Berzerker
01-10-2017, 11:53 AM
I waited until the dust settled to post this up so here we go.....
For New Years Eve Me, My GF and My son went out of town to the inlaws to celebrate (roughly 2 hours drive from home). Had a great New Years and made the trek home New Years day. The roads were typical for our region, compact snow and slippery sections, but the CR-V does great in such conditions. About an hour into the trip we were listening to some old school NKTOB. As we came around a slight corner we both noticed the tip of a power pole protruding from the opposite ditch. Odd we thought.
Then the light bar lit up the snow on the power lines that were stretched across the highway from the downed pole in the ditch up to the pole across the highway. There were 3 lines. 1 on the road flat and 2 in the air. With barely any time to slow down we drove through the lines. The line was looped under my drivers side fender behind the headlight and stretched across the hood over the passenger A pillar. It was trying to pull me into the ditch as I fought the pull and continued to brake without coming to a stop with the line still on the V or causing a slide. I could hear the line ripping over the vehicle making a loud "BZZZZZZZZZZ" sound of braided cable on metal. Once the line cleared with a loud "Crack" like a whip I pulled over and came to a complete stop. While this is all happening there was a vehicle coming the opposite direction on the highway that I was flashing my lights at to alert them of the hazard.
The opposite vehicle stopped before the lines and got out and put flares out while I took care to see that the family was ok. I called in the accident told the operator that I drove through downed power lines and emergency crews were then on route. Here is where it gets funny. 15 minutes later Fire, Ambulance and Police all pull up on scene, drive right by us and pull up to where the van had blocked the road. After waiting another 10 minutes no one was even approaching our vehicle so I got out and walked up the highway to tell them where we were. As I get closer to the pole I see there was a truck in the ditch and that was the cause of the pole being down. He was about 5 seconds ahead of me on the highway but because of the corner I had no idea that he went off the road. I walked up the Emergency Crew (about 10 people) and said "Hey Guys I'm the one that drove through the power lines"
Everyone turns to look at me. One of them says "You hit the lines?" I say "Yea my Vehicle is down the highway over there we dragged the lines down the highway."
Well that kicked everyone into gear again. Flashlights came out and everyone started hustling down the highway towards my vehicle looking for the line and to check on us. The officer on scene moved his cruiser down the the highway and blocked it off and checked on us. About this time the ambulance carted off the people from the truck and the cop called another one back to check on us. I will note that it was -25 degrees out and I'm thankful the V stayed running the whole time or it would have been a cold long night. Paramedics checked us out in the amberlamps and we were released on scene. Right after it happened we called the inlaws and they arrived just in time for us to transfer all our belongings over before the V was towed. That ends that part of the story.
Monday
I wake up after a shitty night, gather all my info (insurance papers, license, etc) and prepare to call Dial a Claim. After a short wait I get someone and start the claim. After all the info I had was given and a rundown of the scenario and crash were taken the lady on the other end puts me on hold.
Now here is where I will say that because of the limited value of my CR-V I only have basic insurance with 3rd party liability. Here is where ICBC jump on me. She comes back and says "I see here you only have basic insurance through ICBC so unless you have 3rd part coverage you will not be insured for this accident as you hit the lines and that falls under a collision." I wasn't really prepared for this as, in my mind, it was a pretty clear case of cause and effect with the truck causing the downed lines. As you can imagine I was a little in shock at being told that my vehicle is now wrecked and I won't be covered by ICBC. I told her I would call her back. I called the officer who attended the scene back and asked for all the info from the truck as ICBC didn't have this info yet. Explained to the officer what ICBC was saying and he told me in his report he was very clear that there was no way I could have seen or avoided the lines and that it couldn't be my fault.
I called Dial a Claim back in the afternoon with all the new info and got a different lady. I passed on all the trucks info and the info for the other driver. Once I gave his info I though for sure this would clear up the issue of who is going to cover as they now have a vehicle to go after rather than just my solo incident. NO SUCH LUCK. This second person relayed the same info and said that because the truck didn't physically contact my vehicle that it is not held accountable. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???? Now I was angry and I wasn't afraid to show it. I responded with "So your telling me that because I'm not covered I'm now responsible for the tow bill, and the storage fees at the tow yard?" "Yes Sir that's correct" she replies.
I say "I guess there is no point in us continuing this conversation and I should consult a lawyer? I'm not letting you screw me out of a vehicle." She responds with "I'm going to talk to my supervisor sir please hold" A few minutes pass as she comes back on. "We are going to assign a investigator adjuster to this sir he will contact you in a couple business days" She gives me his number we end the convo. So that night I drive back to the town the car is being stored at (40 minutes from my house) take it out of the tow yard and drive it to a friends place to avoid paying storage fees.
Wednesday
I call the "investigator" at 9:30am. He is VERY pleasant, and we begin by going over the whole scenario. He was super nice, concerned with my well being, my families well being and the whole scary incident. He said was was volunteer fire fighter and what I went through was scary. Right away after all was talked about he said "Absolutely the truck is at fault. It's not like you drove through marked, flagged lines. These were hidden and unavoidable. I will talk to my manager and get back to you before 4."
Holy fuck was I happy. I still had a bit of skepticism because of my previous phone calls but, things were looking up. At 3:30pm he called back and told me that his manager agreed and that I would be covered 100% and that if I need a rental or a loaner while things got settles that would be covered to. Also to give him the towing receipt and he would reimburse me for that too! PHEW!!!! FUCKING SIGH OF RELIEF!!!!
Thursday
Contact the local adjuster let him know where my vehicle was and he goes out to assess it. Couple hours later he calls back with the news that my V is a total loss (I expected this due to the damage on the A pillar) and offered me a payout amount. I took the payout amount and he told me to strip the V of any NON OEM parts so I get to take all my after market toys off and still get paid pull value!!!!
What a week! Fuck. I was so fucking stressed out but managed to stand up for myself and get a fair deal with ICBC. Vehicles can be replaced (just be prepared to fight) and the family is unhurt so in the end it's a positive outcome on a shitty shitty situation.
Moral of the story:
Put collision on your car if you want to avoid hassles. ICBC Can and WILL try to fuck you over any loophole they can.
Sorry for the long post. Happy New Years everyone!
Berz out.
For New Years Eve Me, My GF and My son went out of town to the inlaws to celebrate (roughly 2 hours drive from home). Had a great New Years and made the trek home New Years day. The roads were typical for our region, compact snow and slippery sections, but the CR-V does great in such conditions. About an hour into the trip we were listening to some old school NKTOB. As we came around a slight corner we both noticed the tip of a power pole protruding from the opposite ditch. Odd we thought.
Then the light bar lit up the snow on the power lines that were stretched across the highway from the downed pole in the ditch up to the pole across the highway. There were 3 lines. 1 on the road flat and 2 in the air. With barely any time to slow down we drove through the lines. The line was looped under my drivers side fender behind the headlight and stretched across the hood over the passenger A pillar. It was trying to pull me into the ditch as I fought the pull and continued to brake without coming to a stop with the line still on the V or causing a slide. I could hear the line ripping over the vehicle making a loud "BZZZZZZZZZZ" sound of braided cable on metal. Once the line cleared with a loud "Crack" like a whip I pulled over and came to a complete stop. While this is all happening there was a vehicle coming the opposite direction on the highway that I was flashing my lights at to alert them of the hazard.
The opposite vehicle stopped before the lines and got out and put flares out while I took care to see that the family was ok. I called in the accident told the operator that I drove through downed power lines and emergency crews were then on route. Here is where it gets funny. 15 minutes later Fire, Ambulance and Police all pull up on scene, drive right by us and pull up to where the van had blocked the road. After waiting another 10 minutes no one was even approaching our vehicle so I got out and walked up the highway to tell them where we were. As I get closer to the pole I see there was a truck in the ditch and that was the cause of the pole being down. He was about 5 seconds ahead of me on the highway but because of the corner I had no idea that he went off the road. I walked up the Emergency Crew (about 10 people) and said "Hey Guys I'm the one that drove through the power lines"
Everyone turns to look at me. One of them says "You hit the lines?" I say "Yea my Vehicle is down the highway over there we dragged the lines down the highway."
Well that kicked everyone into gear again. Flashlights came out and everyone started hustling down the highway towards my vehicle looking for the line and to check on us. The officer on scene moved his cruiser down the the highway and blocked it off and checked on us. About this time the ambulance carted off the people from the truck and the cop called another one back to check on us. I will note that it was -25 degrees out and I'm thankful the V stayed running the whole time or it would have been a cold long night. Paramedics checked us out in the amberlamps and we were released on scene. Right after it happened we called the inlaws and they arrived just in time for us to transfer all our belongings over before the V was towed. That ends that part of the story.
Monday
I wake up after a shitty night, gather all my info (insurance papers, license, etc) and prepare to call Dial a Claim. After a short wait I get someone and start the claim. After all the info I had was given and a rundown of the scenario and crash were taken the lady on the other end puts me on hold.
Now here is where I will say that because of the limited value of my CR-V I only have basic insurance with 3rd party liability. Here is where ICBC jump on me. She comes back and says "I see here you only have basic insurance through ICBC so unless you have 3rd part coverage you will not be insured for this accident as you hit the lines and that falls under a collision." I wasn't really prepared for this as, in my mind, it was a pretty clear case of cause and effect with the truck causing the downed lines. As you can imagine I was a little in shock at being told that my vehicle is now wrecked and I won't be covered by ICBC. I told her I would call her back. I called the officer who attended the scene back and asked for all the info from the truck as ICBC didn't have this info yet. Explained to the officer what ICBC was saying and he told me in his report he was very clear that there was no way I could have seen or avoided the lines and that it couldn't be my fault.
I called Dial a Claim back in the afternoon with all the new info and got a different lady. I passed on all the trucks info and the info for the other driver. Once I gave his info I though for sure this would clear up the issue of who is going to cover as they now have a vehicle to go after rather than just my solo incident. NO SUCH LUCK. This second person relayed the same info and said that because the truck didn't physically contact my vehicle that it is not held accountable. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???? Now I was angry and I wasn't afraid to show it. I responded with "So your telling me that because I'm not covered I'm now responsible for the tow bill, and the storage fees at the tow yard?" "Yes Sir that's correct" she replies.
I say "I guess there is no point in us continuing this conversation and I should consult a lawyer? I'm not letting you screw me out of a vehicle." She responds with "I'm going to talk to my supervisor sir please hold" A few minutes pass as she comes back on. "We are going to assign a investigator adjuster to this sir he will contact you in a couple business days" She gives me his number we end the convo. So that night I drive back to the town the car is being stored at (40 minutes from my house) take it out of the tow yard and drive it to a friends place to avoid paying storage fees.
Wednesday
I call the "investigator" at 9:30am. He is VERY pleasant, and we begin by going over the whole scenario. He was super nice, concerned with my well being, my families well being and the whole scary incident. He said was was volunteer fire fighter and what I went through was scary. Right away after all was talked about he said "Absolutely the truck is at fault. It's not like you drove through marked, flagged lines. These were hidden and unavoidable. I will talk to my manager and get back to you before 4."
Holy fuck was I happy. I still had a bit of skepticism because of my previous phone calls but, things were looking up. At 3:30pm he called back and told me that his manager agreed and that I would be covered 100% and that if I need a rental or a loaner while things got settles that would be covered to. Also to give him the towing receipt and he would reimburse me for that too! PHEW!!!! FUCKING SIGH OF RELIEF!!!!
Thursday
Contact the local adjuster let him know where my vehicle was and he goes out to assess it. Couple hours later he calls back with the news that my V is a total loss (I expected this due to the damage on the A pillar) and offered me a payout amount. I took the payout amount and he told me to strip the V of any NON OEM parts so I get to take all my after market toys off and still get paid pull value!!!!
What a week! Fuck. I was so fucking stressed out but managed to stand up for myself and get a fair deal with ICBC. Vehicles can be replaced (just be prepared to fight) and the family is unhurt so in the end it's a positive outcome on a shitty shitty situation.
Moral of the story:
Put collision on your car if you want to avoid hassles. ICBC Can and WILL try to fuck you over any loophole they can.
Sorry for the long post. Happy New Years everyone!
Berz out.