Rear ended & stupid mistake

[Huw Powell]

> This morning on my way to work, I got rear ended in my
> '87 VW QSW by some dude in a 2002 BMW 330I sedan.

Bummer!

> His car hit the 1/4 most, driver side, rear bumper of
> mine around 5 to 10 miles per hour as we approached a
> stop and go traffic leading to a highway ramp.

> Since my car did not really sustain any damages (so I
> thought), I did not exchange insurance info and simply
> went about my day. That was the stupid thing to do as
> I still should have gotten the insurance info off the
> dude!!  

So true - for instance, tomorrow you might discover your neck is stiff 
as a board... chiropractors are cheap compared to hostpitals, but not so 
much if you have to pay when it should be on his insurance.

> Upon closer examination of the rear end, I noticed the
> Bimmer also hit my exhaust tip, thus, pushing the
> entire exhaust system forward and consequently engine.

It probably didn't push the engine forward (though some shock would have 
reached it), if the exhaust was pushed forward it probably got bent, 
etc., to take up the impact.

Since it's too late to get the proper info the right way, you could at 
least 1. report it to the police, tell the truth, so there is a record, 
and 2. (maybe!) tell your insurance company, just in case you need more 
than a few used car parts, like health care.

In the meantime, I hope your neck/back did not take the brunt of the 
sudden acceleration, and that the mechanical damage does not extend past 
a slightly bent exhaust pipe and a few broken plastic bits.

(PS, years ago, I was rear ended at 3-5 mph while looking over my left 
shoulder.  The volume knob popped off the radio and the bumper was 
scuffed.  It took several months to get my neck working right again.)

-- 
Huw Powell

http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi

http://www.humanthoughts.org/