff that’s printed both in English and Spanish, so he ought to be able to understand the consequences. If he wasn’t able to, I’m sure the police can explain it to him.
He also ought to know the rules of the road, since driver’s manuals are now printed in English and Spanish. At least, they are for New York State, so I don’t see why they wouldn’t be for California, where it’s far more likely to get immigrants who only speak Spanish.
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Matt (59): It’s a consolation to me. Thanks =)
I know where I live, the transportation is horrible for the suburbs. You absolutely have to have a car, unless you want to walk 5 miles to work.
The walking isn’t a big deal, except we have high humidity, and so once you get to work, you’ll be sweaty and gross (not to mention, look unprofessional). In Winter, we do sometimes get down into the teens, and no one around here sells any clothing that allows people to safely walk outside during that kind of temperature. I do know of a few times when the temperature has gone down to 7ºF, and tons of schools close. I can imagine that an employer might not be so understanding that someone has to walk and ergo can’t go to work in that kind of weather (especially in the ‘burbs, where you’re supposed to be able to afford it).
As it is, I work part time, just started my job a few weeks ago, and am unsure when I get my first paycheck. If this guy is in the same boat as me, I can understand why he doesn’t have his license/insurance (I’m not even going to touch how he got the car. I’m happier not playing that guessing game).
Having heard that San Francisco has excellent public transportation, I can’t see why he wouldn’t choose to use it. Surely someone, somewhere, would lend him the money for any tickets he’d need.
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I had a similar situation in Hawai’i. I was turning left in an intersection when traffic suddenly stopped, and so did I. Unfortunately the woman behind me did not. We pulled off the road, and looked at her car and mine. She was an islander and very laid back, but she really didn’t want to get her insurance involved unless it was absolutely necessary though. I, renting the car, thought I really need to talk to the police. Eventually I came to the conclusion that the rental people probably wouldn’t be able to tell there was any damage at all. There was only one spot where the paint had peeled away on the bumper, and it was about the size of a ball point pen tip. We exchanged information in case the rental people complained, and buffed out the scuff marks and turned the car in. Nothing was ever said to the rental people, and everything seemed fine. I understand that this wasn’t an option for JD, but I thought I’d share. PS if you work for a rental car agency in Maui…this is not my real name.
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I knew a woman when I lived in NY who was crossing the street with her son and his friend on their way to the museum of natural history. A man in a truck barreled through the crosswalk hitting the woman and traumatizing her son and his friend (they are both terrified of cars and crossing the street now). The man was an uninsured, unlicensed, illegal immigrant. He was immediately put in jail and eventually deported.
The woman now suffers debilitating back injuries that may never heal. She has to wear a brace that runs the length of her torso and may never know what it’s like to be pain free ever again. She cannot work and most likely will never be able to.
Do you think that deporting the man was wrong? I don’t think it was enough. He will probably make his way back into the US illegally again and continue his reckless behavior.
I have absolutely no pity for anyone in his situation. As legal, taxpaying citizens we are the ones who pay for these accidents. Premiums go up because of the number of uninsured, unlicensed drivers on the road. Medical coverage becomes more expensive due to claims by people injured in accidents like this.
If you choose to do something you know is wrong, you must be willing to accept the consequences of your actions no matter who you are or where you come from.
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Heidi said: “I know that when I had my permit, I did go out driving on my own. It was earlier this year, and I’m 21. I accepted the fact that there were risks, and I drove cautiously, making sure to follow all the rules of the road (because I’m assuming if I had gotten into an accident, there’s a distinct possibility that it would’ve been all my fault, for driving without a license).”
and also:
“I have a strong code of ethics.”
Sorry Heidi, but I think your ethics aren’t as strong as you seem to think, not if they allow you to perform illegal acts just because following the law would have been inconvienent. You might want to think on that a bit. You do get credit for doing the right thing by your neighbor though, good for you!
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First, I’d like to say that JD did the right thing in bringing the police into the matter. You always have to protect yourself first, because no one else is going to look out for your best interests.
I never trust someone who wants to settle an accident privately or will give me the information later. Always call the police and get them to be intermediaries.
As for the xenophobes in this discussion, I would like to tell you that just because someone is hispanic does not mean they are illegal immigrants! It infuriates me when people automatically assume my fiance, who is hispanic with a name to match, is an illegal immigrant and speak to him in Spanish (he never learned it) or put on airs before even meeting him. They are so surprised to find out that he’s a police officer!
Please don’t make off handed assumptions about Jose. He very well might be a US citizen who is down on his luck – and I’m sure you wouldn’t be making such a fuss if his name was Joe and was a white guy in the same circumstances.
Oh and by the way, I got hit by a girl in my apartment complex’s parking lot last year and she refused to wait for the police to arrive or give me her information until “later” because she had class. Luckily for me I took down her plates, car description, a good physical description and caught her name. I filed a police report and they helped me to resolve it with her and her insurance company – but I’d have been in trouble if I’d just trusted her to “get with me later”. She caused $3,500 worth of damage on my vehicle when she backed into me.
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@kara(168)
Where I live, a significant portion of the population are illegal immigrants of hispanic descent.
Also, where I live, those illegals represent a HUGE portion of the crime problem, mostly related to drunk driving, and many of them are repeat offenders.
Certainly José could just be a citizen down on his luck – I have no idea.
But please recognize that there is a legitimate reason for the reactions your fiancee receives.
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It is indeed unfortunate that the person that hit you made so many mistakes, however understandable they might be, but you should not even worry for a moment the consequences of that persons mistakes. Its simply not your issue and don’t take any ownership of it! Like Dr Phil says “you choose the actions, you choose the consequences”. Being an immigrant, illegal or otherwise, has nothing to do with it. I would say the same thing about a non-immigrant that decided to drive recklessly without a license or insurance and plowed into you. Would you feel similarly bad if it was a snotty rich kid who lost their license on a DUI?
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O.K. This is why you had to call the police. You don’t know how bad the damage was. When a repair estimate is written it is assumed that 10% more damage will be found. If you were hit in the rear, the rear bumper cover must come off to assess the damage on the first estimate. I believe in California the hourly labor rate at body shops is near $70 an hour. Taking off a cover is at least a hour. To put a new cover on a car and paint it is probably 5 to 7 hundred dollars. . Now imagine if it needs a reinforcement, rear body panel repair, the rails need pulled, the floor is kinked . . . You wouldn’t be able to see this without the car being disassembled. I’ve seen cars that look not bad, and off comes the cover and Surprise! it’s crushed. Covers are plastic and made to flex, the structure underneath is not.
This is what I do for a living. Body work is expensive. Pay cash? I wish that was an option but whenever that happens the person who gets hit always wishes they didn’t go that route in the end. For instance the car in the photo probably has $1500 to $2000 worth of damage using chicago’s labor rates as an example. Try going after the guy for an extra $200 dollars of damage, or parts prices went up (which they almost always do), etc… I’ve seen people say “No, I’m only paying what is on the first estimate.” So you’d pay the difference obviously. The shop WILL NOT give you back the car until they are paid.
In some states there is no fault insurance. In that situation you wouldn’t of had to call the police, at least I don’t think so. Each person’s company fixes their own car. The other option was let the guy go and say you were hit while parked somewhere. You are paying your deductible either way.
If you have full coverage on your car you are covered when you rent a car. Buying extra rental insurance usually is a scam. Remember the people who are renting you a car ARE sales people.
It’s too bad for both off you that it happened. But it’s called an accident for a reason. If you weren’t driving a rental at least you would of been able to take responsibility for letting the guy off. But you were driving someone else’s property. Como se dice, mal suerte.
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Next time you are in SF and Berkeley, take the BART train. Save the hassle & cost of a rental…if you can get where you need to go.
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Most of this article’s tone revolves around the idea that you might have ruined his life because he was potentially an illegal alien.
It is disturbing to me that you simply assumed based on such scare evidence that he was in the U.S. illegally, and that so many people seem to think that it’s not an over-reaction on your part.
I live in Japan where racism against non-Japanese is rampant and most people are assumed to be here illegally merely because we aren’t Japanese and sometimes can’t speak Japanese properly. It’s racism regardless of how you look at it.
I hope you don’t plan on writing something like this again. It ruined a normally great blog for me.
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@Pearl (173) -
It isn’t racism. It might be xenophobia, but it isn’t “racism regardless of how you look at it.” Please check your definitions, and don’t misuse that polarizing term.
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@Pearl (173)
Your thought process on his immigrant status blows my mind. Is it really so far flung to think that a Hispanic person found in California who has no license or insurance may be an illegal alien?? Really, that seems like stretch? You consider those three bits of information “scarce evidence”? If he’s not an illegal alien than he’s clearly an idiot for pushing his luck breaking laws. JD did the smart and right thing.
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You absolutely did the right thing. Consider my story.
In the summer of 2005 a girl re-ended me on my way to work. She pleaded with me not to call the police because she did not have insurance. As the damage to my vehicle was negligible, I agreed. In retrospect that was a bad decision.
Within a few weeks I started having neck problems and by the fall, after seeking out all sorts of treatments not covered by my insurance (chiropractor, accupuncture and neuromuscular massage), and after missing 3 weeks of unpaid work due to my increasing pain, I finally had to succumb to the inevitable and underwent spinal fusion surgery.
The surgery, luckily, was covered by my insurance but still cost $50,000, 10% of which was my responsibility.
So yes, a moment of pity led to a huge financial pitfall for me that I’m just now recovering from.
Don’t feel bad about what you did.
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Well, I won’t add any inflaming anti-hispanic rhetoric. But, I will say that if the consequences from hitting your car were so dire for him, then he should have hit the brakes a second sooner. You should not feel in any way accountable for his error, or the fact that it is magnified by his situation. If anything, the fact that he didn’t have insurance or a license should have incented him to be extra-careful.
Also, keep an eye on what that hit on your insurance does to your insurance rates.
You’ll find this interesting…
Big car insurance companies are now using an “Accident reporting” service, shared among insurers, that’s run by Choicepoint. It’s run *exactly* like a credit report (In fact, Choicepoint is a minor player among credit reporting agencies), except that you’re not entitled to a free one every year. They will send you one free, however, if you get an insurance quote whose determination was affected by their records. If you sign up with a new insurance company, the insurer will look at this system to see if other insurance companies have paid claims on you, before they give you a quote.
The back of said report actually has the standard FCRA notice on the back, which leads me to believe that you can use the same method of “disputing” accident records, if they’re not correct. I haven’t tried it, though. (Yes, there are mistakes on it.) If I have any trouble scouting out quotes next time my insurance comes due, I may give it a spin, and see how I do.
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Jose will think twice about his driving habits the next time he gets behind the wheel.
You did the right thing.
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I waited tables while finishing up school in California. A co-worker of mine, Debbie, was rear-ended by an illegal alien who had no license or insurance. The police reports showed that the illegal alien was at fault. He and his two passengers were arrested for being in the country illegally.
But these three illegal aliens found them a shady lawyer who sued Debbie over the accident. Debbie’s insurance company settled out of court for $20000 because it would have cost them more to go through the court system in time and money.
Her insurance company told her this happens all the time!
Maybe while we’re trying to keep the illegal aliens (not the legal ones) out of our country, we should kick the lawyers out too. Instead of sending soldiers to Iraq, we should have sent lawyers!
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You did what was necessary to protect yourself. Maybe Jose is an honest guy and would have paid for the damages, but without a license or and insurance policy you had no way to pursue him.
I was rear-ended last year. Initially the damage looked minor – my bumper was scratched up, and the trailer hitch was bent. We exchanged insurance info and didn’t file a police report (my husband is a cop and I had the guy’s DL and tag numbers, so in a pinch I knew we could find him). Later in the day I was unable to close the back cargo door after unloading some stuff. The whole cargo door had to be replaced.
You just never know. My car looked almost fine, but the damages (covered by the other guy’s insurance) were somewhere between 1 and 2 grand.
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I am sorry that you were in a car accident with an uninsured and un-licensed driver, but your description of the situation hardly masks your prejudice of foreign born non-whites. Just the fact that you had the nerve to mention that you questioned his residency status, because his is non-white, and English was apparently not his native language. Would you have jumped to that same conclusion if the driver was Sean who spoke with a thick Irish accent? You were in a university town, were many of the students are internationals of varying ages. Why didn’t it strike you (or at least write in your article) that Jose was a student? I do not excuse his actions, because he was totally wrong. He offered to pay you in cash, because he knew what he was doing was wrong. There are many home-grown citizens who drive without the required license and insurance. However, I am very disappointed that you would so quickly seriously consider that Jose was an unregistered resident. By the way, approximately 70% of all illegal residents in the U.S. come from Canada, Europe and Australia. They get away with it more easily, because it’s very easy for them to get visas (none are required for most), and many people don’t think to question their residency status. Based upon your article I can see why, because people are so focused on the stereotype of an illegal resident, and keep a blind eye to over-stayers who are from other English speaking or European countries. You may be right about Jose, but it’s awful that you didn’t write about other possibilities for his presence in Berkeley.
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That’s it? That’s the article? You got hit by some guy who was more than likely illegal and you felt bad reporting the accident?
This is a financial advice site, how about a discussion of the types of insurance available and how to save money on rental fees?
Did you get paid for this?
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Everyone thinks they are totally covered when their insurer tells them they are however, LOSS OF USE (meaning the time the car rental company does not have access to rent the car while it is being repaired) Diminished Value (the car is now worth less) is usually not covered. Meaning you have great insurance and yet you will be paying 300 to 500 in a accident like this should the rental company insist on these fees. Check with your insurer for these coverages on your policy.
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Aside from watching your deductibles, if you are not at-fault for the accident you will be covered.
Source:
http://insurancequotesfor.me/how-does-an-accident-affect-my-car-insurance/
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