I was in an accident today... my first EVER.

And my sweet little 20 mo DD was with me, RFing THANK GOD!! She is totally fine, and didn't even make a peep when it happened. After I pulled off the road and settled my nerves down enough, I remembered she was in the car and I called to her and she answered me.

So what happened, I was at a stop light and when the light turned green I started to go straight through the light and a van speed out in front of me and tried to turn left directly in front of me. I smashed into her passenger side and my front bumber fell off. This all seemed to happen in a dream world where time passed in slow motion. It was so freaky. Then I came out of it and started to freak out, but settled enough to pull off the road. Then I got out and checked on my baby, I'm so glad she was ok. I just hugged her and tried not to let her see my crying. I called my husband to come get me.

Next thing I know, a sweet middle aged man came up to me and asked me if we were allright. I thought he was the person driving the other car, but no he stopped to give me his calling card and told me he saw everything. That she turned left without a turn arrow and it was all her fault. I was glad to know what happened and that it wasn't my fault. All I knew before this was that the light was green when I started to go and I was really confused at how this all happened. It was like my brain was fried or something.

Anyway, everyone is ok. My car IS driveable but the front bumper is broken off and the hood wont lift up and the passenger front door wont open. The car makes a funny noise when you make a sharp or tight turn because part of the under bumper is bent back into the wheel well. Her van was a sad sight, the passenger side was all smashed in and her rear bumper was falling off. I did feel bad for the woman because she seemed a little out of it too. But worse, she was wheel chair bound and her van was one of those that has the lift in it for the electric wheel chair, and the lift was inooperable. She couldn't get out of the car. AND she was on nasal canula oxygen! Poor woman, she also said that there was no one who could come pick her up but the police helped her out and called some medi-van company to try to get her a ride. *sigh*

I am so shooken up over this. I feel bad for me, her, and our vehicles. Anyway, my point for posting all this is "just to make sure" I need to replace the carseats. My CPST self says, "Yes absoutly". But my husband thinks I'm silly.

Funny thing, the straps on Lillys seat were just as tight as when I put her in the seat and the install did not move a millimeter, same with DS's seat that was unoccupied. I was only going maybe 10 mph because I had JUST entered the intersection from being stopped at a red light.

I'm glad to hear you and your DD are okay.

Definitely replace the seats.

Melanie

I'm so glad you two are ok!! I know the feeling of being in an accident - it's terrifying. Poor lady, too.

Glad you're both ok! Replace the seats.

Depending on what seats they are, you might scrape by via NHTSA, but I would replace, without question. (CCO and the Britax follow NHTSA criteria, and it sounds like you're within them -- unless you are injured or wake up sore tomorrow, or you uninstall the seats and see damage.)

ETA: Just wanted to make it clear that no matter what NHTSA says, I don't think I could use those seats again. I would use it to justify a minor bump, but I would question/worry every time I loaded my kids in. Hoping for your sake that you were using something that requres replacement after any crash so that insurance will help you out.

The seats I had in there were the Nautilus and the Uptown. Pretty lucky, IMO because My Radian XTSL was not in there. And I have extra seats that the kids can use right now until they get replacements. Is there any equivalent to the Uptown out anymomre? I dont want the scerena with air pillows... I really want a MyRide and DS wants another Nautilus because he loves that seat.

Can anyone tell me how that works? Do they pay you for the seats that were in there or do you buy seats you want and they reinburse you? The other persons insurance was Progressive, if that makes a difference.

Another worring thing, I have spoken with both her and my insurance companies today. When I spoke with Progressive(her insurance) they said that the woman told them she had a green arrow (which she did not! I have a wittness that can testify to this). And they are investigating who is at fault. I am scared that they will blame it on me and I will have to pay for everything.

*sigh* I don't think I will be able to sleep at all tomorrow and I'm afraid my back will be worse in the morning, it is achey and a little twitchy. I really don't need back problems when I have a 24 lb baby to carry around...

*HUGS* Glad everyone is ok.

The Avenue is the current version of the Uptown. Usually insurance company will give you what the seats worth and/or tell you to buy a comparable model.

Glad you're all ok, and yes, I would replace the seats. They might have damage that you can't see with your eyes.

Go to the police with this. If she is lying to insurance, that's fraud. Take your witness. I've been through this and while the other person wasn't the least bit afraid of lying to insurance, they freaked out and fessed up to the cops. Then I went back to insurance with the police report.

Also talk to your insurance company and see if they'll go to bat for you. Sorry, I don't know how insurance works in the US. It's totally different here in BC, I think.

But go to the cops first. Because usually the first person to talk is the one more likely to be believed.

Sorry to hear about the accident -- yes your insurance co, should go to bat for you.
Make sure the police report mentions that she did not have a green arrow as well. And that the police have the number of the witness!
Also, if your back is a bit twitchy you should def. see a dr. if not for your health than for insurance purposes. :twocents: Jenny

I don't know if this is always how it works, but I had Progressive for my accident (my fault.) My claims adjuster was awesome; he looked up their carseat replacement policy the day of the accident (I asked on the very first phone call) and was able to tell me that they could replace them. I provided him with printouts of the lowest local B&M prices of the seats I had in there, and that's the price they reimbursed me. They may be willing to do something different with you -- but in my case they treated it as research they didn't have to do.

They cut me a check about a week after the accident. The check for the van was to me in about two days, and the check for the sales tax on the Pilot they issued when I took them my sales slip, while I waited -- the only reason the seats took so long is because the insurance adjuster was talking to their lawyer about whether or not they would replace the seat I had uninstalled in the cargo area. (In the end, they did, but that seemed like more of a local judgement call.)

And with those two seats, they're replace after any accident, so you're good to go :thumbsup:

ETA: Sorry to hear about your back. If it's not 100% tomorrow, definitely go get it checked out.

Thanks everyone.

The police were called to the scene and they have the info for the witness. I actually spoke with him this evening and he told me what he told the police. My DH is a police officer and looked up the accident report and told me that it says she didnot have a green arrow.

When I talked to the witness he said he was right next to her in the left turn lane (there are two left turn lanes on that side of the street) and he saw the light turn green. Then she started to go to turn left and stopped because the person that was next to me (in the left lane but going straight) was going throught the intersection and she let him go through. THEN she gunned it and that is when I hit her. She literally came out of nowhere. I swear I did not see her until the moment before I hit her and I slamed the breaks and tried to turn out of the way but it was far too late. The witness said these words to me "I had a front row seat and I saw everything, you had no chance."

So as far as evidence goes, it is all on my side. I know I was not in the wrong, I just hope the insurance companies can see that.

I'd replace them.

was anyone cited? What does the police report say?

If you're in a no fault state, you might be out of luck. You'll have to go through your own insurance and they may not cover your seats. If you're in an at fault state, her insurance should cover everything if she was cited (including the seats). Generally, they'll reimburse you for the seats that were in the vehicle.

I'm glad to hear you and DD are okay. It sounds like it was pretty frightening.

Definitely get a copy of the police report (is your DH allowed to just print it out for you?) to keep for your records. You can send a copy to your insurance company and let them fight it out with her insurance company. If you have ANY twinges or pain in your back/neck, you should see a doctor or chiropractor immediately to get it documented in case you need treatment in the future (keep copies of all paperwork, etc). I don't know as much about seats as many folks here, but I have been rear-ended a couple of times! =\

And the other lady is not necessarily lying -- people involved in high stress situations tend to have poor memory accuracy. If the police report says she was at fault though (and has the other witness), you shouldn't have a problem with insurance.

Everything has worked out. We dropped off the car today to get fixed and the other persons insurance is covering that and the carseats and the rental so all is well. Yay!

:thumbsup: Glad you got it sorted out and they are replacing your seats too. I love progressive.

It sounds like she doesn't need to be driving at all though. :thumbsdown: