The single most important accessory every car in Southern California must have without a doubt is….a dash cam. Some time ago I wrote a blog titled The 40 Items You Should Have In Your Car and I couldn’t believe I left out the most important item from the list. But today I will explain why every single automobile driving in Los Angeles needs at least one dash cam.
Auto Accidents, Car Crashes, and Vehicle Collisions
Do you remember back in the day when people avoided getting into accidents, crashes, collisions, or whatever you call them these days now? Well today it seems that the opposite is true. You must have seen by now the countless videos on YouTube or the local and national news channels of people faking collisions to commit insurance fraud and cash in. For example, that one video of a car that was driving and did a break check and then everyone in the car that was “rear-ended” got out and were rubbing their necks, walking towards the driver behind them. Thankfully the driver behind them had a dash cam and got it all on video for us to enjoy. And, most importantly, help stop a fraud!
I bring up dash cams for another reason. My wife. My wife is an excellent driver, and I am not just saying that because she read my blogs. But because she really is a great driver. When she was in her twenties she was able to obtain a Commercial Class B License with Passenger endorsement. She was very proud of it and enjoyed her job working with kids and being able to take them on field trips. Unfortunately the people around her are not as good drivers as her. In fact, in all the “accidents” she has been involved in, the car she is driving is always…. not in motion. What do I mean with that? Well, let me explain.
Scrape Number 1.
The first time someone hit my wife, she was at a stop and the car that was to her right was going their left towards her direction but didn’t seem to calculate the turn properly and hit my wife’s little red Toyota on the corner of the driver-side bumper.
Hit Number 2.
The second time my wife was hit, she was waiting at a red light going south on Van Nuys Blvd, waiting on the cars going on Oxnard St to get the red light. When suddenly the second car behind her did not calculate his speed and wasn’t able to stop in time, hitting the car right behind her. And of course then the car behind her, hit the back of her car.
Smash Number 3.
The third time she was hit, she was waiting for the light to turn green. She was headed north on Sylmar Ave, waiting for the cars on Victory Blvd to stop. It was dark, in the evening, and the tall truck in front of her suddenly backed up and didn’t see her tiny little vehicle behind him. He smashed the hood of the car, bending it like an accordion. While during the entire time the truck was backing up, she was honking at him to stop. The man said he didn’t hear or see her, he was simply trying to get into the small shopping center to the right of them.
Scratch Number 4.
The fourth time she was hit, she was going south on Fairfax and was waiting for the light on Norton to turn green. When a man in a blue car that was parked on the opposite direction, attempted to make a u-turn right next to her, and ended up not calculating his wide turn, so he hit the drive side corner of our minivan’s bumper. After the incident she signaled him to meet her at the Whole Foods parking lot where he denied hitting her, as she pointed to the blue paint chips on our dark grey minivan and took pictures.
Bump Number 5.
The fifth time, she was at the Ralphs parking lot, after she had parked the car, a van hit the side of the passenger side rear bumper corner. Unfortunately the van left before she can tell the men anything because he must have assumed nobody was in the vehicle, as he drove away. She was not able to get the other vehicle’s information.
Scratch Number 6.
The sixth time she got hit was at the Costco gasoline station. She was putting gas and as she sat in her vehicle, the car behind her hit the rear driver-side bumper corner, scraping our van. The man insisted he did not hit her but the Costco Gasoline Station surveillance footage said otherwise.
Do you notice a pattern here? In all these “collisions” not once was her car moving. Incredible, she must hold the record for most minor fender benders in which her car is always motionless. Either at a stop light, stop sign, or parked somewhere.
But the other day. Something different happened. The almost seventh time, her car was moving.
Almost Collision Number 7.
After she dropped of our middle son at school, she got on Van Nuys Blvd. Somewhere after dropping him off, near the dealerships after Magnolia Ave, she approached a construction zone. The city was repairing the street and suddenly the two lanes, now merged into one, so as to permit the city workers space to work on the street. She was on the right lane and those on the left were merging into hers, when all of a sudden out of nowhere a car drives fast on the side of the road to the right of her, where cars usually park, and decides he is going to cut in line and merge into her lane. Now she had vehicles on both sides trying to merge into her lane. She was not able to let the vehicle to the right of her merge in front of her, and well that upset the driver on the right of her, the black vehicle.
Once the other driver was able to get behind her, they were driving through the city work zone on a single lane going both directions, when up ahead it was back to two lanes. The black vehicle quickly sped up, got in front of my wife and cold-pressed on the breaks. The other driver brake-checked my wife…
What is a Break Check?
A break check is when an aggressive driver abruptly and suddenly slams on their brakes in front of another vehicle, with the intention to punish, scare, harass the other driver, or purposefully cause a rear-end collision to make the rear driver appear liable. This is dangerous and illegal in Los Angeles, which can lead to fines, driving bans, or prison time. This is a type of road rage and reckless driving.
From Driving Kids to School to Victims in a Road Rage Incident
…When the other driver hit on the breaks, my wife was able to press the brakes all the way and even triggered the anti-lock system of our vehicle. The vehicles were extremely close to one another but my wife could feel that there was no impact and assumes it was over. From there they began to drive slowly, and the other driver was flipping my wife off. The other driver then stopped at the light with phone on hand was recording while walking towards my wife, yelling at her.
At first she rolled down the window slightly but as he was aggressively approaching and yelling at her, she didn’t feel safe to talk to the other driver, so she rolled the window up and locked her doors. The other driver then proceeded to go around her vehicle, hit the rear view mirror and as the other driver was going around her vehicle, hit the car all around as well. My wife and kids thought the other driver was trying to open the side door and then rear door. When she heard the noise to the rear of her vehicle she felt that staying at the scene would put her and our children in immediate danger of violence because the other driver was yelling and saying threats. She decided to leave and called the police from a safe location.
This went on for almost 15 minutes, the other driver continued to brake check her, get off his vehicle and harras her and our kids. The other driver then would proceed to drive a bit on the road, stop and get off again. My wife repeatedly told the other driver she did not hit their car and called the police to settle the matter. She also pointed at the dash cam every time the other driver was near the front of her vehicle but the other driver never seemed to notice. Finally the other driver left, shortly after that, the police arrived and so did I.
I am proud of my wife for keeping calm, as always, maintaining a safe distance, and making good decisions under pressure. We showed the officers the dash cam, they got the summary of what happened and the description of the driver. If it wasn’t for the dash cam, we would be arguing with the insurance companies because that same day, the other driver put in a claim against my wife with the insurance company. Thanks to our dash cam, my wife was not found 0% liable and it saved us hundreds, because our insurance rates won’t increase.
What Should You Do If You Are Involved in a Road Rage Incident?
While the rear driver is often at fault for not maintaining distance, a brake check can make the lead driver liable due to negligent driving, among other things. So what should you do, when you are caught up in a road rage incident?
- First of all remain calm
- Do not react in anger
- Maintain a safe distance
- Drive safely and/or slower
- Turn on your emergency lights
- Stay calm
- Call the police
- Stay on a main road
- Park when and where it is safe to do so
- Make sure plenty of people are around
- Don’t approach or engage with the other party
- Stay in your vehicle and lock the doors
- When and if it is safe to do so, record the other driver and their vehicle with your phone
- Wait for the police to arrive and file a police report
- Let your insurance know what happened
But most importantly before anything ever even happens…
Buy and Install a Dash Cam Now!
It is easy to install, but if you rather have the professionals take care of installation, give us a call. At West Coast Body and Paint we will help install your dash cam, a forward facing one, a 360 dash cam and/or rear camera, we can help you have a little peace of mind.
Insurance Claim Specialists in Van Nuys, Serving the Greater Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley
Have you been involved in a collision and are looking for a collision repair shop that accepts you insurance? Come to West Coast Body and Paint LLC, we can take care of the entire insurance claim process. We accept all auto insurances. We will help you with the entire insurance claim process, from towing assistance and insurance claim support to complete body repairs, painting, and restoration. Let us help get your car back to pre-collision condition.
Insurance Claim Estimate
For an insurance claim estimate come to our shop at 14116 Oxnard St, Van Nuys, Ca. You can come by the shop any time we are open or you can choose to call or text 818.793.7728 with any questions or to schedule an appointment.
For all other estimates text your car’s images to Jaider at 818.793.7728. Once we receive your vehicle’s pictures we will provide you with an initial estimate. This quote is a ballpark figure, after we assess your vehicle’s damage in person, then we will review the estimate with you. If you agree to the final estimate, we can begin repairing your car. If you prefer email, fill out the form below to request an estimate or contact us through WhatsApp.
