hockey_puck Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Had a little bump on the front of my hood by a space cadet 14 yr old when he ran a red light. I was waiting to turn in a left turn storage lane when my light turned green and he appeared from a sidewalk that angled into the intersection from behind. Simply didn't see him. Impact less than 5 mph, but enough to put a 4 inch dent into the front of the hood. Not even a crack in the paint. Daddy tried to blame me after the fact, and I got called into our government run insurance people to give a statement. Usually these don't go well as they love to assess fault to everyone. BUT, I showed up with dash cam video burned to a DVD of the incident, proving I did have the green turn light. Completely exonerated by the adjuster on the spot and they even waived my 500 dollar deductible. My cost, zero. Get this. Dodge Journey hoods are aluminum and a dent removal service I checked with said that aluminum hoods cannot be fixed. Insurance adjuster agreed. Cost for new hood, including paint, installation, changeover of washers and pads? Over 1900 bucks Canuck! I must say my dealer had a hood in stock, painted it and installed 5 days after the claim made. Paint on hood is flawlessly perfect. Thank you Waverley Chrysler! Heck, the underside of the hood is better than the factory hood. Way smoother. I gushed to everyone that works there about the quality of the work. They like me there. Nothing happens to the doofus. Yes a bad choice made, but also riding on the sidewalk (illegal here) and without a helmet too. (also illegal) At 14 he can't be prosecuted. The moral of the story? Get a Dash cam! Plug it in, and let it run. It more than paid for itself with this one incident. H.P. jkeaton and dhh3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silenze Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Glad no one was hurt hockey_puck and dhh3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 Really didn't pay for itself, because you technically didn't get your money back. But, you saved a bundle and that is all that counts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 i know you probable posted it but what kind of cam did you buy? and how easy was it to set up and use for tech challenged people dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramfrank Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 Oh, it paid for itself; he'd have had to pay the $500 deductible AND be saddled with higher insurance rates for the next few years for having had an at-fault accident. And, if he'd gotten a ticket for his actions there might be additional costs for his driving permit - in my province they charge you more based on your demerits.And since dash cams are as cheap as $25, they are great protection for the tory tellers among us who would write tickets for false offenses or make claims - I would personally like to have a system with spate dual cameras (mine has two, but they are both part of the assembly) and the second one would be nice to be able to record the back end at the same time a the front. I've seen some new cameras that go into a 'sleep' mode and start recording if the vehicle is jostled - I imagine that would be useful for hit-and-run types, though not for the 'key your door' people. Make certain that whatever you buy has a good enough lens to be able to record the license plate of any vehicle in front of you. Just because they say 1080, doesn't mean that the image itself isn't fuzzy - mine is like that - it makes a big, fuzzy file - I'd much prefer paying a bit extra for a decent lens. hockey_puck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 (edited) Was he on a bike or what? Couldn't tell by what you wrote. Only that he was on the sidewalk. Edited May 21, 2016 by jkeaton dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockey_puck Posted May 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 i know you probable posted it but what kind of cam did you buy? and how easy was it to set up and use for tech challenged people On a whim when I got the Journey I bought the Garmin. A bit overpriced at over 200 canuck, but incredible HD quality. A cheap camera would do just fine. Not complicated tech wise, although I did go through the menus to turn off the audio recording. I want no evidence of. 1 My filthy language when dealing with others on the road or discussing how much I love hockey refs. 2 My poor taste in music and occasional vocal harmonizing. If in doubt, just find any 10 year old and they can show you! dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockey_puck Posted May 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 HP, we need video proof of any carnage you cause..... Out of respect for the privacy of the little dweeb I won't. Although the real reason is I have no idea how to edit or reduce the size of the file and being HD it is HUGE. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockey_puck Posted May 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 Was he on a bike or what? Couldn't tell by what you wrote. Only that he was on the sidewalk. Ya, on his bike and was riding on the sidewalk (illegal) before crossing against the red light. He was moving fast. Would have seen if walking. dhh3 and jkeaton 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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