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I'm 61 years old and thinking of taking the AARP Smart Driver Online Course after having a rear end accident a week ago on the freeway. My 2013 Ford Explorer got rear ended by a Dodge Ram who was speeding. I have the dash cam footage and have hired an attorney. The driver who hit me only had his AAA Proof of Insurance printout and no drivers license or vehicle registration. He wanted to do the insurance claim at home but I called the California Highway Patrol and took a photo of his license plate.
I have never had traffic violations of any kind and this would be my first ever accident.
The damage has been done and I know that Bristol West (part of Farmers) and the California DMV wants to take advantage of this.
What is the AARP Smart Driver Online Course? Are they the same questions in the DMV handbook? Would it be better to take a refresher course at a driving school?
It takes 10 days for the report to be completed. The driver who hit me got detained by CHP because I told the officer that his breath smelled like alcohol. The next day, I get a call from someone who wanted information about the accident, but didn't like when I told him to talk to my attorney. He started saying that I got a cheap attorney and that I was at fault because I slowed down. I never slowed down. I was going the same speed as the flow of traffic and had 2 car lengths between vehicles. The caller wanted me to snap so they could use that against me.
My dash cam is a 2 channel but I only have footage of the front since all the installation shops I went to charge me more than $200 for hardwiring and installing in the rear windshield. The impact was so hard that it shattered the rear windshield and wedge the bumper to the tire. I had to have it towed because exhaust fumes were coming inside. His insurance wouldn't send a tow truck.
The AARP course is just in case and also to regain my confidence in driving as this has never happened to me since I started driving since the 1980s. The attorney has also ordered to see a chiropractor and get an MRI brain scan.
Two separate issues.
1. Let your insurance company handle all aspects of the claim, that's what you're paying them for.
2. The AARP is really a refresher course of things you may have learned but forgotten and perhaps a bit of new info. It may or may not be worth it. For confidence issues, you might consider taking a real, behind the wheel advanced drivers course by certified instructors rather than just sitting at a computer. It costs more but is more indepth training.
Slowing down is never an at fault condition ..people behind you have to assume your car can stall or there is debris on the road and keep a safe distance behind .
So no way should it be your fault .
However , if you have collision your company will pay you and then at some point HOPEFULLY recover the payment from the other insurer ..sometimes it can take years .
The problem is we all have an insurance score and a huge part of that score is in a data base called CLUE ..
While your own company may not charge you for the claim , any un reimbursed payout dings your CLUE REPORT which does effect you if you shop for insurance.
I couldn’t believe what other companies wanted to charge me for insurance because of an un reimbursed claim that was not my fault .
Sometimes it can be worth going to the other insurance company directly ...if they deem their insured at fault which in a rear end they should they will pay you directly. I have done that after learning how getting my own insurer involved dinging my clue report.
I was hit while parked and dealt directly with the other insurer
I took an AARP driving course a couple of years ago here in FL in a classroom. It was a good generic refresher course and I picked up a few differences in FL laws. I received a 15% decrease on my car insurance for three years also, but I had to not been involved in a recent accident to get that.
DH had company cars for over 30 years and a company paid driving course at what use to be the old Meadowlands Arena with professional drivers was one of his favorite perks. The teachers were race car drivers using skid cars (they had control of the rear wheels to simulate driving events). When it was done, DH said he would have gladly paid for the experience.
Keep in mind while taking these courses get you a discount on your liability insurance not collision or comprehensive in most states , they do nothing as far as what insurers see as far as points .
Points are only used by the dmv for purposes of suspending your license .
Insurers have their own scoring system which scores convictions and not dmv points .
A seat belt ticket may be no points to the dmv .to an insurer no seat belt counts heavy in your score .
Also just a heads up ...insurers do not usually pull millions of driving records unless you high light yourself .
My buddy worked for an insurer and most off those who took the safety courses did so because they got tickets .
They did not understand that taking the courses do not change what insurers see , plus it got them flagged to have their record looked at , where as if they did nothing it likely would go un noticed ..
Dmv removes those points here in ny after 18 months from date of violation ...what insurers see remains on record for up to almost 4 years from date of conviction not violation
The damage has been done and I know that Bristol West (part of Farmers) and the California DMV wants to take advantage of this.
I don't know what you mean by that but you are not at fault for being rear-ended. If the other driver's insurance gives you a hard time on the car damage, use your collision coverage (if you have it) and let your attorney handle the injury claim.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jfsoto1988
What is the AARP Smart Driver Online Course? Are they the same questions in the DMV handbook? Would it be better to take a refresher course at a driving school?
The course is valuable no matter what your situation is. I've been taking it every three years for a couple of decades. Cost me $20 last year and my discounts run $40 or $50 a year.
You sit at your computer and you watch about 3 hours of presentations. At the end of each chapter is a brief quiz that's easy peasy if you were paying attention.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jfsoto1988
Would it be better to take a refresher course at a driving school?
No. It would cost you a lot more in money and time with the same result. Do the online course.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jfsoto1988
He started saying that I got a cheap attorney and that I was at fault because I slowed down.
Probably the other insurance company's claim rep. He's full of crap.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jfsoto1988
The attorney has also ordered to see a chiropractor and get an MRI brain scan.
Then you hired the wrong ambulance chaser. Avoid quackopractors. They overtreat and overcharge. The attorney is trying to run up bills that the insurance company will fight. When he can't get them paid, he'll take his 1/3 and leave you holding the bag. Trust me on that. I've fought a lot of liability claims involving useless chiropractic bills and left claimants sorely disappointed.
See your regular doctor. Get cervical X-rays to make sure nothing got knocked out of whack. Then, if all you have is an upper back ache with no spine or disc damage, some pain killers and muscle relaxers will take care of it, maybe a couple of weeks of authentic physical therapy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BOBNCHI
Two separate issues.
1. Let your insurance company handle all aspects of the claim, that's what you're paying them for.
No, it's not. You pay your insurance company to handle what's in your policy. In this case it's the car damage which your insurance company takes care of quickly. Your insurance company does not represent you in a claim against somebody else. Hence, not "all aspects" just one - the car damage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107
Sometimes it can be worth going to the other insurance company directly ...if they deem their insured at fault which in a rear end they should they will pay you directly. I have done that after learning how getting my own insurer involved dinging my clue report.
I was hit while parked and dealt directly with the other insurer
I agree. Unfortunately, based on OP's initial contact with the other insurance company, he may have some difficulty there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107
My buddy worked for an insurer and most off those who took the safety courses did so because they got tickets .
They did not understand that taking the courses do not change what insurers see , plus it got them flagged to have their record looked at , where as if they did nothing it likely would go un noticed ..
In states where a ticket can be dismissed in exchange for taking the course, the insurance company never sees it on the driving record. That's the whole point of taking the course with many traffic tickets.
I don't know what you mean by that but you are not at fault for being rear-ended. If the other driver's insurance gives you a hard time on the car damage, use your collision coverage (if you have it) and let your attorney handle the injury claim.
The course is valuable no matter what your situation is. I've been taking it every three years for a couple of decades. Cost me $20 last year and my discounts run $40 or $50 a year.
You sit at your computer and you watch about 3 hours of presentations. At the end of each chapter is a brief quiz that's easy peasy if you were paying attention.
No. It would cost you a lot more in money and time with the same result. Do the online course.
Probably the other insurance company's claim rep. He's full of crap.
Then you hired the wrong ambulance chaser. Avoid quackopractors. They overtreat and overcharge. The attorney is trying to run up bills that the insurance company will fight. When he can't get them paid, he'll take his 1/3 and leave you holding the bag. Trust me on that. I've fought a lot of liability claims involving useless chiropractic bills and left claimants sorely disappointed.
See your regular doctor. Get cervical X-rays to make sure nothing got knocked out of whack. Then, if all you have is an upper back ache with no spine or disc damage, some pain killers and muscle relaxers will take care of it, maybe a couple of weeks of authentic physical therapy.
No, it's not. You pay your insurance company to handle what's in your policy. In this case it's the car damage which your insurance company takes care of quickly. Your insurance company does not represent you in a claim against somebody else. Hence, not "all aspects" just one - the car damage.
I agree. Unfortunately, based on OP's initial contact with the other insurance company, he may have some difficulty there.
In states where a ticket can be dismissed in exchange for taking the course, the insurance company never sees it on the driving record. That's the whole point of taking the course with many traffic tickets.
I have never seen a dismissed ticket for the course in these parts but we get plea bargaining outside nyc all the time .
But this is where many shoot themselves in the foot as they take a seat belt ticket which is no points instead of a low point violation.
They don’t know the insurers don’t use dmv points ...they have their own scoring system for convictions and some insurers consider no seat belt a more serious offense
I'm 61 years old and thinking of taking the AARP Smart Driver Online Course after having a rear end accident a week ago on the freeway. My 2013 Ford Explorer got rear ended by a Dodge Ram who was speeding. I have the dash cam footage and have hired an attorney. The driver who hit me only had his AAA Proof of Insurance printout and no drivers license or vehicle registration. He wanted to do the insurance claim at home but I called the California Highway Patrol and took a photo of his license plate.
I have never had traffic violations of any kind and this would be my first ever accident.
The damage has been done and I know that Bristol West (part of Farmers) and the California DMV wants to take advantage of this.
What is the AARP Smart Driver Online Course? Are they the same questions in the DMV handbook? Would it be better to take a refresher course at a driving school?
I took a Defensive Driver Course sponsored by my insurance company(free). I'm a good bit older than you and I think it improved my driving, plus a 10% discount on premiums for three years. It was done over the internet and took about 4 days. I recommend it.
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